But Ballarat Police Highway Patrol claim the Digitector, which has been used on and off in the industry for 30 years, is accurate, reliable and not a waste of police time or resources. 

On Monday police nabbed almost 40 speeding drivers as part of operation Wake Up using the time-over-distance technology. 

Police determine the speed of a vehicle by measuring the time it takes it to travel across two rubber tubes spaced out along a stretch of road. 

Senior Sergeant Pat Cleary said police were exhausting all efforts to catch speeding drivers in Ballarat. 

“The devices are certified and absolutely reliable,” Senior Sergeant Cleary said. 

But he did admit the device did have some disadvantages. 

“(The Digitector) is potentially unsafe in wet conditions and uncomfortable to use,” he said. 

The device also requires a team of police officers to set up and operate, unlike the simple point-and-shoot laser and radar guns used by individual officers. 

“It’s definitely not a waste of resources, it doesn’t take police away from their duties. It is their duty to use it,” he said. 

“It sends a valued message to those that speed that they can be detected in another manner other than what they may consider or expect as conventional.”

Senior Sergeant Cleary denied police were using the dated device to compensate for a shortage of laser and radar guns in Ballarat police stations. 

“We have an adequate supply of (laser and radar guns) in Ballarat,” he said. 

Senior Sergeant Cleary said like all speed-detecting devices, drivers had the right to challenge the accuracy of Digitector readings in court. 

He also said there were a number of measures police took to ensure the accuracy of their readings. 

The Police Association of Victoria said it could not comment before deadline. 

kara.irving@fairfaxmedia.com.au