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California Highway Patrol and radar

9K views 39 replies 23 participants last post by  Razel 
#1 ·
In Northern California, there has been a lot of CHP sitting on the side of the road with new radar guns or standing on the side with a couple of buddies ready to jump on the freeway and chase down speeders. This is very new from the past philosophy. It used to be that CHP didn’t have radar because the state would not fund it. I heard senators did not want the CHP just sitting on the side and catching speeders but wanted them to be instead patrolling the freeways like their name indicates. Well, this change. They got radar and have been on the Ka band for quite a while but at least they were still driving around. A good radar detector and sharp eyes gave you a real good fighting chance. I haven’t had but three speeding tickets in the last 20 years and I like 85 no matter what I’m driving/riding. Now, things are getting hard. If anyone has more to add to understand the thinking and technology, please add to this thread. A friend who is a retired CHP officer said the new radar is laser, officers are going through training in the Sacramento academy to use the new tool and it’s good at what it does. They look through the system at a 4 lane freeway and it will identify the speed of all cars coming at them and the individual speeds of all lanes at the same time. It’ll show, lane 1, 80mph, lane 2 72mph, lane 3 70mph etc. I have a Escort X50 which has been great for Ka. It has laser but does not react at all to the new guns. I guess their new tool is effective because I’m using cruise control now more than ever and just sitting at 7mph or so over the limit but it sucks. Any ideas? Any new detectors that are better at this new weapon they are using?

What's also weird but not fully tested, I went to San Diego over the weekend from the Bay Area, down 5 and back up 101. Once past 152 in the Los Banos area, I never saw any of that in SoCal. Do you SoCal people see this yet? If not, I expect it's comig. This is probably a good revenue generator for the state and we all know how badly they need (or think they need) the money.

DigitalXRayGuy
 
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#4 ·
I got hit by laser. I was in the bimmer, not the beemer, but, laser by the CHP it was.
Guy said he only needed six inches to hone in on (he used the plate, he says).
Last CHP that got me on the beemer used K-band, bike to bike, he was standing still, I was doin' like 40 in a 25 (bastard). Anyway ... such as it is, California is getting like the Gestapo in New Jersey (the biggest police state in the nation) ... sigh ...
 
#5 ·
CHP using laser

grifscoots said:
Highway patrols all over the US are now sitting on the side of the road shooting laser. It's cheaper than burning gas as many of them are already over budget on their fuel bill.
Good point I hadn't thought about. We're all feeling the pinch on fuel cost and sitting on the side is not only saving their fuel but bringing money into coffers. And, like I said, I have slowed down so it's effective. I just have to vent and get over it since I do like going fast. I did get a ticket coming up Rt 1 while 2 up ( 4 weeks ago) with my wife on the back but traffic school is available since I've paced out my tickets. And, I'm usually pretty cool on speeding with Susy on the back but an RV was going pretty slow and of course I passed on a rare straight away when a CHP happened to be coming the other way over a crest. For those not familiar with CA traffic stuff, you can go to traffic school once every 18 months and keep a traffic violation off the records as long as it's not a huge deal like DUI or more than 20 over the limit.
 
#6 ·
CHP and radar

Well don't feel like you are the lone ranger. We have been seeing these same tactics down here it SoCal for at least a year or more. Especially in bike "hotspots" like Angeles Crest Highway, Palomar Mtn. and the Santa Monica Mtns. There has been stepped up enforcement all over the place thanks to the state/politicians spending every damn cent we give them plus the 16 BILLION they spent which we did not have in the first place, but that is a whole other conversation. The best advise I can give to you is too just slow down. Nothing aggravates me more than giving the state money for a friggin traffic ticket.
 
#7 ·
radar

Soon they will wisen up like here. Radar detector, $2000 fine. They seize the device and turn it into a radar detector detector. Fit it to the highway cars./ And with the device the CHP are using?? From your description it is the same as here. The radar detector will inform you you are about to get booked.. They spot the car, squeeze the trigger...Bip....110 100....95.... ,as you slow down.
 
#11 ·
See the URL below, it's a team effort and they REALLY love the toll roads, they get big tickets there.

