Trailers warn motorists
By Yeoshin Kim
Summer Forty-Niner
Motorists who exceed
the speed limit may need to slow down on city streets that enforce radar
trailers.
The purpose of these
radar trailers is not to enforce the speed limit. There is no hidden camera
located inside these trailers that snap pictures of speeders.
“Radar trailers are
enforced to increase the public’s awareness of how fast they are driving,”
said Patrick Curran, radar coordinator for the California Highway Patrol’s
Southern Division.
By bringing attention
of their current speed, drivers are reminded that they may be going to
fast, Curran said.
The radar trailers
are deployed in areas where local residents bring up traffic complaints
of speeding motorists, he said.
“It’s the best kind
of enforcement and is highly effective,” Curran said.
The trailer is mounted
on two wheels and is more than 7 feet tall. In the back of the metal-box,
there is a window where the inside radar unit looks out to check the speed
of oncoming cars.
“The radar can detect
speed from three-quarters of a mile [away] and it is extremely accurate,”
Curran said.
“The radar trailers
are run automatically and deployment locations are rotated, ”said Officer
David Helms of the Southern Los Angeles area of the CHP. Helms said
radar trailers are not cheap, and due to the shortage, there is not enough
to be deployed everywhere.
Currently, radar
trailers are handled by the CHP, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
and the Los Angeles Police Department. These trailers are the property
of Los Angeles County. The average cost of a trailer is between $9,000
and $12,000.
According to manufacturers
who make radar trailers, many home owners associations have caught on to
the success of the radar trailers and have begun purchasing them for their
neighborhoods safety.
“Self-policing frees
policemen, increases awareness of speed and slows traffic in residential
areas,” said Craig Pittman of Traffic Display Monitoring, manufacturers
of the trailers.
The driver who is
not conscious of their own speedometer gets the opportunity to see the
radar trailer display it for them. It’s a good tool to increase the
awareness and prevent driving accidents, said Pittman.
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