OCR Text |
Show - V-ctJ ! ( . r f $ ... i . ' v l -,, r--: : ! r . . 1: - - f i ... 1 : : : Panguitch Police Chief Martin Nay and Traffic Safety Technologies, Inc. representative Jesse Powell, operate sophisticated radar-photo equipment from company's $100,000 van as Powell demonstrates the advantages of high tech ticket-writing for Panguitch chief. High-Tech Tickets With Photo May Be In Store For Panguitch Speeders Modern radar technology may soon be utilized in Panguitch if the Panguitch City Council approves a new program to reduce speeding in town. Speeders had better smile as they drive through, because the new technology includes a radar-equipped van with a camera that catches the vehicle and its driver in the act. The council will consider a three-month trial period, testing the program's efficiency for the Panguitch Pan-guitch area, before entering into any contract The combined radar-camera system was first introduced in the U.S. in 1980 after substantial research by the U. S. Department of Transportation. It has been in use in Europe since 1964 where its use is considered common. Traffic Safety Technologies, the system under consideration for testing test-ing in Panguitch, utilizes the latest multinova doppler radar and 35mm or 70mm high speed camera with a computer interface. Company representative Jesse Powel spent Tuesday in Panguitch with Panguitch Police Chief Martin Nay demonstrating the newest in sophistcated photo-radar equipment The van's 35mm camera is used for standard streets and the 70mm for freeways where a broad lane coverage is needed. The multinova photo -radar is the most extensively used of all systems in Europe and the U.S. The system requires no capital investment by the city, since violators, says TST, pay the cost of operation. The company trains city officers in proper use of the equipment The system provides an on-board statistical computer and report generating gen-erating system, comprehensive - training for officers who use the equipment, video recording of each enforcement session, and front andor rear photographs of the violator. vio-lator. It provides film processing and evaluation and preparation of a customized photo-radar citation for the offender, prepared and mailed by the company with an envelope provided pro-vided for payment of the fine by return re-turn mail . The company also stores and retrieves re-trieves all violator images, does complete record keeping, provides expert witness testimony when necessary, nec-essary, provides data management and the transfer of data to the city. The vehicle-mounted photo-radar system, unlike conventional radar, directs its beam across lanes of traffic. traf-fic. When a vehicle enters the radar beam, its speed is immediately calculated. cal-culated. The system verifies the vehicle speed and cancels any unverified unver-ified speed values caused by such factors as multiple vehicles in the beam, radio frequency interference, power fluctuations, and conflicting data. A photograph is taken only if the calculated speed is in excess of the speed entered, and automatically voided if the speed is not verified, eliminating target identification problems associated with other systems. sys-tems. Popular "fuzz-busters" fail their owners because the radar beam is so narrow and its center line where photo-taking starts is reached so soon that the best thing the driver can do is look up and smile. The primary advantage of the use of the sophisticated equipment as opposed to conventional methods of catching speeders is the number of violators that can be processed in a day. Statistics show that fewer violators contest their citations and -the conviction rate for photo-radar citations is double that of traditionally tradition-ally generated citations. Officers are freed from time-comsuming time-comsuming traditional methods of speed monitoring, with the new system. The photo-radar can generate more citations with a greater degree of successful. Nay said that four out of 10 cars passing through Panguitch are rented vehicles, frequently with foreign operators. |