North Carolina RADAR State Practice Exam

What range setting should be used where vehicles tend to travel clustered close together?

1. A "long" range setting

2. A "medium" range setting

3. A "short" range setting

4. A maximum range setting

The correct answer is: A "short" range setting

The correct choice is the "short" range setting. This setting is ideal for monitoring traffic in areas where vehicles are closely packed together, such as in urban environments or congested highways. A short range allows for more precise measurements and a more accurate detection of the speed of individual vehicles within a tight cluster. Using a short range setting enhances the radar’s ability to differentiate between vehicles that are close to one another, preventing interference that can occur with longer range settings. This focus on close vehicles is essential for providing reliable and effective speed enforcement in scenarios where separation between passing vehicles is minimal. In contrast, selecting longer range settings could lead to difficulty in accurately measuring the speeds of vehicles that are very close together, as the radar might average their speeds or detect multiple vehicles at once, thus compromising the effectiveness of the radar system in such conditions. This is why the short range setting is the best choice for environments with clustered traffic patterns.