Who runs Night Vision or Binoculars?

**9500ier** · 11-09-2007, 12:34 PM

I have been reading up on Alex Roy's countermeasures lately. For those who do not know he set the new NYC to California (Gumball) record at 31:04 hrs. He has tons of gear and mapped out the entire route ahead of time and I encourage every speeder who averages autobahn speeds where it is not legal to read his book "The Driver".

Anyhow, to my question. He used night vision (I think from a hummer, but on an M5) and gyro-stabilized binoculars (military grade stuff).

The night vision could be very very useful I think for high speed solo night speeding. It should give you advanced warning to potential lidar, IO, and vascar threats. If you see a car (indicated by hot engine) sitting on the side of the road then slow down to near-speedlimit velocity. Even if it is not a cop you could be protecting potential broke-down motorist that you would not have seen otherwise. Also, it could be a big animal or something. Nothing like hitting a cow or deer at triple digits. [Driving in northern Germany at 145 for extended periods of time is awesome -- but is scary as hell when you see 'warning deer' signs every 5 minutes].

The binocular equipped copilot is an idea that I have always had since I first started making frequent NC to FL I95 runs. However, the gyro-stabilizer they used is like 3000 dollars or so not including the binoculars. Without that its near impossible to see a cop from your moving car before they see you in the lidar sights, while standing/siting still. Still I would love to know if anyone has ever employed this technology or something similar. We all know what it is like to be doing well over the speed limit, then see a cop, hit the brakes, and then have the detector go off... an eye opening situation!! (pun intended)

Let me know what you guys think. By the way, I read a lot but rarely post and want to thank everyone for the useful input.

**erickonphoenix** · 11-09-2007, 01:17 PM

The new Mercedes CL has an LCD guage cluster that converts to a night vision camera.

**MetalFlame** · 11-09-2007, 02:10 PM

BMW also offers night vision camera option,but it doesn't have zoom.
So you will see better with this camera,but not further.

**noTe** · 11-09-2007, 02:38 PM

You could get a headunit with a LCD screen and then buy a separate night camera I suppose.

**o2bad455** · 11-09-2007, 03:15 PM

I've used non-gyro binoculars driving solo in daylight on long stretches of desert, and found that they helped. Stabilized should be even better. I found them to be no use at all at night, and really not much use in the NorthEast anyway (where obstructions rather than distance block view). A motivated co-driver might be able to make use of them in other situations, especially for checking out airplanes. The real issue for me is night driving. A while back, I did look into mounting an IR camera with zoom lens on the bumper and a remote display on the dash (the IR camera wouldn't work through the windshield), but never finished. Still interested if it could be done on a budget and remain stealth.

**carter840** · 11-13-2007, 06:28 PM

I just finished reading Alex Roys book and have been following his progres for a couple years now. Without a doubt he is the most prepared driver for the road both in prep work and in electronics. It seems that the night vision cammera is a big help, and they are becoming more nad more popular as options on cars. About the gyro binoculars honestly i don't know how much they help. What you have to realize is that they use both of these things mostly for quick sprints at speeds of over 115 i really doubt that anyone on this site has such aggresive driving to need either of these toys. But hey is you got a passenger that doesn't mind getting car sick give him the binocs. On his trip cross country Maher had to take dramamine because he was getting so car sick spotting with the binocs.

**9500ier** · 11-13-2007, 07:50 PM

I agree that gyro-stabilized binoculars are not necessary (or even practical) for going sub-triple-digits but I know there are people that average speeds higher than the PSL (from start to finish -- which requires sprints over 115). I used to make that kind of time, but I have since gotten a laser ticket and value my drivers license. I also plan to be a lawyer and do not feel like explaining my 100+ speeding ticket to the bar association. On a side note, I hate how 100 mph has such a negative connotation here. You can comfortably drive 115 in most European countries (of course the only legal one being Germany... try to drive 115 in Spain though and you will get passed by a MB about every 20 minutes.

That is funny about Maher though. I have the book but have not had the chance to read it because I am busy preparing for finals and graduation. However, it is sitting on top of my TV waiting for a spare moment.