Speeding motorists face wonder laser

26 April 2005

AMSTERDAM — Speeding motorists who brake hard will no longer be able to avoid being caught out by traffic police armed with a new laser gun.

The latest type of laser gun acquired by Dutch police can measure a vehicle’s speed up to a maximum of 900m away.

By the time a driver has spotted the police check, the vehicle’s speed will already have been determined by the de ‘Ultra Lyte Long Range 100’ laser gun.

The police unveiled their latest weapon against speeding at a demonstration on Tuesday on the Wâldwei, near the Friesland town of Nijega.

The older laser gun has a range of just 400m, a police spokesperson said.

The newer version, unlike its predecessor, can be used from inside a police vehicle. Each of the new US-made laser guns costs about EUR 8,000.

The police think this is a good investment as the hour-long demonstration on the Wâldwei captured four speeding motorists, resulting in a total of EUR 1,200 in fines.

Police officer Klaas Veenma scored the first catch of the day when the laser gun detected a businessman who was going too fast.

“I was on the phone to my wife and got distracted,” the man said. “I drive 45,000km a year and therefore think that safety is very important.”

He did not raise serious objections to being fined EUR 300 for speeding.

Journalists invited to view the demonstration tried to repeat Veenma’s success.

All they had to do was point the laser gun at a vehicle, pull the trigger and wait for the car’s speed to be displaced on a little screen. The reporters did not manage to detect any speeding motorists.

Subject: Dutch news