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."

Re:Tailgating

[Iamthefallen]

Tailgaters aren't that bad, I can live with them behind me.

It's the fuckers that are really close in front of me I can't stand. How the hell am I supposed to be able to stop in time going 80mph when that guy is just 10 feet in front of me?!

Re:Tailgating

[nizo]

I always wanted a little TV in my car's back window, so I could show video of cars smashing into each other, bloody bodies flying into the air, etc which could be played when people follow me too closely. Either that or a pneumatic arm with a ballpeen hammer on the end to put holes into the hood of cars following too closely.

Laser Technology Inc

[webrunner]

The detectors described in the article are built by Laser Technology Inc.,

Wow, what a name. Wonder how they came up with it? I guess they're just creative.

California rules

[wsanders]

You're supposed to allow 1 foot for each 10 MPH of speed, you inconsiderate clod. And an extra 10 feet if you're watching a movie on the DVD player in the dash, and 10 more feet if it's a porn movie.

I love tailgaters!

[6Yankee]

Especially BMWs.

(I have a tow-ball.)

Re:Laser Technology Inc

[wfberg]

The detectors described in the article are built by Laser Technology Inc.,

Wow, what a name. Wonder how they came up with it? I guess they're just creative.

Yeah, but that name was already taken.

Re:California rules

[CommunistHamster]

Yup, 10 feet seems about enough for the other motorists to avoid crashing into my "huge car"

How many times do I have to tell you, officer?

[r_jensen11]

It's not tailgating, it's drafting! Have you seen the fuel prices these past few years?

Heavy Traffic

[SQLz]

In heavy traffic, if you constantly change lanes, tailgate anyone in front of you, shake your fist in fury, you will get most places a lot faster.

Re:I love tailgaters!

[6Yankee]

Re:I love tailgaters! (Score:2) by bmwm3nut (556681)

Nothing personal, BTW :)

But leaving more than 10ft gets you cut off

[dircha]

In traffic, leaving more than a single car length between you and the guy in front of you gets you cut off. It's an invitation for some asshat in the next lane over to cut in. You know the type.

I tell ya... roof-mounted laser gun turrents. "We've got a Jetta at 3 o'clock! Get in there and keep him occupied until I can engage the damned lightdrive!"

That and enemy symphathizers - traitors. You rode that bumper like an animal in heat and kept the Jetta out of your lane. But what's this? The Jetta pulls ahead and that weak-willed pansy Corolla two cars ahead lets him in, after all your work! "Dammit man, we're trying to hold a line here. Get on that fucking bumper and ride it for all you're worth you fucking pussy!"

Where did these people learn to drive? Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood?

Drafting

[Archangel Michael]

I'm not tailgating, I'm Drafting. The extra 5% gas savings, is awesome, AND I have the benefit of saving the planet from greenhouse gases.

Re:Drafting

[Jello B.]

And if you turn left and right really fast, you get blue sparks.

Tailgating is fine

[Anonymous Coward]

As someone else pointed out, it's a form of drafting so it saves fuel.

Plus, sometimes, if you're trying to help somebody out, you come at their bumper from an angle and then just a light tap and you slide into the lane. You spin the other guy out, and it he's any good, he can probably avoid hitting anything deadly.

It's a normal part of driving. If you can't handle it, you have no business on the road.

Re:Tailgating

[6Yankee]

Ah - I usually get the bastards so close that I can't see their lights in the side mirrors!

Re:Tailgating

[CrossChris]

Creative application of a photo flashgun is often effective at ridding oneself of tailgaters!

Re:Tailgating

[mordors9]

avoid them... avoid them... on a dark country road.... ya ain't from around hyar, ar ya boy?

Re:Tailgating

[Anonymous Coward]

What about the asshole cruising beside you, yelling all sorts of things out of his window about your mom?

You're talking about modding drivers

[LunaticTippy]

I'd suggest in addition to this metamoderation. If you mod too many drivers unfairly you don't get as many mod points. Drivers with excellent "carma" could drive at +2.

Computer science meets traffic

[eric.t.f.bat]

The road is a bubble sort. Assholes get to bubble forward, sensible drivers pull back. This is good because, coincidentally, forward is where all the accidents are.

Re:Tailgating

[Sponge Bath]

The assholes in front of you, and the assholes behind you.

...and here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

Re:Not the Tailgaters Fault

[Anonymous Coward]

I like the pop bottle out the sunroof at your windshield trick. Backs off punk kids who think they have balls like you really quick.

Not a problem - if you are close enough

[Tired and Emotional]

You'll just register as one long vehicle.

Re:Moo

[maxume]

I've encountered people who thought that "The Butterfly Effect" was a deep movie. Perhaps the two are related?

Re:But leaving more than 10ft gets you cut off

[dmatos]

And I keep trying to explain to you, lasers will do no good. Some asshat in front of you cuts you off, so you lance his car with a beam. Good for you. Now there's a pile of molten slag in your path that you have to avoid, which you can only do by cutting off someone else.

What you really need is an RPG. With luck, the explosion will launch the fragments of the offending vehicle completely out of your path.

Re:Tailgating

[kd5ujz]

Bounce a "D" cell battery off the road, into his radiator. The road slow it down on the first bounce enough to put a nasty dent into something, if not the radiator.

Re:Moo

[panaceaa]

Apart from GNAA ASCII art and first posts, if you can not comprehend what other commenters have written, you should not be writing your own comments. It's as simple as that. With the font size technology and translation software in modern browsers, if you, presumably a fully functioning adult human being, can not understand what a post says, not only are you a nuisance, you are at risk of looking like a buffoon.

If you must write replies, in the interests of sanity I recommend you wear glasses following the recommendations of your ophthalmologist for your current reading conditions.

Have you considered arranging for dictator? If you feel that you can not comprehend the contributions of other Slashdot readers, there are public and private services available in most areas to help you meet your reading needs. A good place to get started would be a local nursing home or retirement housing complex.

The exceptions are not the rule.