The CHP has been working us for years and on certain roads they've had such a presence that everyone slows down at all the usual CHP hiding spots like lemmings. Once the traffic thins out, time to be wary. If people are not crowding you, they are usually behind the CHP waiting to pounce on the straggler in the herd ahead. Palomar, Ortega, Rock House and Nuk'ems... all good places to see the new radar guns.

http://www.malibusurfsidenews.com/stories/200707/20070726005.html
 
#13 · (Edited)
CHP down here got training from the Utah H.P. about two years ago in the use of Lidar. Utah H.P has some nice looking cars too. Luckily, it's so damn hot int he Central Valley most won't sit around with their windows down shooting Lidar nor stand around outside their car. Most still wander in their car all cool and comfy with Ka radar. Many bike units have Stalker radars, but they seem to prefer PACE methods following seeing a "rabbit" in the bunch on the highways.

Our local police have been doing the same nonsense once a week for about a month now. Some department in Sacramento (California Office of Traffic Safety) has been passing out huge grant monies to police departments to use as overtime to set up stings. We usually have them on Tuesdays where most of the traffic cops on bikes are off so they get nice overtime on that day. No one is immune. Ten percent over and you're toast. They typically target a "sting" area in 4 hour blocks (7-11am and 4-8pm rush hour). Looks like you just wandered into a bank robbery scene as they will work about 6 bikes and 2-3 cars. It's almost humorous to watching how many they can pull over in 15 minutes in a two block area. Paper says they write about 70 citations in 4 hours.

Also, they do get paid to show up in court as it is also part of their "grant money" should you want to fight it.

So how do I know this? Just paid $850 to a lawyer to get it expunged on 4 points in the V.C. (not speeding).

There's some pretty cool laser jammers that you can get in Nevada where they aren't yet illegal like in CA. Oregon too. Better ones seem to come from Croatia. There's some assemblyman or Senator in CA trying to get radar detectors banned in the state much like in Virginia. They want the income.

Oh, don't weave too much to avoid a pothole if a cop in a car is behind you. They see it as weaving and can lead into a sobriety field test. A cop on a bike will more likely understand. Some potholes around here are getting pretty deep and very large.

Come to think of it, the state may be better off fixing the damn potholes with the cop's overtime grant money before the roads disintegrate to the point no one can use them.


Mack
 
#14 ·
rhhall said:
Sounds like Laser to me .... you can legally buy a jammer for Laser.
When laser jamming works against traffic lasers, Mike Valentine at V1 will make one. They are snake oil. Sure, there are companies out there that will sell you one, but you cannot jam it.

On the other hand, I had a friend who was an Electronic Warfare Officer at Eglin. He was all about how to jam radar. Jamming radar and laser near a military base can be considered an act of war.

Gravity
 
#15 · (Edited)
Gravity said:
When laser jamming works against traffic lasers, Mike Valentine at V1 will make one. They are snake oil. Sure, there are companies out there that will sell you one, but you cannot jam it.

On the other hand, I had a friend who was an Electronic Warfare Officer at Eglin. He was all about how to jam radar. Jamming radar and laser near a military base can be considered an act of war.

Gravity
Seems to me that when any laser is used there must be a warning for eye protection....you mean that big brother is shooting a laser beam at me and I dont have a chance to protect myself from this harmfull practice....Intolorent misconduct.....agravated intentions.....gross negligence.....get me James A Socolove (esquire) on the phone......MY EYE! MY EYE!..... $$$$$....:D
 
#16 ·
BAK04GT said:
Seems to me that when any laser is used there must be a warning for eye protection....you mean that big brother is shooting a laser beam at me and I dont have a chance to protect myself from this harmfull practice....Intolorent misconduct.....agravated intentions.....gross negligence.....get me James A Socolove (esquire) on the phone......MY EYE! MY EYE!..... $$$$$....:D
Nah, the "laser" is infra red and low power (class I). Won't hurt your eyes.

Laser speed detectors work by sending out a pulse of laser light (very small spot) and timing how long it takes the reflection to return. (Not very long, light moves at about 1 ft per nanosecond, but nanoseconds can be counted.) Do this twice in a row and now you know how fast the vehicle is moving.

