PA - Oil City Police get ENRADD
Oil City police go wireless to nab speeders
Oil City police go wireless to nab speeders
By KAREN CLARK
The wireless speed-checking mechanism allows officers to run a speed detail nearly anywhere.
A high-tech mechanism purchased earlier this year by the Oil City Police Department has been helping police curb speeding motorists.
Electronic Non-Radar Devices, or ENRADD, has been in use since January, allowing officers to more aggressively target speeders. It also makes it a lot more difficult for lawbreakers to know where police are likely to be waiting and keeping watch.
The wireless speed-checking mechanism allows officers to run a speed detail nearly anywhere - on bridges and main thoroughfares and on back streets and alleys. One of the recently targeted spots was in the Route 8 bypass and Main Street area.
As of Thursday afternoon, a new but unidentified location had been selected for enforcement, according to Oil City Police Chief Robert Wenner.
"That is one of the benefits of the equipment. We can move the system in 10 or 15 minutes and that helps us be more responsive to the needs," Wenner said.
Municipal police departments throughout Pennsylvania are not allowed to use hand-held radar guns similar to ones used by state police.
Several departments have become accustomed to painting white lines on straight stretches of roadway and timing vehicles with stopwatches to determine speed. Officials said the lines have to be about 132 feet apart, but the ENRADD system makes use of two tripods, each equipped with sensor units. Police place the 3-foot tripods on opposite sides of the road.
As vehicles pass between the sensors, their speed is calculated and transmitted via a wireless radio link to a display head located in a patrol car.
Polk Borough was the first municipality in the area to acquire the equipment and two years later, Oil City, Franklin and Emlenton added the equipment to their arsenal.
Experts declare ENRADD can save a department between $3,000 and $5,000 per car per year (on maintenance and fuel) because officers don't have to chase speeding cars. Police cars may be a quarter mile up the road, put on the lights and flag the driver over.
Wenner said officers running the ENRADD devices only need to be within sight distance of tripods and offending vehicles.
Wenner did not disclose the new location for the ENRADD but also said the department will be keeping a close eye on local schools since students will be returning to classes Tuesday.
"It helps us catch speeders and keep everyone safe," Wenner said.
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Originally Posted by SpeedingVolvo
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