busting the fuzzbusters - laser measuring device manufacturers

(
Fortune magazine)
-Ronald James, MD resident, director of technical media at the National Institute of tools and machining, used radar detectors while driving.
He hasn't had an accident for at least ten years, so when Geico, the first insurance company to refuse to insure drivers who use detectors, canceled his policy last year, he was angry.
James gave his case to the state's insurance commissioner. -
These devices are legal in Maryland and other states except Virginia, Connecticut, and Washington, D. C. C.
Geico appealed the decision, which is currently being heard by the Baltimore Circuit Court.
National Security Council and various organizations representing the heads of police and drivers --
Education teachers support Geico's attempt to ban the sale of radar detectors nationwide. The $200-million-a-
The radar detector industry feels caught.
Many of the 20 or so manufacturers are small private companies that may fail if their products are no longer legal.
Group radar, which represents most detector manufacturers, claims that legislation banning detectors has been defeated in 33 states since 1977.
The bill is pending in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Michigan.
Last year, when Congress allowed states to raise the speed limit to 65 miles an hour on some rural roads, organizations like the National Security Council fear that people will buy more radar detectors to drive at higher speeds.
Never happened.
It is not legislation or court proceedings that could eventually destroy radar detectors, but technology.
An international measurement and control company in Littleton, Colorado, showed police prototypes of laser devices that radar detectors could not receive. -C. G.