Passive jammers are crap, it's exceedingly hard to stop IR light from reflecting.

Active jamming is actually pretty easy, all you really need to do is shine a laser of the same frequency back at the gun. Infra red lasers (or maybe even bright IR LEDs) aren't illegal. The light from your laser is much brighter than the reflection from the gun's laser, so the gun can't detect or time the return from the pulses it sends out, and so the gun gives no reading.
 
#17 ·
If they get a reading back over twice the actual speed, you might get a bigger ticket!

You need plenty of black conductive foam of triangular shape stuck over your screen and your bike like a stealth plane. On a bike they'll aim for the best reflective surface which head on will probably be your helmet, headlight or screen.

One of those disco type random pattern scanning lasers near the headlight housing might get some confusion. But these ideas always need somebody to try them out first!



 
#18 ·
voxmagna said:
If they get a reading back over twice the actual speed, you might get a bigger ticket!

You need plenty of black conductive foam of triangular shape stuck over your screen and your bike like a stealth plane. On a bike they'll aim for the best reflective surface which head on will probably be your helmet, headlight or screen.

One of those disco type random pattern scanning lasers near the headlight housing might get some confusion. But these ideas always need somebody to try them out first!
A jammer won't cause a higher reading. The gun is trying to time the reflection from a pulse. If it gets a steady signal instead of a pulse, it'll be just like pointing the gun at nothing -- no reading at all. It'll be like the gun didn't lock on to you at all.

Black conductive foam won't work, you'll still get an IR laser reflection off it. Shine a flashlight at something -- can you see the spot of light on the thing you're pointing the light at? If so, then you'll almost certainly get an IR laser bounce off it.

Disco lights won't work -- wrong frequency.
 
#19 ·
Gravity said:
When laser jamming works against traffic lasers, Mike Valentine at V1 will make one. They are snake oil. Sure, there are companies out there that will sell you one, but you cannot jam it.

On the other hand, I had a friend who was an Electronic Warfare Officer at Eglin. He was all about how to jam radar. Jamming radar and laser near a military base can be considered an act of war.

Gravity
LASER jamming works, Escort sells one, along with several others (active jamming using a radar detector to fire the jammer).

Radar jamming is illegal, and the guys selling this stuff are snake-oil.
 
#20 ·
grifscoots said:
Highway patrols all over the US are now sitting on the side of the road shooting laser. It's cheaper than burning gas as many of them are already over budget on their fuel bill.
Howdy Grif,

The California Highway Patrol earned its reputation as one of, if not, the finest state law enforcement organizations in the United State, and arguably in the world, because they focussed their attention on enhancing "safety" without regard to revenue generation.

It appears that our vaunted protectors are falling prey to those with influence that believe bringing in the money is more important than insuring a safe motoring experience during transit.

I am sick and tired of (really, pissed off about) our, make that my, tax dollars being spent on enforcing only one element of the law, the speed limit, as opposed to any other element of the law such as "distracted drivers or, unsafe operators of vehicles with loads that are not properly tied down or, vehicles travelling too slowly on the highway or, basically looking for idiots that create risks on the highway, etc., etc., etc..

.
 
#21 ·
BillyOmaha said:
Howdy Grif,

I am sick and tired of (really, pissed off about) our, make that my, tax dollars being spent on enforcing only one element of the law, the speed limit, as opposed to any other element of the law such as "distracted drivers or, unsafe operators of vehicles with loads that are not properly tied down or, vehicles travelling too slowly on the highway or, basically looking for idiots that create risks on the highway, etc., etc., etc..
Hey Bill!!!

.....texting in the left hand lane, driving with their heads shoved firmly up their ass, driving without a clue, driving while being a fuckhead........
 
#22 ·
BillyOmaha said:
Howdy Grif,

The California Highway Patrol earned its reputation as one of, if not, the finest state law enforcement organizations in the United State, and arguably in the world, because they focussed their attention on enhancing "safety" without regard to revenue generation.

It appears that our vaunted protectors are falling prey to those with influence that believe bringing in the money is more important than insuring a safe motoring experience during transit.

