March 27, 2008

Radar trailer added to traffic safety arsenal

Motorists in Adams County may have already noticed a new piece of traffic safety equipment sitting by the road or in front of someone’s house.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Othello Police Department and Ritzville Police Department jointly submitted a grant request to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) last fall for a radar/readerboard trailer.

The sheriff’s office received word by February that the $5,595 multi-jurisdictional grant was awarded. The county has committed to $464 in out-of-pocket expenses.

“We’ve wanted one for years but I guess other things were more important,” said Undersheriff John Hunt. The ACSO borrowed a unit last fall to use in Washtucna before college traffic headed back to school.

WASPC received a total of 117 applications requesting $396,625.31, and awarded $220,804.68 to 104 applicants.

The 600-pound trailer arrived this month and was licensed last week. The LED display is visible from about 1,000 feet away and can also serve as directional signage through programming.

The unit can be programmed to go blank once certain speeds are reached so that people won’t use it to check their speedometers, according to Hunt.

A radar inside the display will check speeds up to 1,500 to 2,000 feet from the unit for traffic heading toward the trailer.

Battery power will last about a week, and the unit is self-charging. It is powder coated and utilizes stainless steel bolts keyed to a specific allen head wrench.

Additional features, such as a solar panel and the ability to keep track of traffic counts, can be added later.

“Our biggest goal is to get it out and in use,” Hunt said. “We have big plans for it so I’m excited to get it out there.”

Those plans include using the unit at road construction sites this summer as well as in and around school zones.