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Detecting Tailgaters With Lasers
stoolpigeon writes "Police in Arizona are using laser range finders to detect and ticket tailgaters. An officer can now measure not only the speed of passing vehicles but also how close they are to one another. The detectors described in the article are built by Laser Technology Inc., a company that provides lasers for traffic control, engineering, and even tactical/military solutions. The article mentions how tailgating is connected to many accidents and incidents of road rage; this observation fits my experience."
What if the people using the device selectively target who they pull over based on its readings?
Oh, wait, that applies to everyone who will be using it.
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In Germany, I believe, they ticket lane violations as well as tailgating. Why not track the entire problem, not just half of it?
I think that tailgating skill is a requirement to get your H1B....
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I think their should be a solar powered sensor array on every overpass on our major highways.
It would detect:
* Speed
* Distance to vehicle in front
* Sniff for drugs
* License plate to match against APB list (not stored)
An array of cameras would record video and pictures of offending vehicles and issue tickets.
If drugs are sniffed, the same vehicles are watched for at subsequent overpasses to determine which one it is.
The system should use off-the-shelf hardware and be open source.
The highways would be safer, and law enforcement agencies would have more time and resources to devote to what really matters.
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What was that quote again? Those who are willing to give up freedom for safety don't deserve either! Thats just fine if you want to join the mindless ranks of sheep, but I'm not going to let The Man continue to control my life. Theres got to be privacy concerns here too, America becomes more and more of a police state every day. I'm getting out of here. Or at least I would if I lived there and not here, in the UK.
How about, when you're being tailgated, there's maybe a reason? Like you're going too slow? And that's irregardless of what you think you should be going, the speed limit, conditions, etc. If somebody wants to get by you on the road, in 99.99% of the cases, LET THEM BY.
Tailgating connected to road rage, etc? No kidding! They're tailgating because they're frustrated with drivers. They wouldn't BE tailgating if they could get by the driver in front of them easily, but when you have cars 3-4 across all going the same speed... well it's about the only way to get across to ANY of them that they're impeding traffic flow.
Gridlock is different. That's not the same. But normal driving conditions, if you're being tailgated, YOU are the one going too slowly, so GET OUT OF THE WAY!
I moved to the "Bible Belt" recently because of a business opportunity. ugh. Well, its hard to ignore the huge number of pickup trucks and SUVS which besides being slow as hell, are impossible to see around at intersections, turning lights etc. It seems like driving for what is essentially a milk truck (SUV) and being a redneck go hand in hand and we have a huge population of rednecks. None of this really bothered me, but I did notice all the damn tailgating that goes on as well. I have a friend who has lived here much longer and I asked him what was up with all the tailgating and he told me every one of these Rednecks fancies himself as Dale Earnhardt "The Intimidator". Suddenly what I had been witnessing made perfect sense. The thing I could never figure out is if you want to drive like your in a race, why drive something that has the aerodynamics of a bard door?!?
People just need to use common courtesy when driving. If someone behind you wants to go faster than you then MOVE OVER. Even if you don't have an extra lane there is usually a shoulder.
If we all cooperate there is generally little reason for anyone to get angry or participate in road rage.
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