I am sick and tired of (really, pissed off about) our, make that my, tax dollars being spent on enforcing only one element of the law, the speed limit, as opposed to any other element of the law such as "distracted drivers or, unsafe operators of vehicles with loads that are not properly tied down or, vehicles travelling too slowly on the highway or, basically looking for idiots that create risks on the highway, etc., etc., etc..

.

Great point!....but...speeding is a quick buck..usally no court.....cut and dry....on the other hand other moving violations most likly go to court cause its more or less a he said he (she) said and in California it could be a heshe......but any who......pluse they get a toy to play with.....and talk on the cell phone and play video gams while they sit waiting....The cell phone thing is no joke...watch construction sites...whats the cop doing?...talking on a cell phone...see that every day.....worse than women....talk talk talk.........
 
#23 · (Edited)
Just one more thing...if your sick of the lane campers...get yourself a modulator...best thing i ever bought!.....line it up with their left hand rearview.....pull over quick as shit...In fact...if you run the lane close to the broken line and shoot it down between the lanes you can get 4 or 5 to pull over at the same time......just dont use it on city streets.....And if your real good you can get waved thru the tolls.........great tool!! :teeth
 
#24 ·
BillyOmaha said:
Howdy Grif,


I am sick and tired of (really, pissed off about) our, make that my, tax dollars being spent on enforcing only one element of the law, the speed limit, as opposed to any other element of the law such as "distracted drivers or, unsafe operators of vehicles with loads that are not properly tied down or, vehicles travelling too slowly on the highway or, basically looking for idiots that create risks on the highway, etc., etc., etc..

.

amen to that. don't forget the single bigest danger for all of us out there: drunken drivers. not sure what is being done to enfore the limit.... and whatever it is, it's coming to late for the rider that got killed on saturday morning on the bay bridge. simply run over by a drunk.

cheers.
 
#25 ·
Some of you may be familiar with the area around Santa Cruz and Monterey. For this past weekend, we had the MotoGP races at Laguna Seca. Fortunately, I remembered the first year (2005) and saw the nice CHP moto officer perched on the first overpass after highway 1 and 152 merged. This creates a three-lane freeway, which for those coming off of highway 1's single lane road, is a godsend as you can now get around the slow-moving RV's and cages, and fly right into the radar (and now Lidar) beam of said CHP officer perched on the first overpass.

This past Sunday (he was there Friday-Sunday) he was pretty laid back. Odd...until I got past the overpass and could look up the onramp to see how many "chasers" were waiting. None. Zilch. Thought maybe it was a feint on his part, until I got maybe ½ mile further up the road. 12 CHP motors with the corresponding number of motorcycles. Two with tow trucks. Must've got a whole group just opening it up when the additional lanes appeared.

Then, coming back to where I was staying, I get to the off-ramp and turn left. There's another officer with lidar checking the traffic coming downhill from Santa Cruz heading for Watsonville. His entourage consisted of 4 cruisers, plus what ever he'd sent out already. Glad that was my off-ramp...

Laser jammers are illegal in California. They put in a special section into the vehicle code to prevent circumventing police tracking devices. Broad enough to cover anything that gets invented later on.

Radar jammers are illegal all over the place, state and federal.

Right now, in California, the lidar operator has to be stationary, but the lidar has a aiming reticule (sp?) that pretty much isolates the target being checked. And, once your lidar detector goes off, it's all over.
I haven't been traveling around with my radar detector lately, but with all the new grants being made available, maybe it's time to put it back on the bike.



 
#26 ·
It's true that you can legally buy a Laser or radar jamming device but the moment you use it, you're violating the law. The fines for using jammers is steep, depending on what state you're in.

Radar travels the speed of light, that is, 186,000 miles per second. If the officer has the radar in standby mode, your detector won't pick it up. The officer simply flicks the switch and has your speed, "at the speed of light". Radar detectors are useless in my opinion.

The other method of speed enforcement nobody has mentioned is VASCAR. This is nothing more than a fancy stopwatch, time/distance measuring device. There is no detection for this unless you look for solid white lines painted on the freeways, just as you pass under a bridge. They're approximately 1/8 of a mile apart.
 
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