What is "pacing" in the context of speed enforcement?

Pacing is a method employed by law enforcement to determine a vehicle's speed by matching or maintaining the same speed as the vehicle being monitored. In this process, an officer drives a police vehicle alongside or behind the suspect vehicle while ensuring that they maintain a consistent distance. The officer can then use the speedometer in their vehicle to gauge the speed of the other vehicle accurately. This technique is effective because it allows the officer to calculate the speed based on the police vehicle's accurate speedometer, which is calibrated and maintained for accuracy.

Understanding pacing is important in the context of speed enforcement because it provides a reliable means of measuring speed without relying on other technologies, such as radar or lidar, which may have limitations under certain conditions.