NCJ Number
140871
Journal
Texas Police Journal Volume: 40 Issue: 12 Dated: (January 1993) Pages: 12-14
Editor(s)
J L Ryle
Date Published
1993
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Law enforcement agencies around the world use traffic radar as a means of promoting highway safety and apprehending traffic law violators.
Abstract
Speed law enforcement is beneficial in reducing property damage and human injury; speeding is the most frequently cited contributing violation in fatal accidents. All traffic radar systems operate by transmitting a low-power microwave signal, detecting a portion of energy reflected from the moving vehicle, and comparing the frequency of the received signal with that of the transmitted signal. Traffic radar systems operate with specific frequency bands assigned by the Federal Communications Commission. Several organizations including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the American National Standards Institute, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, have published guidelines for safe human exposure to electromagnetic energy at the frequencies produced by traffic radar units. Despite allegations of adverse health effects resulting from such exposure, government authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration, and private groups, such as the Electromagnetic Energy Policy Alliance, are unanimous in their assessments that police radar units pose no risk of cancer or other hazards. 12 references