BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

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Speeding tickets get tossed, but no LIDAR letup

'PROVEN TECHNOLOGY' | Citations won't stop; cops need test case
Sat, 7 Nov 2009 04:00
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

Chicago Police will stick to their speed detector guns -- churning out tickets generated by LIDAR detectors purchased to slow neighborhood speeding -- despite widespread dismissals in Traffic Court, Supt. Jody Weis said Friday.

"It's a proven technology that law enforcement agencies throughout the United States use. It's the best thing on the market right now, and we're gonna continue to use it," Weis said.

LIDAR stands for "light detection and ranging" equipment. The devices were purchased with great fanfare three years ago to satisfy Chicago aldermen demanding that something be done about rampant speeding on neighborhood streets.,

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown disclosed Friday that LIDAR tickets routinely have been dismissed for the last year -- whenever a defendant takes the time to show up in court to contest the case -- because of legal challenges to the laser technology.

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