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Defense Against Police Laser

The use of LIDAR (laser) guns by police to detect vehicles speed is growing rapidly throughout the United States, as well as the world. With this growing threat, it is very important that drivers realize that a radar detector alone should not be trusted to protect them from laser. In this post, I want to explain in basic terms how police laser works and why it is difficult to successfully detect. I will also point out several products that are effective at slowing down or stopping this threat.

How Police LIDAR Guns Work
Before you can defend yourself against LIDAR, it helps to have a basic understanding of how it works. Police laser guns release a narrow beam of light at a targeted vehicle. Portions of this light are reflected off the vehicle and back to the laser gun. From this reflected light, the laser gun can calculate the speed of the vehicle.

In order for the laser gun to calculate a vehicles speed, the light has to be reflected back to the gun. Because of this, police are trained to target the more reflective areas of the vehicle. Typically this is the front license plate, headlights, or perhaps a shiny front grill.

Why Is Laser A Problem For Radar Detectors?
With regular old police radar guns, the actual radar signal is very wide and it bounces off just about any obstacle in its path. This makes radar comparatively easy to detect because, even with instant-on radar, your detector will typically "catch a bounce" when the officer targets another vehicle around you.

At 1000 feet the laser beam is only 2 feet wide and, unlike radar, it doesn't "bounce". This narrow beam has to actually hit your radar detector before it will produce an alert. In most cases, the police officer will be targeting your car before your detector alerts you and, since the laser gun can calculate your speed in less than a second, you will not have time to respond before getting a ticket.

Luckily, there are several choices, both active and passive, available for those looking for a solution to police laser.

Laser Jammers
The best defense against police laser is a laser jammer. Laser jammers are an active defense against laser, actually interfering with the light from the laser gun. A laser jammer will block the light from the laser gun, preventing the gun from calculating a speed.

According to recent tests, the best laser jammers currently available are made by Blinder. The Blinder HP-905 Compact Laser Jammer provides 2 transceivers, which will provide coverage for the front of a vehicle or both the front and rear of a motorcycle. Additional sensors can be connected for a total of 4 transceivers, enough to cover both the front and rear of a typical vehicle.

We also offer the Cincinnati Microwave Laser ShifterPro - Laser Defense System. It replaced the Shifter ZR4, which also tested very well. The Laser ShifterPro integrates with your high end Beltronics and Escort radar detectors.

Passive Solutions
If the laser gun can't find a reflective surface, it can't provide the vehicle's speed. It's as simple as that. Passive laser defense products work to make your vehicle less reflective. If the police officer needs to hit your vehicle for several seconds before he can get your speed, that is time for you to respond to your radar detector's "LASER" alert and slow down.

Laser Veil G5 is the best passive solution available, and is far less expensive than a laser jammer. Laser Veil is a translucent paint-like substance that you apply to the reflective areas of your car, such as the headlights, fog lights and license plate. It makes these areas much less reflective, which could significantly reduce the range of a laser gun.

Laser Veil has been tested and was found to be quite effective. It can even be used in combination with a laser jammer to reduce laser punch-through, making your jammer even more effective.

The Laser Shield is a non-reflective license plate cover. Since police are trained to first aim the laser gun at a license plate, using a Laser Shield could buy you a couple of seconds if you have a good radar detector. However, you have to keep in mind that it only covers the license plate, so the police officer will usually pan right to the headlight if he isn't getting a speed from the license plate.

We have found that the best passive solution involves a combination of Veil and a Laser Shield. The manufacturers of Veil recommend against applying Veil directly to a license plate, so the Laser Shield is a perfect compliment. Apply Veil to the headlights and fog lights of your vehicle, then to a Laser shield. Place the Laser Shield over your license plate, and you're in business.

23 thoughts on “Defense Against Police Laser”

  • dailami

    from Kingdom of bahrain, Arabian Gulf.
    Seeking Radar to catch/detect road stand type radar with attached digital cameera, the cameera stand with big light flash they do keep it hide off road and focusing it on behined the cars and getting them the violations.

    Reply
  • Bill R

    I understand that tickets are being given to drivers with jammers or shifters for obstructing an officer. Does anyone have info on this, and what can one do if this happens

    Reply
  • Dan

    how wide is hte laser beam at 1400 feet ?

    Reply
  • Greg Hill

    Do you make a Lidar jammer compatible to the V1, since
    I already have it.
    Will it set off the V1 detector? Thanks

    Reply
  • gregory levy

    How accurate are laser guns used by the police. Can the speed the laser gun detectecs be significantly altered by trees and or distance.

    Reply
  • Jim Henry

    how well do police laser guns work in a mist or rain?

    Reply
  • Jeff

    Police laser systems do not work very well at all in the rain. They tend to only be used on clear days.

