LAKELAND (FOX 13) -
If you are a tailgater, watch out. A
number of cities are now using a new laser gun to catch you. Lakeland
officially unveiled its laser on Wednesday. The gun determines your speed and
the distance your car is from the car in front of it.
Before this, cops had to guesstimate if
you were tailgating.
Right now, Lakeland is handing out
warnings, but in two weeks, officers will be citing drivers. A citation will
cost $164.
Police say the new laser will hopefully
decrease rear-end crashes. A spokesman for the department says about half the
rear-end crashes in the city involve tailgating.
So how do you know if you are
tailgating? Don't assume, police say. There
is an easy and accurate way to figure it out: pick a landmark, and when the car
in front of you moves past it, start counting. Stop when you pass it. If it's fewer
than three seconds, you're following too closely.
Lakeland isn't the only place using the
laser guns; Tampa and Hillsborough County have them as well. The Florida
Highway Patrol will get them soon too.
