Speed Cameras in Illinois

**allyoops** · 05-29-2008, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by guit123

why would a cop need a detector? pro78 is very good ... but i still cant understand why as a cop who gives tickets needs one??? isnt cops and their familes usually have a get out of the tickets for free card....

Where I'm from, if a policeman is caught speeding off duty it can be a disciplinary offence.

At the end of the day, police are only human too! Car guys are car guys - you don't buy a Mustang to stick to 55. You'd miss out on all the sound effects!

**mm6mm6** · 05-31-2008, 12:38 AM

Thanks for the support alleyoops! I didn't become a cop to write tickets. I knew it was part of the job, but I have been able to minimize the necessity for me to write speeding tickets. I became a cop to make arrests. Big ones and little ones, but not to write speeding tickets to people with capable cars and excellent driving skills.

But back to the matter at hand.....

The ISP issued this press release yesterday. Be afraid, be very afraid, be very, very afraid! Our Governor is planning to solve all of his mismanaged budget problems with construction zone speeding fines! (Bold is by me to emphasize the scary parts):

05/29/2008 Illinois Tollway & Illinois State Police District 15 Crack Down on Speeders in Construction Areas
Work Zone Speed Limits Enforced 24/7, Regardless if Workers Are Present

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – In an effort to enhance safety in work zones for motorists and construction workers alike, the Illinois Tollway and Illinois State Police District 15 will demonstrate zero tolerance for drivers who exceed work zone speed limits by aggressively ticketing violators and utilizing a variety of speed-enforcement initiatives during the 2008 construction season.

The 45 m.p.h. work zone speed limit for Tollway construction projects is strictly enforced 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless if workers are present. Signage posted throughout construction zones clearly states that the minimum penalty for violating the construction zone speed limit is a $375 fine. First-time offenders also are subject to mandatory court appearance. A second violation will result in a $1,000 fine and the loss of driver’s license for 90 days. Hitting a worker could result in a $10,000 fine and up to 14 years in jail.

“Speeding and driving too fast for conditions are the leading causes of roadway accidents,” said District 15 Commander Tami Haukedahl. “Tollway drivers need to be aware that we are serious about enforcing the posted speed limits. Our priority is the safety of drivers and workers in construction zones, and we have multiple tools to ensure that those who don’t slow down are severely penalized.”

Work zones speed limits are in place to protect workers as well as for the benefit of drivers traveling through the construction. Work zones can present obstacles to drivers, included narrowed lanes, lane jogs and counterflow lanes, reduced shoulder widths, uneven pavement levels, and construction equipment. Reduced speeds allow drivers time to make adjustments to avoid accidents and the absence of workers does not eliminate the need to slow down for construction conditions.

The Illinois Tollway is investing $6.3 billion to rebuild and widen roadways systemwide as part of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Congestion-Relief Program – Open Roads for a Faster Future. As a result, drivers are encountering more work zones on the tollroads than ever before, as well as stepped-up efforts to enforce reduced speed limits in those work zones. Now in the fourth year, the Tollway’s Congestion-Relief Program is focusing on rebuilding and restoring the majority the Illinois Tollway’s 50-year-old roadways along with adding new lanes to provide additional capacity in critical areas.

“Travel will be more challenging this year due to the volume construction throughout the Tollway system, and we apologize in advance for the inconvenience. However, we ask drivers to realize that when the projects are complete we will have brand new roads with additional capacity to better serve our customers,” said Executive Director Brian McPartlin. “It’s important for drivers to remain attentive and drive responsibly in construction zones, as well as plan additional time for travel – whether they are commuters traveling during the work week or leisure travelers driving on the weekends.”

During the 2008 construction season work zones will be in place on a 45-mile-long stretch of the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294) from O’Hare Airport to the Wisconsin state line, as well as in an 11-mile segment on the south end between 95th Street and 159th Street. On the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) construction is underway throughout a 23-mile-long corridor from Oak Brook to North Aurora. The northwest end of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) from Rockford to the Wisconsin state line is currently under construction, including the Cherry Valley Interchange at I-90 and I-39. In addition, work is planned on the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355) from 75th Street to Ogden Avenue.

Work Zone Enforcement Efforts

District 15’s proven work zone safety initiatives include use of Photo Speed Enforcement Vans, Operation Hard Hat details and Operation Full House details. In addition District 15 will make use of motorcycle patrols dedicated to construction zones, details targeting trucks and commercial vehicles, and enforcement during regular daily roadway patrols.

Photo Speed Enforcement Vans Operational only when workers are present, the well-marked white Photo Speed Enforcement Vans are staffed by State Troopers and equipped with state-of-the-art photo radar technology designed to record the speed of vehicles and capture clear images of the driver and the license plate – regardless of the time of day or weather conditions. Tickets with the $375 fine are sent by certified mail within six business days and offenders are subject to a mandatory court appearance. District 15 State Police has working arrangements with courts in Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane and Winnebago counties to operate the Photo Speed Enforcement Vans.

Operation Hard Hat Details

Hard Hat details place District 15 Troopers dressed as construction workers in active work zone sites. Troopers are equipped with LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) guns to clock the speed of individual cars driving by. LIDAR guns use the same principles as radar guns to measure speed, but employ light beams to pinpoint the speed of each targeted vehicle with accuracy. By radioing a vehicle description ahead to Troopers in squad cars just outside the work zones, State Police then safely pull the speeders over and issue citations.

Are you scared yet? I am!

