Why is locking the speed reading discouraged?
Target tracking is an important part of verifying that a particular reading belongs to the vehicle an officer is looking at and most radars, when locked, stop reading the target speed thus eliminating the tracking history. Some newer radars provide an extra readout so the reading can be locked while continuing to track. Having a tracking history is a suggested operating procedure and not a requirement so some officers may lock the reading once they are satisfied they have the correct vehicle, especially when no other vehicles are present.
