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Show Use of photo radar should increase number of citations dramatically The photo radar system is very accurate. It allows officers to handle a higher volume of traffic with less personnel on the scene. It creates a safer environment for the officers. The radar is set up in an unmarked unmark-ed vehicle and as a vehicle passes through, the camera takes a picture of the driver and the vehicle. Because the citation is mailed to the offender, the officer does not have to stop and get out of his car on a busy street or approach an unknown driver. There is also no interruption in-terruption of traffic flow or no chasing chas-ing of offenders. By JAMS CARTER LAYTON-Photo radar might just be the key to slowing down traffic on Highway 89. Photo radar is a high-speed photographic radar system that provides pro-vides information for speed control and traffic monitoring. It provides the scene of the location loca-tion where the violation took place; a picture of the motor vehicle during dur-ing the violation, displaying the driver's face, the front license plate, a written description of the location, the speed at which the vehicle is traveling and the time of day in hours, minutes and seconds. Photo radar has been in use in Europe, in particular, ELzerburg, Germany for the past 16 years. It was installed there in 1973; and since that time, there has been a 70-percent 70-percent drop in highway accidents. The system has also been used in Pasadena, Calif, and Paradise Valley, Ariz., with a drastic reduction reduc-tion in speed observed. Lay ton Police Chief Doyle Talbot said, "It is proven technology in other locations, and is just a matter of bringing that technology to Utah. It is set up to make manpower more efficient and ultimately reduce accidents and problems." The Layton City Police Department Depart-ment did a survey on Highway 89 with the radar, starting at 4:25 p.m. and ending at 5:01 p.m., during that time 456 vehicles went through, 18 violations were cited with an average speed of 67 mph. With the traditional method officers would have been able to give perhaps four citations. Photo radar is also very practical. It is intended to make people aware enough to slow down so that the overall speed will be slower. It keeps track of every vehicle, the speed of each vehicle and the time of day, then puts that information informa-tion into a computer so it can be used for statistical studies for figuring figur-ing speed limits, signing purposes and engineering purposes. TST (Traffic Safety Technologies) leases the radar system to a city for a certain number of hours per week for a year. They get a certain percent of the citations issued so it doesn't cost the taxpayers extra. The Layton Police Department should be ready to run the radar no later than July 1, according to Talbot, Their points of concentration concentra-tion will be Highway 89, State 193, Main Street and Antelope Drive. These are areas with the highest traffic flow. Photo radar is a safer method of traffic enforcement and can help reduce overall speed and help save lives. SEE PHOTO PAGE 2 |