List of towns where speed limits are hyper-enforced (Pocatello: office, speeding tickets)

[norcalmom101]

Excerpt:
LIDAR - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"
[edit] Military and law enforcement

One situation where LIDAR has notable non-scientific application is in traffic speed law enforcement, for vehicle speed measurement, as a technology alternative to radar guns. The technology for this application is small enough to be mounted in a hand held camera "gun" and permits a particular vehicle's speed to be determined from a stream of traffic. Unlike RADAR which relies on doppler shifts to directly measure speed, police lidar relies on the principle of time-of-flight to calculate speed. The equivalent radar based systems are often not able to isolate particular vehicles from the traffic stream and are generally too large to be hand held. LIDAR has the distinct advantage of being able to pick out one vehicle in a cluttered traffic situation as long as the operator is aware of the limitations imposed by the range and beam divergence. Contrary to popular belief LIDAR does not suffer from “sweep” error when the operator uses the equipment correctly and when the LIDAR unit is equipped with algorithms that are able to detect when this has occurred. A combination of signal strength monitoring, receive gate timing, target position prediction and pre-filtering of the received signal wavelength prevents this from occurring. Should the beam illuminate sections of the vehicle with different reflectivity or the aspect of the vehicle changes during measurement that causes the received signal strength to be changed then the LIDAR unit will reject the measurement thereby producing speed readings of high integrity. For LIDAR units to be used in law enforcement applications a rigorous approval procedure is usually completed before deployment. Jelly-bean shaped vehicles are usually equipped with a vertical registration plate that, when illuminated causes a high integrity reflection to be returned to the LIDAR, many reflections and an averaging technique in the speed measurement process increase the integrity of the speed reading. In locations that do not require that a front or rear registration plate is fitted headlamps and rear-reflectors provide an almost ideal retro-reflective surface overcoming the reflections from uneven or non-compliant reflective surfaces thereby eliminating “sweep” error. It is these mechanisms that when not fully understood cause the misconception that LIDAR is somehow unreliable. Most traffic LIDAR systems send out a stream of approximately 100 pulses over the span of three-tenths of a second. A "black box," proprietary statistical algorithm picks and chooses which progressively shorter reflections to retain from the pulses over the short fraction of a second.
Military applications are not yet known to be in place and are possibly classified, but a considerable amount of research is underway in their use for imaging. Their higher resolution makes them particularly good for collecting enough detail to identify targets, such as tanks. Here the name LADAR is more common."

[norcalmom101]

Have a safe drive to work this morning everybody!!

lidar chp - Google Search

[mistyriverranch]

Going through Priest River on the way to Priest Lake they'll get you quickly for just a teensy bit over the limit.
I have to say I'm glad though every time I see a WA plate pulled over by a cruiser. It gets really OLD being tailgated by some yahoos who can't do the speed limit in their hurry to get to the lake over those curving, moose and deer crossed roads.

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by Greybear

Speaking of north/central ID. Many people there drive to Spokane, WA. and in doing so, drive through Colfax, WA.

I tell you what, you better not be speeding through this town, it borders ridiculous. If you go 1 mph over the limit, your busted.


(soap box time)

My beef with this is that there is no way that their radar gun has a precision resolved under 1 mph. Furthermore, I highly doubt that your car's speedometer has a precision any better then 3-4 mph (check your speedometer against one of those displays on the side of the road).

The combined error between your cars speedometer, and the cops radar gun is unlikely, in my opinion, to be under 1 mph. So how can they prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that you really were going (or thought you were going) 1 mph over the speed limit?

Its interesting to me that they never report error. They should say, " you were going 37 (plus or minus) 3 mph," for example, since all measurements have a level of error. This is why reasonable cops give you a cushion.

I was pulled over in north Idaho and the guy said 5 over is fine with him, but any more will get you pulled over. I'm cool with that.

For what its worth, I will never stop in Colfax for gas, or anything else. They will not get a cent of my money.

(end rant)

Colfax is indeed awful. I traveled a lot through there to/from Spokane in my time in Moscow.

