Speeders Beware!

Conducting a Radar Test

Several deputies from area sheriff’s departments were out on Lamar streets this past Thursday, completing their certification requirements to handle a radar gun and issue tickets to violators. The course was held by Officer Steve McDowell of the Colorado State Patrol. “We issued an invitation to the departments to come out for classroom certification and an opportunity to get tested on the radar guns,” he explained while various deputies sighted on motorists traveling north and south on Main Street from the corner of East Oak Street.

Radar Can Be Used For Coming and Going Motorists

“It’s a one-time certification to become certified,” he explained, “and we have a mutual aid agreement with our partner communities to help them out.” McDowell said part of the instruction is to take a visual estimate of the speed of a vehicle, assess what type of vehicle is being surveyed, explain why they feel it’s speeding and then lock on with the handheld unit, getting a speed reading and distance once the device emits a steady tone.

Radar Readout

The instructor said some measurements are up to 8,000 feet away as long as the laser beam holds and tracks a vehicle. An officer using the device can do a visual estimate of about five miles faster or slower than the posted limit, approaching or departing and will confirm that with the radar shot. “We verify that the radar unit is working properly at the start and the end of the day,” he explained.

It’s one thing for a fast paced motorist to encounter one patrol vehicle on a road, but everyone pays extra attention when there are five or six officers on a street corner, all sighting on your approach with their radar guns.

By Russ Baldwin