Probably about 30% of the time when I leave work, there are people out in the street a few blocks down pointing things at my truck. I am not a huge fan of this so I went on a short journey one day to discover why. Come to find out there is a business called "Applied Concepts", the leading manufacturer of speed measuring equipment. So basically to test their new products, they go out in the street and measure the speed of passing vehicles. Their biggest customers are police departments. There are usually several police cars in their parking lot ready to be fitted with such equipment.

Americans are sort of trained not to enjoy people pointing things at them and pulling triggers. A lot of these devices look like guns. So to see some dude standing on the side of the road with a gun shaped object pointing at me is not very cool. In Texas, we have concealed handgun laws, and we also have laws that allow people to shoot other people in the face to protect themselves, or their property. If you were new to the area, and did not know what was going on, it would not be unreasonable to think that someone was trying to shoot you! I suppose in that scenario, you could swerve and hit them with your vehicle, and although you would have to go through "the process", you would probably make a pretty good case. I am not suggesting anyone do this on purpose, I am simply saying that I could understand someone feeling as though they were in danger upon seeing these people point their gun like objects at passers by.

From another point of view, what even gives them the right implement this practice in the first place? I suppose there is no law against standing outside and messing around with equipment, but if I am helping you test your equipment, then I am part of the manufacturing process, and deserve to be paid for my services.

I have half a mind to pull over one day and tell those people that I think they suck and that they should fuck right off with their gun shaped objects. I suppose also I could force a change in their methodology if I whipped out a gun and pointed at their eyeballs, and told them I intended to kill them because I thought they had a gun. I'm sure at that point, they would reconsider using these devices on a public street.

In the meantime, I always make a point to speed up when I see them, then slow down real slow and flip them off. In my mind, it makes their stupid radar gun test not work very well if I am not maintaining any sort of steady speed, with the added bonus of them seeing me flip them off through their viewfinder. It may not fuck up their test, and they may not even see me giving them the bird, but it makes me feel good inside, and isn't that really what life is all about?