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From: ben@moncol.UUCP (Bennett Broder)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: What is VASCAR?
Message-ID: <522@moncol.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 10-Oct-85 11:12:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: moncol.522
Posted: Thu Oct 10 11:12:09 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Oct-85 16:46:25 EDT
References: <7@druor.UUCP>
Organization: Monmouth College, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
Lines: 34

>I'd like information on VASCAR (used by the police
>to record car speed).  How is it different
>from radar?  Is it suppose to be less error-prone?
>How error-free would it be on a four-lane highway
>(one-way traffic) when all lanes are busy?

VASCAR stands for Visual Average Speed Computer And Recorder.  It is
not radar; in fact it doesn't use microwave radiation, so radar
detectors are useless against it.  The way VASCAR works is:
1) Police measure distance between two points on highway.
2) They enter this distance into the unit.
3) As the potential speeder passes the first point, police start unit.
4) As the car passes the second point, officer stops unit.
5) Unit does simple arithmetic on time and distance, then displays
   speed.

Since VASCAR relies on the officer to start and stop its timer, it is
only as accurate as the officer operating it.  If the officer is adept
at operating the unit and has placed himself in a position where
parallax does not degrade his ability to determine exactly when the
car has passed the checkpoints, VASCAR can be extremely accurate.
Conversely, a cop who is poorly positioned or who is slow on the
trigger may obtain somewhat inaccurate readings.  My hunch is that it
would be easier to beat a VASCAR ticket in court than it would be to
beat a radar ticket.  At any rate, VASCAR is ideal for the situation
you describe.  With VASCAR the officer would know exactly which car is
responsible for the speed on his display, with radar, he must make a
judgement.

Ben Broder
..ihnp4!princeton!moncol!ben
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