Do you remember the compact disc? Just a few decades ago, it revolutionized the world of the music industry. But not only. Very quickly, the automotive world got hold of this fashionable gadget to equip car radios and replace the traditional cassette. But interestingly enough, the CD quickly became associated with a strange rumor about police cameras.
To protect themselves from these moving speedometers, some drivers have decided to place the glowing disc behind glass to fool the radar beam. A curious practice that spread rapidly, especially in Eastern Europe. Myth or Reality?
The CD, great star of the 80/90
Insert CD – Source: spm
For the record, the compact disc, abbreviated as CD, was an unprecedented musical phenomenon towards the end of the 20th century. Designed by the giants Sony and Philips, CDs appeared on the market in 1982 and were first sold in Japan. The first of its kind was an album by pianist Billy Joel. It will be closely overlapped by ABBA, the first band to record on CD. The success was dizzying. The public of music lovers was seduced by this brilliant little record: it quickly conquered the market and spread throughout the world. The CD became very popular in the 90s.
Compact disc: revolution in the automotive industry
And, of course, other sectors are taking advantage of this unprecedented success to capitalize on it. Like the automobile industry, which is gradually changing the cassette player, which has become obsolete, for more modern car radios that incorporate a more efficient system capable of reading these music discs. Even today we find this type of reader in cars, although in turn they have been relegated to the background, since the advent of the Internet, Smartphones and USB ports.
But what interests us today is trying to understand the relationship between the use of CDs and the famous mobile speedometers, called radars, used by the police to monitor road safety. Why have some drivers become accustomed to placing these discs, shiny side up, behind the windshield? Where did this astonishing practice come from, why did it spread rapidly and, above all, was it really founded?
CD protect from police radars? Fact or crazy rumor?
Tarnish a CD – Source: spm
You should know that the devices of the time sent a microwave beam when measuring the speed. By bouncing off the car body, depending on length differences, the speed of the vehicle could be calculated very quickly. At that time, a rumor went around among motorists: we thought, then, that if the CD was placed behind the windshield glass, it was capable of blurring the impact of the beam sent by the radar, and therefore the policeman could not correctly. measure the speed of the moving car. In other words, it was an ideal trick to fool the radar and go undetected. Myth or Reality?
Some gullible people actually believed that this technique actually worked. But let’s be serious, this is just a crazy rumor without any rational basis. CD does not have any properties capable of affecting the radar beam in any way. It’s just an ordinary reflective surface, like a piece of metal, glass, or a mirror. Anyone driving with this puck behind their windshield is certainly not going to avoid a speeding ticket. In truth, if some drivers continue to hang them, especially truckers, it is for decorative purposes only. The glossy appearance of the disc simply provides an entertaining visual touch. Nothing more. Finally, the safest option to avoid a ticket is to respect the maximum speed limit, for your own safety and that of others.
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