June 19 (Bloomberg) -- The highway is clear and dry, empty of traffic, beckoning you to tickle the car's accelerator a bit. Eighty, even 90 miles an hour isn't risky -- unless a traffic cop trains a radar gun on you.

There was a time when a radar detector was a pretty sure bet against getting nabbed. No longer, as the game of highway hide- and-seek, pitting traffic cops against speeders, is expanding to new frontiers of electronic sophistication.

The latest innovation for the enforcers is laser devices that are replacing conventional radar guns, giving cops the upper hand, at least for the moment.

Lead foots are retaliating with all sorts of new gadgets and techniques to avoid and even to jam police lasers, though their effectiveness is debatable.

``Twenty years ago anyone with a radar detector could pick up our signals a couple of miles away,'' said First Lieutenant Thad Peterson of the Michigan State Police. ``It was hard to ticket those drivers.'' Michigan State Police in the past few years has been buying LIDAR (light detecting and ranging) units to supplement radar.

``Radar still can be effective, but the antenna has to be turned off until the vehicle is sighted and its speed is estimated visually,'' Petersen said, to thwart drivers with radar detectors.

Ray of Light

LIDAR, by contrast, emits a narrow laser beam usually aimed at a reflective surface on a speeding vehicle such as its license plate or headlamp. The returning light beam gives LIDAR all the information needed to calculate the vehicle's speed precisely. Laser Technology Inc. of Englewood, Colorado, originally developed the equipment for use by NASA to determine the distance during docking procedures in outer space.

The public obviously is well served when police suppress reckless and dangerous drivers. Still, many of the nation's speed limits can be raised safely, in light of advancements in cars and improvements in road construction. And let's face it: Speed limits have been set low in many locales for no reason other than nabbing lots of drivers who pay fines and provide local government with extra revenue.

An extreme example of the latter is Linndale, Ohio, (population: 120) which benefited to the tune of $419,000 in traffic fines collected in 2003 for violations of a 50-mile-per- hour speed limit along its one-quarter mile section of Interstate 71, according to Eric Skrum of the National Motorists Association, a group in Waunakee, Wisconsin, that advocates on behalf of American motorists.

Higher Limits

Last month Texas raised the speed limit to 80 miles per hour (129 kilometers per hour), the highest posted speed in the nation, on 400 miles of ruler-straight interstate highway with long distances between exits. Michigan highway officials last year raised the limit on a stretch of Interstate 69 near Flint to 70 mph from 55.

``Cars can go fast, people drive fast, and they want to protect themselves against tickets and the attendant insurance costs,'' said Rich Ceppos, publisher of AutoWeek magazine. ``Laser is a different ballgame; it's harder to protect yourself.''

The onset of laser-armed cops is partly a function of law enforcement budgets. According to Paul Atkins, Laser Technology's marketing director, his company's LIDAR units sell for about $2,000 to about $3,500, compared with as little as $400 for radar units.

Narrower Focus

Radar units tend to spray their waves over a wide area, alerting drivers with detectors that an ambush may lay ahead. Another drawback: When police aim a radar gun at a group of cars, the reading can't always be linked to a single vehicle, creating an opening for a court challenge.

Because a laser beam can be focused on a single, small spot -- and, in some LIDAR units, confirmed by a digital photo -- drivers have an uphill battle convincing a judge that the speeder was someone else.

Many radar detectors now sold over the Internet or in appliance stores claim to detect laser as well. Most often, though, the police officer has already nabbed the speeder by the time the detector goes off.

``People are trying dark colors on their license plates in an attempt to confuse the laser,'' Atkins said. ``And dark- colored cars are difficult at more than 1,000 feet. Closer than that, our product gets everything.''

Some drivers, doubting the effectiveness of normal detectors against laser devices, have bought gadgets that purport to broadcast signals to jam and defeat radars. Federal regulations prohibit such jamming devices, as well as conventional radar detectors on trucks engaged in interstate commerce. Radar detectors are banned in Virginia on all vehicles.

For a few drivers, the use of detection and jamming technology is an end in itself, a competition to elude the constabulary, albeit with real stakes.

For the rest of us, a far better idea is to drive at or close to posted limits. And if a little speed becomes too tempting, keep the checkbook handy to bear the consequences.

(Doron Levin is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Doron Levin in Southfield, Michigan at dlevin5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 19, 2006 00:11 EDT