Question for cops

What is the name of your state? OH

This question is for all you police officers that review these.


When using a radar to determine the speed at which a vehicle is travelling, assuming the radar employs the "same lane" and "fastest speed", do radar guns have an indicator that tells the officer that the vehicle is travelling towards them or away from them or does it just display a speed and leave it up to the officer to decide?

I'm not trying to be rude but... isn't "toward" and "away" something we all learned on Sesame Street when we were 4? Anyone with eyes can tell what direction something is going.

BTW, how many officers does Vernon have? I am originally from just over the PA line into Mercer County.

I didn't pay much attention to Sesame Street. Now that I have a two year old, I'll get to watch it more often.

Vernon has 8 officers and 4 patrol cars. The only time I've ever seen them all at the same time was during a parade. I looked through the window of one to see how it is equipped while I was dropping off some recycling at the township garage. It didn't appear to have any radar equipment in it, so I suspect they use handheld radar guns. I suppose they could also be taking them inside when they're not using them since they're a bit expensive.

The point of my question was to find out whether a typical radar unit has an indicator that tells the officer if the speed that is is showing locked in is from a car travelling in the same direction as the officer or from a car travelling in the opposite direction. Otherwise, how would the officer be able to tell which vehicle was travelling at the speed displayed?

Oops! I must've gotten my wires crossed. The police cars and officers I referred to belong to Johnston Twp. (Where I recently got ticketed). Vernon Twp. doesn't have a police department. We rely on the Trumbull County Sherrif's Dept. for police protection. Veronon Twp. has no zoning either. The only emergency services we have is a volunteer fire department. Last year a car flipped over in the ditch in front of my house. I called 911 and the Vernon Fire Dept were on the scene within 5 minutes.

My favorite place in Mercer is the Iron Bridge Inn. Best prime rib dinner around.

Come to think of it, I do remember something about a guy with a lot of pies falling down the stairs all the time on Sesame St.

There are generally 4 types of radar equipment in use by law enforcement agencies worldwide. X, K, KA & Laser. 3 of these units do not indicate which vehicle is speeding, a resulting citation is solely the officers interpretation of the signal and his decision of which car was actually speeding. There are an enormous number of variables when it comes to calculating and "locking in" a particular vehicles speed. "Same direction" radar is effective only if the patrol vehicle is stationary, unless the department has the resources to purchase the latest and greatest same direction mobile radar units, which i don't even know if they're out yet. It doesn't sound to me like Johnston Twp. has that kind of funding. Nor does it sound like Johnston Twp. has the funding for Laser units. Which leads me to the forth radar classification. Laser units are hand held, an officer typically will stand outside the car and point it down lane towards oncoming traffic. The Laser unit has the capability to track the movement of 1 vehicle and only 1 vehicle because of the nature in which it works, much like a scope on a rifle when hunting. Works on line of sight not a broad field like pulse radar, (X, K, KA).

In summary, your assumption was correct, generally with the first three radar applications it is up to the officer to decide who is speeding. With Laser it is obvious, because that car and that car alone is the target of the radar unit. I suppose it is possible that such a small township has Laser units, but in actuality it is highly unlikely. Due to the cost and expense of the units and the associated training of the officers in how to use those units.

DJ