N.M. Police to Operate Unmanned Speed SUVs

Oct. 18, 2012
The Santa Fe Police Department says its unmanned, camera-equipped SUVs will start monitoring traffic on city streets seven days a week.

Oct. 17--The Santa Fe Police Department says its unmanned, camera-equipped SUVs will start monitoring traffic on city streets seven days a week.

Rather than just Monday through Friday, beginning Oct. 22, the specially equipped vehicles will monitor traffic all week in what the department said is an effort to reduce speeding and accidents.

Program administrator Amanda Katz expects the expansion to generate more citations, but not just from locals. "Let's be honest," she said. "Who's speeding on the weekends? Tourists."

Although Katz said the new schedule isn't targeting tourists, she expects a minimal increase during fall and winter, but expects ticket numbers to increase greatly in spring and summer when the tourist season starts up again.

The new schedule, which comes on the heels of the city's decision to add a third speed van to its fleet back in September, will allow police to monitor more areas and address more traffic concerns. Katz said she can't say if weekend-specific locations will be identified.

The Arizona-based company RedFlex provides the SUVs. The company operates similar traffic-monitoring programs in cities such as Los Angeles, London and Sydney. Katz said RedFlex added two new drivers to its group to deal with the expanded schedule.

RedFlex cannot place the vehicles on state roads, such as St. Francis Drive, Cerrillos Road and St. Michael's Drive, because of a New Mexico law that gives the state Department of Transportation control over these roads. The department has declined to allow municipalities to station the roadside equipment on streets under its jurisdiction.

Katz said that recently, the Department of Transportation marked North Guadalupe Street between Alamo Drive and Paseo de Peralta as an area under its jurisdiction as well.

Additionally, the speed SUVs require at least 150 feet of straight road for the camera to read speeds correctly, though Katz said the operators prefer about 300 feet. Roads also must be wide enough so that an SUV can be parked without impeding vehicle or foot traffic. Katz said residents can volunteer to have one of the SUVs parked on their private property.

Citations issued from unmanned radar-and-camera setups don't affect a person's driving record or insurance. However, unpaid tickets are reported to a collection agency.

Katz also said a new feature will be added to the speed SUV website that is intended to answer commonly asked questions as well as post the vans' location for the coming week. The New Mexican regularly publishes the speed van locations provided by the city.

Copyright 2012 - The Santa Fe New Mexican

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