A method and apparatus for continuously coating moving web and splices with a coating fluid. By optionally positioning the seat release element proximate to an operator’s working position, a vehicle operator may reposition the seat while simultaneously performing another task. It is located remote from the receiver at a location which, when viewed from the perspective of a person in the vicinity of a screed operator, is at least substantially in a focal area containing the rear edge of the blade. In an embodiment two threads execute in parallel with a first thread carrying out a forward raster scan over the distance image and a second thread carrying out a backward raster scan over the image. The housing can be made from polyester.