Long-range laser guns to catch speeders

More speeders in the Western Bay of Plenty are being caught as police make the most of new speed laser guns this week.
Old and unreliable speed guns have been swapped for more effective state-of-the-art models that have been quick to get results.
Already this week, police have fined about 30 people for speeding, including a driver travelling at 79km/h in a 50km/h zone.
Western Bay of Plenty Highway Patrol Sergeant Lester Polglase said the two guns were a 100 per cent improvement on their Stalker-branded predecessors, which were plagued with problems.
"We had been using the old Stalker guns but they were nowhere near as good as the new long-range models," he said.
The new speed guns claim to clock speeds of cars travelling as far as 1200m away. "That is a huge distance," Mr Polglase said.
In reality, police require a maximum distance of only about 600m.
The new guns also offer the precision of targeting a moving car in a queue of traffic.
Mr Polglase said officers had already encountered many drivers claiming they were "just following the car in front".
"But the car in front was doing 52km/h, they are doing 76km/h," Mr Polglase said.
Speed guns work by sending out a pulse of light at a target, which in turn bounces back. There are hundreds of "pulses" sent out each second - measuring the distance the targeted vehicle is from the gun and the rate at which it gets closer.
Mr Polglase said he expected the guns to be used on a daily basis around the region, anywhere, anytime.
Automobile Association spokesman Simon Lambourne said speeding in residential or 50km/h zones could have "catastrophic consequences".
"If you don't want a speeding ticket, don't speed."