On 2014-05-14 21:03:30 +0000, Alan Browne
said:

On 2014.05.14, 16:48 , Savageduck wrote:
On 2014-05-14 20:10:39 +0000, Alan Browne
said:

On 2014.05.13, 22:42 , Savageduck wrote:
On 2014-05-14 02:27:52 +0000, nospam said:

In article , PeterN
wrote:

Although
I'm sure it happens, one never hears of idiots who shine lasers at
ca
rs.

cops do it every single day.

They use laser guns which produce a very diffused beam with a target
circle of about 60'', not a high power point focused laser beam.
Also the law enforcement laser guns I am aware of do not use a light
which is in the visible spectrum and is not likely to cause any retin
al

injury.

Invisible lasers can cause a lot of damage too if not diffused. In
our laser lab where I used to work (I was not part of that lab but
occasionally worked with those engineers on some projects), they wore
protective glasses - and it was not visible wavelengths).

Per the Wikipedia article the police laser cone is about 1 m at 300
metres distance. Still enough diffusion to prevent eye damage. And
of course the glass on the car would reflect a lot of it away from the

driver's eyes as well as absorb some of the energy.

Primary target is the front of the vehicle, usually the number plate,
the diffused energy cone would cover the entire width and typically not

be an issue with the windshield and any eyeballs behind it.

Surely - but there's also the issue of missing the target and hitting
innocent bystander eyeballs.

Where would this hypothetical innocent bystander be? Standing on the
shoulder of the highway? Perhaps moving faster than the traffic flow,
on foot?

Missing the target is very unusual, given the transitory nature of
target acquisition and the diffused beam at typical ranges. It is sort
of like shooting a tennis ball at 20 feet with a shotgun.

--
Regards,

Savageduck