Fuck Cars
A place to discuss problems of car centric infrastructure or how it hurts us all. Let's explore the bad world of Cars!
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I don't know what "photo radar" is and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.
TL;DR: it's speed cameras
Most radar guns work a bit like a flashlight. They just blast radio waves in the direction they're pointed, and some of those waves hit things and bounce off. The frequency of the reflection can be used to calculate the speed of the object (i.e. vehicle) relative to the observer, sort of like how you can tell if a train horn is headings towards you or away from you based on the pitch.
Photo radar is a fair bit more advanced, and can pick out individual vehicles. With traditional radar, and human operator has to visually identify a speeding vehicle, and the radar gun is just meant to be a confirmation of the officer's observations. Photo radar makes it possible to automate the process to reduce cost, even with multiple vehicles.