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New radar to aid police in safe-driving push

Shand Nazer demonstrates how the new TruCam laser speed gun can detect the space between moving vehicles Thursday afternoon in Logan. (Eli Lucero/Herald Journal)
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Posted: Sunday, February 20, 2011 1:00 am | Updated: 6:14 pm, Sat Feb 19, 2011.

New radar to aid police in safe-driving push by Matthew K. Jensen The Herald Journal | 0 comments

Logan police have a new enforcement tool that can detect the space between moving vehicles to enforce a state law that prohibits following too closely.

Inattentive driving and following too closely are the leading causes of vehicle crashes on Logan's Main Street, according to police, and now officers are equipped to better enforce both problems.

Last fall, the Logan Police Department unveiled its "Main Distraction" campaign - an education and traffic enforcement initiative tailored to reduce the number of accidents caused by improper lookout, taking eyes off the road, following too closely and distracted driving.

Last week, the department acquired two new devices that can calculate how closely a driver follows leading traffic.

Assistant Police Chief Jeff Curtis says state law requires drivers to maintain at least two seconds of travel distance between vehicles when moving at speeds greater than 35 mph.

"The general reaction time for most people is about 1.5 seconds," he said. "If the front vehicle has to take some type of action to avoid a collision, the vehicle behind doesn't have time to perceive and react to the danger safely."

On Thursday, Shand Nazer, a nine-year veteran of the LCPD, demonstrated how the new TruCam laser speed gun works.

"We've been scratching our heads for years wondering what we can do to reduce rear-end accidents on Main Street," he said. "With this tool, we can prevent it rather than respond to it."

The device works similarly to a standard radar gun but uses laser light rather than radio waves. The TruCam records the speed of two in-line vehicles and calculates the space between them. The device also records video footage that can be downloaded for use in court.

"It's extremely accurate," said Nazer. "It's never going to give false positive."

Curtis says the TruCam is a scientific instrument that can be used to present evidence in court. Representatives from the manufacturer, Laser Technology, plan to visit Logan to teach officers how to use the devices and also speak with the city prosecutor and local justice court judges. Nazer said officers will stop drivers who have a second or less of travel time ahead of them.

Police Lt. Rod Peterson, lead administrator of the Main Distraction campaign, said officers won't be aggressively ticketing drivers. Instead they'll be educating drivers that following too closely leads to accidents.

"We don't want to go out and give people a bunch of tickets," he said Friday. "Our goal is to help educate people about the dangers of following too closely."

Police say they're also watching for drivers who don't yield or slow down when police vehicles are stopped on road shoulders. State law requires motorists to move over or slow down to a safe speed when passing a stopped peace officer. Curtis said many Logan drivers ignore the law.

"We have seen an alarming number of people in our city who do not do that," said Curtis, explaining that drivers must move to the inner lane when spotting flashing lights ahead. "If you can't, you need to slow down to a reasonable, careful speed so that you can avoid any hazards that might come your way."

Curtis said it's also acceptable for a driver to slow down and move to the inner-most portion of the outside lane before passing a stopped police vehicle.

What happens if someone cuts in front of you just as you come into view of the camera?