    Reply
  • Edison

    I've been hit with the laser twice with my escort 8500 x50.. Basically they give you no advance warning.. As the escort alerts you wildly, i already see the cop pointing at you... :-(

    Reply
  • Jeff

    A lot of the time, you are clocked almost as soon as you are alerted. This is why a product such as http://www.buyradardetectors.com/products/veil/laser-veil.aspx is so useful. It gives you the extra seconds to slow down before the laser gets a good return.

    Reply
  • are they legal in california?

    Reply
  • Jeff

    Laser jammers are illegal in California. Passive protection such as Laser Veil is not.

    Reply
  • Alan jones

    Can a laser be used from inside a patrol car as in shot through the side window?
    What is the best detector to use in our 911?

    Reply
  • Jeff

    Yes, but it will often not work as well. The type of detector depends on the type of driving do you do (city, highway, mixed)? You might want to give our buyer's guide a look: http://www.buyradardetectors.com/cat/radar-detectors/guide/default.aspx It has a rather good overview for what to look for in a radar detector.

    Reply
  • Jay Westenhouse

    I was recently ticked with a laser as the police was on the side of the road shooting his laser from a small opening from the door of his car. I was the last of 3 cars and the way the police was sitting on the side of the road he had to go through 2 cars to get me.....how fast can a laser detect 2 other cards before mine as it was clear the two lead cards were going much faster than I was.

    Reply
  • Jeff

    They have to hold the laser on a reflective area of your car for only a second. On average though it takes them up to 5 seconds to get a good hit. The police officer may have tried for a second on both cars but gave up because he could not get a good return reflection. If a car has dark paint, no front license plate, pop-up headlights, etc... it can be almost impossible to get a fast return laser signal. They need a surface that is reflective.

    Reply
  • danopow

    Can you tell me where to buy the laser jammer,I only found some website like freaklasers.com selling green laser pointers.

    Reply
  • Its a great blog..i m impressed by your writing style..keep the good working.

    Reply
  • Janet

    You forgot one important thing to defend yourself against LIDAR. Go the legal speed limit. Basically what you are implying is that it's ok to break the law.

    Reply
  • Janet, you must remember there are two laws mala en se and mala prohibita. (spelling may be off). The first is bad in it self ( murder ) and the second is because it is prohibited. Speed limits are prohibited based on the crappiest car and driver. Go to Germany and drive on the autobahn as I have, and you will understand this concept. Giving me a ticket for 10 over in my well maintained BMW is not a safety hazard. Maybe for some old rust bucket it is. Pulling me over for 10 over is just revenue...period. I do have a degree in criminal law and my info comes from "doctorate professors" that are also old cops. They have confirmed this. A LOT of money is generated by tickets. Do us a favor and don't buy one so you can contribute to the local economy :) JK, but it is a business!

    Reply
  • REBECCA

    How far can a police laser go on like the highway?I was coming up the highway and got off the overpass and 2 cops were sitting one on each end. One of the cops got behind me and waited til the light turned green and as I was turning turned his lights on and pulled me over. He said the other cop clocked me doing 82 in a 70 in front of the votect and that is a far distance from the over pass.

    Reply
  • Stig's Stunt Double
    Stig's Stunt Double May 8, 2012 at 7:13 am

    The real crime IMO is as others have said, when your 10kms over the limit. It's ridiculous to think that you can end up in jail for moving your accelerator foot 10mms to far enough times and your now a criminal.
    To make things worse, were I come from in Australia, there were only ever 4 speed increments 25kms, 60,80 and 110.....easy!!!
    Now we have 25,40,50,60,70,80,90,100 and 110..... Clearly a tactic to confuse matters.
    Side streets were I live were once 60 and now there 40. I could open the door, reach out and scratch a flamin mozzi bite on my knuckles at 40! Miss Daisy drove faster than 40!!!
    I could go on for ever but here is a link of a 59Chev Bel Air VS 2009 Malibu. Todays cars are safer and our laws are based on old data and REVENUE is all they want.

    Reply
  • kurt

    My best friend's dad was a Louisiana state trooper for over 20 years. He had two sayings I never forgot. 1)It's a beautiful day for police radar...... and 2) If you see a cop (meaning marked unit) going in one direction, you go in the other direction. I never really took the second saying to heart until one day I followed [in the path] of a cop. we stopped at a few lights together (with much other traffic) and ended up getting pulled over by him (and cited for something for something really stupid) about 4 miles down the road. It was so dumb I can't even remember what ignoramus wrote it for. but if a cop goes one way, i go the other way. NO MATTER how much of a hurry I might be in.

    Reply
  • kcrancho

    I know, why don't you look at it in another perspective and think that if you have a radar and/or a laser detector, when it is "set off" you might make sure you are checking to make sure you are not breaking the law.
    And make sure you don't text and drive as well!

    Reply
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