Look out ahead . . .

[gail]

One day, somewhere smile -- you are on candid camera -- in the least suspected way.

Several states are now engaging big rigs to tag speeders. Kansas Highway Patrol last week began spying on motorists from privately owned big rig trucks. As part of a new, federally funded effort, a state trooper sits in the passenger seat of each truck and operates a set of five video cmeras and a radar gun to identify motorists to ticket. The trooper will then contact a patrol car hidden nearby to issue the citation. The program is expected to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in ticket revenue over the next isx weeks.

Washinton State Deploys unmarked police Big Rigs. A $600,000 grant from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway and Traffic Safety aDMINISTRATION (NHTSA) is funding the effort.

[mrblanche]

Actually, Washington used privately-owned trucks in a program that ran over a year ago. So many drivers were complaining that they were being singled out for tickets when the four-wheelers were whizzing around them and causing accidents that the police assigned a few officers to ride with them for a few days. They quickly found out what most truck drivers know; there is a pretty high idiot quotient in the motoring public, and they seem to display it more than usual around trucks. So, they gave the officer a radio and a camera and a "lead" car (the marked traffic officer's car). When he saw one of the 150 stupid moves we see each day, he radioed to the lead car, which then stopped the offender.

The program was immensely successful, as apparently Kansas has noted.

[gail]

Actually, Washington used privately-owned trucks in a program that ran over a year ago. So many drivers were complaining that they were being singled out for tickets when the four-wheelers were whizzing around them and causing accidents that the police assigned a few officers to ride with them for a few days. They quickly found out what most truck drivers know; there is a pretty high idiot quotient in the motoring public, and they seem to display it more than usual around trucks. So, they gave the officer a radio and a camera and a "lead" car (the marked traffic officer's car). When he saw one of the 150 stupid moves we see each day, he radioed to the lead car, which then stopped the offender.

The program was immensely successful, as apparently Kansas has noted.

Thanks for your input, Mike. Of late we have heard of all types of vehicles that are being used to catch speeders, e.g., heavy equipment vehicles used at road construction sites, to sports cars, whatever would catch motorists off-guard.

[Jim Rose]

>>Thanks for your input, Mike. Of late we have heard of all types of vehicles that are being used to catch speeders, e.g., heavy equipment vehicles used at road construction sites, to sports cars, whatever would catch motorists off-guard.<<<

What better way? Would you have a warning sign telling them to smile they are on candid camera?

[ColleenC1]

Here where I live, it looks like they are putting in cameras all over, one would think they are in London! The cameras are so obvious with their white housing units.

[mrblanche]

Here where I live, it looks like they are putting in cameras all over, one would think they are in London! The cameras are so obvious with their white housing units.

That has something to do with one intersection up your way being on the "most dangerous intersections in the country" list. It has an average of 3 accidents per day, usually caused by left turn red light runners.

[Eric]

Here where I live, it looks like they are putting in cameras all over, one would think they are in London! The cameras are so obvious with their white housing units.

That has something to do with one intersection up your way being on the "most dangerous intersections in the country" list. It has an average of 3 accidents per day, usually caused by left turn red light runners.

The cameras do seem to be cropping up all over. We even have a few in Roanoke...

[gail]

Here where I live, it looks like they are putting in cameras all over, one would think they are in London! The cameras are so obvious with their white housing units.

That has something to do with one intersection up your way being on the "most dangerous intersections in the country" list. It has an average of 3 accidents per day, usually caused by left turn red light runners.

I haven't heard this before, Mike - where did you hear it? I'll check it out.

[mrblanche]

I haven't heard this before, Mike - where did you hear it? I'll check it out.

Here's the list:

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/06/2...intersections/

It's the 121 and Preston road intersection, tecnically in Frisco but usually called Plano.

It lists 280 accidents there in the previous year. But keep in mind that in the Dallas area, unless there is an injury or one of the cars can't move under its own power, the police won't come out and it's not in the statistics. The local TV station said that almost 3 out of 4 of the accidents at that intersection weren't even reported to the police, so you can figure there were somewhere over 1100 accidents at that site last year, or just over 3 per day.

What amazed me was that two of the top ten were in Tulsa, on the same street, just 20 blocks apart.