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Evaluated Product: Laser
Blinder
Evaluation Date: 8 August 2003
Evaluation Location: Stan Roberts Senior Road, El Paso, TX
Personnel: Sgt. Victor Araiza, El Paso ISD Police, Officer
Patrick Linam, El Paso ISD Police, Carl Fors, SML, Dave Adams E.E., SML,
Cory Jensen, SML, Liz Hermida, SML, Torben Andersen, Blinder, Leon
Gruner, Blinder, John Turner, TLP
Conditions: Clear, 92-100 F°
Report Number: SML0803:17
Report Date: 12 August 03
Certifications: Sgt. Araiza, Officer Linam, and Carl Fors
Certified Laser Gun Operators, NHTSA, standard
Evaluation Methodology: Blinder
produces a laser countermeasure designed to produce no speed readings
when it encounters police laser guns. Court president established by New
Jersey Superior Court ruling of 1998, Judge Reginald Stanton, dictates
laser may not be used for speed assessment at distances greater than
1,000 feet. Current police training programs also recommend no targeting
past this distance as the divergence of the laser gun's 904 nanometer, 3
milliradian, beam would be greater speed
you than 36 inches producing a likelihood
of speed you erroneous speed readings from adjacent vehicles. All laser guns were
operated by either Sgt. Araiza or Officer Linam. No speed assessment
equipment, i.e. police radar and/or laser guns are ever operated by SML
personnel eliminating any suggestions of testing bias. Both Sgt. Araiza
and Officer Linam are certified laser operators. They were instructed to
operate the laser guns as they do each day in issuing speeding tickets.
The following police laser guns were used during the field evaluation:
Kustom Pro Laser III, Stalker
LZ-1, Laser Technologies Inc. Ultralyte
LR 200, and Laser Atlanta Speed
Laser.
Officers are trained to aim laser guns at front
license plates as the plates provide an excellent retro-reflective
surface. Laser needs a flat reflective surface to be effective and can
not be aimed at windshields.
In the absence of a front license plate, as is the case in seventeen
states, officers aim the laser at the headlights of the target vehicle.
As is the case with all SML field evaluations, only white mid-sized cars
are used as target vehicles. This is the most difficult scenario for
laser countermeasures as white is the most reflective color and easily
targetable by laser compared to non-reflective black vehicles. Optical
physics dictates white reflects all colors, while black absorbs all
colors including police laser gun emissions.
Cones were placed on the test course at distances
of 1,000 and 500 feet. The test vehicle approached each cone at
two different speeds, i.e. 30 mph and then 60 mph. This approximates
laser being used in the city and then the highway J setting. Speed is
important in defeating laser guns. The longer the laser beam remains on
the target vehicle the greater chance of a speed reading. The slower 30
mph should yield more
 speed
readings. All laser guns were operated in the constant tracking mode
compared to the single shot mode. This is the typical operational
methodology used by police agencies as the constant tracking mode shows
fluctuations in target vehicle speeds and further substantiates the
legality of "visual tracking history" which is necessary for
thorough and legal speed assessment. The vehicle containing the Blinder
approached each cone and counted down via a two way commercial radio
when it arrived at each cone. The officer then fired the laser. There
were two tries at each speed and each aiming point, i.e. first the
license plate and then the passenger headlight.
 Laser
guns were operated outside the base vehicle on the shoulder of the same
lane as the test/target vehicle. The test vehicle was first targeted
from the front and then from the rear going away from the laser guns.
Rear targeting with police laser is rare. Combining front and rear
aiming of all four laser guns, Blinder was exposed to 120 laser
encounters. Blinder was also exposed to Laser Atlanta's Speed Laser set
in the Stealth mode. This mode claims it can not be jammed. For field
testing purposes Blinder's transponders were not concealed in the
vehicle's front cowling or rear bumper assembly. This mounting neither
enhanced nor diminished the normal placement performance. Blinder
consists of two front and two rear mounted transponders. Under actual
usage, Blinder's transponders speedyou would be concealed to avoid recognition.
See picture at right for normal, concealed installation.
Results: One
of the four laser guns inform the operator if the laser gun is being
jammed. Stalker produce jamming codes of E-6 accordingly. However, these
codes can be produced by other outside influences such as direct sun
light and road mirages and are often ignored by operators. E 1 code
means insufficient data. Jamming efficiency is reported in three forms,
i.e. JTG meaning Jam To Gun, J meaning Jam, and N meaning no jamming
occurred. JTG further means the laser countermeasure jammed the laser
gun from the point of first encounter, 500 and 1000 foot cone, to the
laser gun's position. J means countermeasure jammed the laser gun but
uncloaked at some distance as is reported as J (210). The countermeasure
jammed the laser gun but uncloaked at 210 feet. Note rear results
reported as J or N as Blinder could not JTG going away from gun. Blinder
notifies driver with in cabin speaker.
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Summary: Laser
Blinder during its 120 encounters with four laser guns with different
aiming points, different speeds, from the front and the rear of the
target vehicle failed to jam only four times out of the 120 encounters
resulting in a jamming efficiency percentage of 97%. Noted speed
reception distances were averaged between the two tries in each
category. Based on the field performance of Laser Blinder, it is awarded
Speed Measurement Laboratories Inc. "Performance
Certification" as it performed as
advertised in jamming all police laser guns.
This "Performance Certification" is awarded for one year from
the date of this report. It is confirmed all police laser guns were
operated by certified police officers in accordance with standards
established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, IACP,
and operational guidelines set forth by NHTSA. All laser guns used
during the field evaluation are certified by the IACP as they appear on
its web site of www.iacp.org. The results were witnessed by the
attending police officers, SML staff, and representatives of Laser
Blinder.
Speed Measurement Laboratories Inc. neither condones nor condemns the
use of the products it field evaluates. The results of this field
evaluation should not be construed as an endorsement of the product, but
as a factual representation of the product's performance. Products were
evaluated under ideal testing conditions and individual performance may
vary. SML's "Performance Certification" logo is a trademark of
Speed Measurement Laboratories, Inc. and may not be used, duplicated,
nor reproduced without the expressed, written permission of the company
as covered by the copyright law of the United States
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