Can RADAR Technologies Be Used as Evidence of Speeding?

RADAR technologies can be used as evidence of speeding. It is one of the most common methods used by the police to determine speeding.

RADAR

RADAR is an abbreviation for radio detection and ranging. If the police suspect you to be speeding, they will aim the radar at your vehicle. The RADAR will release a bead at one frequency. It will strike your vehicle and return back to the RADAR at a different frequency. The police will use the difference in the frequencies to determine your speeding.

Evidence

If you are charged with speeding, the police will use the RADAR reading as evidence against you. Modern day RADARs are very accurate. However you can challenge the RADAR readings. You can cross examine the officer who used the RADAR. The officer operating the RADAR must be properly trained. If he is not properly trained, you can request to have the evidence disregarded. There are other factors that can affect the RADAR readings. For a RADAR reading to be accurate, the road must be straight and flat with good visibility and minimum traffic. Many times all these conditions do not exist at the same time.

Factors that can affect the reading

Many other factors can affect the RADAR reading. The aircon or the heating unit of the police car can affect the reading. Mechanical activity on the road, noise, road signs and outside source of frequency transmission can influence the RADAR reading. If the police car is slowing down or accelerating while the RADAR is in operation, the reading can be affected. Many RADARs have an auto lock facility. Such RADARs can at times lock the wrong target. If there are multiple targets such as other vehicles, sign posts, etc within the RADAR beam’s path, it can lead to erroneous readings. A RADAR reading error can occur when the police car is accelerating while your car is moving at a slow speed. The terrain plays a vital role in a RADAR reading. RADARs cannot read around a turn or behind of a hill. If a larger vehicle comes between the police car and your vehicle, the RADAR will lock the larger vehicle and the readings will be that of the larger vehicle. Besides errors in the radar reading, there can be intentional errors on the part of the police officer.

Getting Legal Help

If you are charged with speeding contact an experienced traffic violation attorney. The attorney can challenge the RADAR reading in court and get the charges against you dropped.

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