New Policing Technology

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Law enforcement officers patrolling the Natchez Trace Parkway have a new tool to catch speeding motorists.

Lidar Laser senors mean better accuracy when conducting traffic along the Natchez Trace Parkway. Supervisory Law Enforcement Ranger John Hearne, says it catches speeders in a different way.

“Uses laser instead of radio waves to measure the speed of vehicles,” said Ranger Hearne.

He says the laser technology is more precise than radar guns.

“As distance opens up, radar the beam starts to spread over a greater distance, at a thousand feet our lasers are only covering 30 inches, so it’s a very narrow specific beam that actually requires careful aiming to get a measurement from a vehicle,” Ranger Hearne said.

Lidar sensors can only be operated from a stationary car, and there are no plans for the new technology to replace radar guns on the Natchez Trace.   Each unit has a price tag of about $2,500 and there is one in each district.

Ranger Hearne also says drivers with radar detectors may be in for a surprise.

“The only question I’ve really been asked is why didn’t my radar detector go off, and the problem is a lot of radar detectors don’t pick this up at all or very well,” Ranger Hearne said.

He says there is one sure way to avoid being stopped, and that is to drive the speed limit.

A speeding ticket on the Natchez Trace Parkway is a federal Class C Misdemeanor.