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Suf Daddy
09-12-2005, 08:31 PM
In "car" video:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/enforce/aggressdrivers/aggenforce/maryland.html

MARYLAND STATE POLICE

The United States Army Aberdeen Test Center, in a technology transfer initiative with the Federal Highway Administration, the Maryland State Highway Administration, and the Maryland State Police (MSP), developed the A.D.V.A.N.C.E. (Aggressive Driving Video and Non Contact Enforcement) Vehicle. The system was developed to assist the MSP in identifying aggressive drivers on the Capital Beltway.

The vehicle uses lasers to determine the range and speed of vehicles on the highway and a computer system to record video images of the front, side and rear of a vehicle when the vehicle’s measured speed exceeds a predetermined threshold. The information is quickly assembled into a violation report that is sent to the violator. A manual override allows the operator to trigger the acquisition of video data in order to capture other aggressive driving patterns such as following too close and erratic lane changes.

The operator is able to view live video from any camera by selecting the appropriate switch on the front of the video monitor. The system also has the capability of recording traffic statistical information as speed distributions (histograms) of vehicles in the flow of traffic. These data allow the operator to estimate the average speed of traffic.

Data is saved on a removable disk and subsequently used to generate violation reports that can be analyzed or mailed to the owner of the vehicle. The operator can review any and all data on the computer monitor.

Special Features

The Project A.D.V.A.N.C.E. vehicle, designed by Aberdeen Test Center is fully equipped with state-of-the-art-technology.

MSP uses a strong media campaign advising drivers of the Project A.D.V.A.N.C.E. vehicle, highway signs, and other unmarked patrol vehicles to help the MSP deal with an estimated 200,000 vehicles a day that drive on the Capital Beltway.

Maryland State Police’s Project A.D.V.A.N.C.E. that shows a diagram of the vehicle layout.

Technology Used

The Project A.D.V.A.N.C.E. uses a vehicle equipped with technology that has not traditionally been used in traffic enforcement. The lidar speed-measuring device, coupled with a new device called Autosense, measures the speed of the vehicle. The Autosense device triggers the side and rear cameras to take pictures of the vehicle, the registration plate and the operator.

The A.D.V.A.N.C.E. system establishes a database of violations that includes pictures of the vehicle, that can be mailed to the vehicle’s owner.

Project Outcome

The design and implementation of the A.D.V.A.N.C.E. project is a joint technology exchange between the Department of Defense, United States Army, Federal Highway Administration, Maryland State Highway Commission, and MSP. Cooperating efforts like this will continue to bring new technologies to the law enforcement arena to improve officer and law enforcement effectiveness. Each time the A.D.V.A.N.C.E. vehicle is used, more is learned about how to improve the vehicle and the system.

A strong public information and education campaign, along with highway signs advising of the A.D.V.A.N.C.E. vehicle and support by other Maryland State Police will educate the public about aggressive driving and help change driving behavior.

Legal Considerations

In the State of Maryland, citations cannot be mailed to the violator. The law enforcement officer has to make immediate contact with the driver and the driver has to be allowed to sign the citation. Enabling legislation is needed to allow citations to be mailed to the violator.

A traffic violation in Maryland currently assesses points to the driving record. Since points are assessed, the driver has to be contacted and identified immediately. Jurisdictions that currently use photo enforcement have reduced citations to a civil infraction. There are no points assessed and the driver only pays a fine.

More Information

Sergeant Janet Harrison
Maryland State Police
Commercial Vehicle Division
901 Elkridge Landing Road, Suite 300
Linthicum Heights, MD 21090
(410) 694-6100

thestaton
09-12-2005, 08:47 PM
so they just use a laser we can hopefully jam :)