High-Tech Monitoring Of Speeders Hits Bump
A majority on the Cranston, R.I., City Council claim they will attempt to stop Mayor Stephen Laffey’s initiative to introduce an automated speed-limit enforcement system that would be New England’s first.
The group got a boost on Nov. 17 when the council’s attorney, Patrick Quinlan, argued that the utilization of the complex equipment is illegal under Rhode Island law and hinted that signing an agreement with Nestor Traffic Systems without obtaining competitive bids would also run up against the law.
Nestor proposed in early November making a van available outfitted with its laser-camera system for a free four- to six-week trial period. The system would detect a speeding driver and photograph his license plate, and a speeding violation could be issued by pressing a button. During the test period, warnings are being sent to violators.
Nestor wants to get a contract with Cranston under which it would offer the equipped van and a technician in return for one-third of the revenues from speeding tickets.
Laffey’s director of administration, Paul Grimes, claims legislative action would not be needed to permit Cranston to follow speeders with the high-tech equipment. In addition, he says city residents support using the new technology to stop speeders.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Providence Journal (RI) (11/22/05) P. C1; Barbarisi, Daniel .
