FL - New device keeps watch on speeders SpeedSpy monitors Milton traffic trends

**StlouisX50** · 07-23-2009, 09:33 AM

New device keeps watch on speeders

SpeedSpy monitors Milton traffic trends

Carmen Paige • cpaige@pnj.com • July 23, 2009

The Milton Police Department has a traffic spy.

Most drivers don't notice the small intelligence agent, but it pays attention to everyone.
SpeedSpy is a data collection tool the Milton Police Department has been using since April to monitor traffic patterns, and eventually the department plans to take its enforcement efforts to areas identified as problematic.
"We look at volume, speed and time of day, which will help us with traffic enforcement and the best use of our resources," said Milton Police Chief Greg Brand. "The data lets us zero in on when we need to be in an area instead of working it on a hit-or-miss basis."
SpeedSpy is a 17-pound portable gray box with a radar that can be mounted to any roadside pole or a tree. It has a maximum range of 3,000 feet.
"It looks like a utility box, and most people never know it's there," Cpl. Mike Cline said.
That certainly was the case on Henry Street, where the speed limit is 25 mph.
Out of nearly 5,800 drivers tracked during a six-day span in early May, more than 5,300 were speeding. Nearly 1,500 drivers were 1 to 5 mph above the speed limit, and more than 2,000 were 6 to 10 mph over it.
"People going one, two or three miles over the speed limit, I don't care," Brand said. "But, when we see an area with a significant amount of traffic and a large portion of drivers 10 miles or more over the speed limit, we are going to do enforcement there."
Connie Clark of Milton would like to see more traffic monitoring on Berryhill Road from Dogwood Drive to Stewart Street and on Byrom Street.
"People are speeding on those roads every day," she said.
SpeedSpy sounds like a good idea, especially among parents whose children drive, Clark said.
"This might slow them down," she said.
A traffic enforcement plan based on the data is under way, Brand said.
"After we have conducted enforcement efforts, then the box will be placed back in those areas to see if our efforts were beneficial," Cline said.
The device does not record license plate numbers, Brand said.
Not everyone is convinced SpeedSpy is only a traffic monitoring device.
"Sounds like a speed-trapping device," said Helen Andrews of Milton.
Councilwoman Pat Lunsford hopes the device will cause more people to think and slow down when they drive in the city.
"I hope it will stop some accidents and make people more cautious," she said. "I think people are not conscious of the hazards they can cause when they speed and run traffic lights."
The $1,700 SpeedSpy has paid for itself, Brand said.
"This is one of the best pieces of equipment we have bought because it lets us identify problems with specificity," he said. "The longer we stay with it, we can clear up traffic patterns with persistence in areas we need it most."

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Cpl. Mike Cline with the Milton Police Department opens up a SpeedSpy, an inconspicuous traffic data collection system which is mounted to a telephone poll, near the intersection of Oak and Santa Rosa streets in Milton. (Katie King/kking@pnj.com)

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