**lugnuts** · 05-31-2008, 11:27 AM

thanks for the info mm6mm6 I travel many of those roads to and from work. I haven't seen any vans yet but just knowing they are out there is scary. the fact your an LEO and they scare you is even more scary!

those camera's on the side of the road with the solar panels I believe are for traffic reports at least for now. Daily does have his blue light cameras in the city and we all know those are useless for crime prevention. who knows maybe he will convert them to traffic duty.

**The_Disclaimer** · 05-31-2008, 11:56 PM

We have those solar cameras in Omaha, Nebraska. The city claims that they are strictly for emergency vehicles to see if there is a lot of traffic or not. They make me mad because they set off k band and ramp up about once a minute.

**mm6mm6** · 06-02-2008, 06:39 AM

I've now driven north and south on 94/294 twice with my new Whistler Pro 78. It's pretty cool.

All of the portable orange highway signs (trailers) give off K band. They're not very strong though. The actual speed trailers (right now there is only one and it's facing only the n/b traffic) give off very strong K band that the Pro 78 picks up very far away.

I haven't seen the ISP van. I think it'll be awhile before it's deployed.

On a highway (Route 120), I did get a very early warning of Ka band radar and, sure enough, there was a Lake County marked Tahoe off on a side dirt road by the river. The Deputy was out of the vehicle and his radar must have just been left on.

Here's the Pro 78, set to HIGHWAY mode in my Focus:

Here it is, going off for the Speed Trailer's K band (the sign is on the left and it's facing for n/b traffic and I was going s/b):

Here it is, going off for a Construction Warning sign (K band again) which is right about the detector in the pic:

I did a little testing at work. I think a couple people looked at me weird since my squad car had a radar detector mounted inside its windshield

....

I had a co-worker shoot constant Ka down the road. Wow! The Pro 78 picks it wayyyyy in advance. He couldn't even see my car and the detector was going crazy. Obviously, constant on Ka from a handheld Falcon is easily defeated by the Whistler.

Then I followed another car at a 15 car distance. I told him to shoot the radar at that car and then try to get me. When he first saw the other car, the Whistler picked it up right away and I hit the hooks. He got me at 25 in a 25. Whistler wins again.

Then I came down the road all by myself. He waited with the "instant on" hold until he saw my car. Then he hit the trigger. Yeah, the Whistler went crazy, but he had me locked in about 1/4 of a second. There was no way I could react fast enough to smash the brake and slow down. He got me.

If you're the only car, or the lead car, and you're flying down the road, instant on is going to get you. This just confirmed what I pretty much already knew from my radar experience (20 years+).

Drive smart, let other cars clear the path, and pay attention to your detector. That's your best bet.

My hope is that I will get to know where all the signals are during my back and forth drive on 94/294. I should have plenty of warning for the photo radar van with the Whistler Pro 78.

If anything changes (like I see the van!), I will post an update. If I get a chance to goof around with our LIDAR gun, I'll post about that too. I'm curious to see how easy or hard it would be for the Whistler to pick up the laser.

Here's our 1991 Mustang GT (Mustang Club of America 2007 Gold winner in "concours driven" class - it's bone stock):

And here's my (I bought it new in '91 when I wasn't married so this one is "mine" and the red vert is "ours") 1991 Mustang LX 5.0 with a few modifications. 77mm mass air sensor, 65mm throttle body, Vortech 8lb supercharger, Cobra upper and lower intake manifold, 1.6 roller rocker arms, shorty headers, Bassani catalytic X-pipe, Dynomax 2 1/2" mufflers, Tokico Illumina 5 way adjustable shocks, Eibach springs, strut tower brace, lower chassis brace, welded subframe connectors, shock tower brace, graphite/poly bushings, dynamic sway bar, and Tremec 5550HP 5 speed transmission with Hurst shifter. 12.9 Quarter Mile, but it's really set up for road course duty. Raced at speed at Road America, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Nashville Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway (before it was called Lowes), and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

**cooljay** · 06-02-2008, 08:24 AM

Very nice write up, glad to hear you're liking the Pro-78 and coming from a LEO at that!
Yeah I/O (instant on) is a real pain in the butt to deal with and can be just as deadly as LIDAR if used correctly. That's one of the main reasons you'll see people saying in the forums here that if you don't have a rabbit ahead of you, take it easy and watch the speed.

Oh and yes those construction signs are annoying with all that K band going off because of them but thankfully like you noticed they are mostly lower power than police radar.

**lugnuts** · 06-02-2008, 11:54 AM

thanks for the review, very thorough. sounds like you are having fun out there with your new toy.

nice cars you have. I love the red one with the white interior I have always liked that color combo on those later fox bodies.

**Yukon** · 06-05-2008, 04:20 PM

Interesting to hear. I drive along those exact same roads alot, Don't commute on them, but you cant avoid 294...
The vans are scary, but since they run constant on, and competent RD will smoke them. The LIDAR is scary though, need to get a jammer...
My dad refuses to get an RD, and he just drives 50.... In the 'express' lanes (yeah hes one of those people)
I don't know what these people think they are getting at by ticketing anyone that goes over 45. They will end up ticketing everyone that drives on those roads, and many times it is perfectly safe to go 45, and much faster. But i guess they are just in it for the revenue.

**Ovencleaner** · 06-05-2008, 04:30 PM

Congratulations on you purchase... the Pro 78 is a fine detector! I think it is worth alot more than you paid for it personally..

Stick it to big brother! We need more cops like you out there!