Here's a helpful tidbit for those who want to skip Colfax b/w Moscow/Lewiston and Spokane. Just take US-95 up north of Moscow a ways until, shortly after you pass the Viola turns, there's a left known as ID-66 or Palouse Cove Rd. Once you turn, you'll cross the WA border shortly afterward. This road will take you through a small town called Palouse where you have to negotiate some turns to get to WA-27 or Division St, which heads north out of Palouse. The only other towns that require a turn are Garfield, at 4th St., but it's pretty obvious with good signage, and Oakesdale, where you take WA-271 or 1st St. This road will intersect with US-195 at the Rosalia/Oakesdale exit, a healthy distance past Colfax. Then just remember to take the Rosalia/Oaksdale exit on the way back from Spokane (skip the first Rosalia exit).

You'll still go through some small towns with ticket-happy officers, but the towns are smaller and have less traffic than Colfax, so the drive is all around much more enjoyable. It's also more scenic and less traveled in my opinion.

[fearnofish]

Originally Posted by Sage of Sagle

As you pass through the indian reservation and little towns between Coeur d'Alene and Moscow, it's like that. They LOVE the ticket revenue there apparently...

I am not advocating that you do not pay your fine but so you know if you get a ticket from a tribal police department (atleast the CDA) you technical do have to pay it. This is because they have authority over the indians not the non-tribal members.

[norcalmom101]

I'd check that out pretty carefully. Once they refer the case to non-tribal authorities that might change. I know of instances where there is very close cooperation and "mutual aid" between tribal and non-tribal law enforcement agencies, even under circumstances which might appear not to be valid or legal, yet which result in the same consequence for the subject, regardless.

[fearnofish]

Originally Posted by norcalmom101

I'd check that out pretty carefully. Once they refer the case to non-tribal authorities that might change. I know of instances where there is very close cooperation and "mutual aid" between tribal and non-tribal law enforcement agencies, even under circumstances which might appear not to be valid or legal, yet which result in the same consequence for the subject, regardless.

The tribal officer can hold you (detain you) for a non-tribal officer. But according to our instructor at college for Criminal Justice (the instructor was a Captain in the State Police) a tribal officer has no authority over non tribal members.

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by fearnofish

The tribal officer can hold you (detain you) for a non-tribal officer. But according to our instructor at college for Criminal Justice (the instructor was a Captain in the State Police) a tribal officer has no authority over non tribal members.

Maybe (likely) you're right, but here in NM I did my research when I got a tribal ticket. If you don't pay it within 30 days, they can't take it to Staters, but they can talk to your insurance. And, quite naturally, your insurance is more than glad to listen at that juncture. One of the nice things about the hyper-enforced tribal tickets is that they give you the option of not hearing from insurance when they get paid in time. At that point, as the OP mentioned, it's worth the payment to avoid long-term little expenditures. Here in Albuquerque, that's also a nice thing about camera tickets. It's a rough deal, but it's a good enough deal for both parties involved in the ticket that tribal/camera enforcement haven't lobbied for more recognition.

[voivod]

i've been let off so many tickets just outside of lewiston...they pull you over, humble you, then cut you loose!

SPEED TRAP---EMMETT!!! also, outside of the metro-but if you're on you way here by road---jordan valley oregon

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by voivod

i've been let off so many tickets just outside of lewiston...they pull you over, humble you, then cut you loose!

SPEED TRAP---EMMETT!!! also, outside of the metro-but if you're on you way here by road---jordan valley oregon

Yeah... that's a common experience. Oregon is pretty much one giant "speed trap", except for the Eastern desert once you get past Ontario. They're just encouraged to pull you over and gather revenue. Oregon is beautifully unique from political standpoints. And part of that uniqueness involves an entire state of hyper-enforced speed limits. You can buy property there and find equally interesting contrasts. As a neighboring Idahoan, I learned to love Oregon, but many residents with property will tell you differently, and for good reason. They have some very non-libertarian laws.

And Lewiston... thank goodness is all I have to say to that. Who doesn't speed on that long flat stretch before the grade or the river run?