Police have new weapon against speeders

(11/01/07 - KTRK/GALVESTON, TX) (KTRK) -- If you drive over the speed limit, watch out. Police are starting to use a new laser speed gun to easily pick out speeding drivers. Officers in Galveston bought the new speed guns, in part, to help crack down on speeders on the Galveston Causeway.

Using a federal grant, police spent more than $100,000 on the new laser radar guns. It allows police to zero in on one specific vehicle, as opposed to a conventional radar, which at times, is not focused enough to pinpoint the speed of a single driver.

The new radar guns can also track vehicles at a much greater distance than can a conventional radar. Instead of checking speeds at 350 feet, police say they can now track how fast vehicles are traveling from as far as 3,700 feet away.

Police say they'll use the new radar gun at several locations, including the Galveston Causeway, where a recent study found that only four percent of drivers abide by the 50 mile per hour speed limit. With all the construction now on the Causeway, police are trying to make the roadway less dangerous.

"We want to protect the citizens and the visitors to the city of Galveston," said Sgt. Phillip Morris with the Galveston Police Department. "We also want to protect the workers who are up there trying to get the Causeway project completed."

The fine for speeding on the Causeway doubles if construction workers are present at the time.

An estimated 600,000 people are expected to come to Galveston in the next three and a half days for the Lone Star Rally.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

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