Bryant Police: 'Speed Tracker' Putting The Brakes On Speeders


Posted By: Katherina- Marie Yancy 10 hrs ago



Bryant Police have a new tool to get tough on speeders. The new device is paving the way to monitor high speed areas and keep folks safe.


Bryant police say it will be a good device to get drivers to slow down if not the next time they drive through they could get a ticket.
Spencer Davies has lived in the Lexington Park neighborhood in Bryant for 11-years and says some folks familiar with the neighborhood are speeding over blind hills and curves.
He says, "We have recently asked about putting speed bumps in here, but I think this would be better to catch those that are speeding through the neighborhood."
Davies is referring to this black box attached to a light pole in his neighborhood. It's called "Speed Tracker" and it belongs to the Bryant Police Department.
Bryant Police Chief Tony Coffman explains, "Basically what it is, we hang it on a pole to determine if we do have a speeding problem in a certain area on a certain road."
Chief Coffman says the box records every car across five lanes, how fast they're going and what time they drive by. "Every 2 or 3 days we take the PDA and we go plug it in to the main box. It downloads all the data on to the PDA and we dock it and it prints off several sheets a day."
Once the Bryant police have collected their data they will set up patrol during specific hours of speeding traffic. Chief Coffman says the "Speed Tracker" will free up time and save money.
"This has nothing to do with writing tickets; this is strictly to collect data from concerned citizens that think they have a speeding problem. It helps us do our job better to serve the community and that's all it is," Chief Coffman adds.
Davies says the "Speed Tracker" and the recent addition of a patrol car in the neighborhood during high traffic hours is already helping. "Now knowing that they have put that box up there to catch speeding, I'm sure it will slow down quite a bit," Davies concludes.
The "Speed Tracker" has been in use for 2 weeks and Chief Coffman says the data has already been a success. The highest speed they've recorded is more than 30 miles over the speed limit and other police departments statewide are now considering using the device.
The "Speed Tracker" cost about $4,000. Right now the Bryant Police Department has only one portable box. They move it according to how many calls they get complaining about speeding.