Road Injury Prevention & Litigation Journal Copyright © 1998 by
TranSafety, Inc. May 1, 1998 Fax: (360) 335-6402 Since its
modest inception in 1902, "speed control technology" has
experienced tremendous growth and increasing sophistication.
However, speeding remains a major safety concern on the nation's
roadways. Nearly one in five fatal crashes is believed to be the
result of driving too fast, and less than half of survey
respondents reported obeying posted speed limits all the time.
To combat the speeding problem, law enforcement has enlisted the
help of "two of the most technologically sophisticated forms of
. . . automated speed control"--photo-radar and speed display
boards. Photo-radar, in use for more than 30 years, employs
radar to detect speeding, takes photographs of speeding
vehicles, and issues their drivers citations by mail. Speed
display boards are a newer device (developed in the late 1980s).
They are widely used, having grown from about 90 in use in 1991
to more than 500 today. They also emp