State police Friday unveiled a new state-of-the-art speed laser gun, designed to detect speeding vehicles more quickly and accurately.

Trooper Joseph Smigel has been chasing speeding drivers on state highways for the last two decades. He says the new device is lighter, faster and more precise then previous models.

?You're still talking less than a second, which is excellent time to acquire a target,? Smigel says.

State police say the best thing about the new laser gun is the fact that it is battery powered, unlike the old guns that had to be connected to a vehicle?s cigarette lighter. It can also be used in bad weather.

?We as a department consider the addition of this new equipment to be a tool to help reduce speed and ultimately reduce crashes that occur on both the highways and secondary roads in our state,? says Lt. Paul Vance, of the Connecticut State Police Department.

State police purchased 89 new laser guns with a $167,000 grant from the Department of Transportation. They say the equipment will be mainly used in areas where there has been an increase in the number of car crashes.