Fifty Plus (50+) - The radar lies

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cyclinfool
09-29-08, 05:21 PM
Today I planed an afternoon ride - the weather forecast was for sun and warming. I checked the radar before I left for work in the AM, clear - but there were heavy clouds. I checked the forecast at 9:00AM, current conditions reported as cloudy with sun within the hour - heavy clouds out the window. Checked the forecast at 10:00AM - report was current conditions, cloudy with sun within the hour, radar was clear - looked out the window it was raining hard - whats with that? Checked the weather report at 11:00AM - report was current conditions cloudy with sun within the hour, radar clear, out the window it was heavy clouds - looked like it could rain hard any minute. This went on all day, no ride and the weather forecast was completely wrong. The dark clouds/rain must have been due to my proximity to wall street. Oh well - I got home and strapped the bike to the trainer, I will get up early and ride in the AM before work. GRRRRRR :notamused:
roccobike
09-29-08, 05:24 PM
Yeah, but if you do 56 in 50 MPH zone, somehow the radar manages to become accurate as the guy with the flashing lights pulls you over.
byte_speed
09-29-08, 07:41 PM
Yeah, but if you do 56 in 50 MPH zone, somehow the radar manages to become accurate as the guy with the flashing lights pulls you over.
A policeman gave me a ride once when my car broke on a lonely road.
He had his radar on and it registered a bus at 140 mph.
I said the bus was obviously not doing 140 mph, but what if the radar said 80 mph when he was doing 70?
His reply; "I can tell"
/hijack
Radar clocks the strongest signal, not the fastest object. Officers are suposed to be trained to estimate the speed of the object being clocked prior to using the radar. In NC, if the officer isn't within 5 mph of the radar reading, he is suposed to let the vehicle go. (not pull motorist over.) This varies from state to state, and even city to city. Famous example some years ago, cop had issued a bunch of tickets one day all for 61 mph- one of the tickets was to a radar tech from a nearby AF base, he proved the cop was in fact clocking the metal fan of his own car- police package on the new car had a fiberglass hood, invisible to radar waves, so when tilted down the radar was picking up the strongest signal- the moving fan blade.
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