High-Tech Police Vehicle Targets Dangerous Drivers

WASHINGTON —  Maryland State Police launched their latest weapon against aggressive drivers Friday--a Bronco bristling with high-tech equipment that will roam the congested Capital Beltway to finger violators, photograph their behavior and record it on a film print that will be sent to their homes with a written warning.

Maryland’s 43-mile stretch of the Beltway was chosen for the Ford Bronco’s range, police said, because the road is usually jammed and the speeding, tailgating and weaving from lane to lane that characterize aggressive driving are endemic on the busy interstate.

Officials said they plan to immediately deploy the $400,000 prototype vehicle for several hours a day, in an experiment that will last a year. The vehicle, which will pack lasers, video equipment and cameras, will typically be parked on the shoulder of the Beltway, with cameras aimed into traffic.

The equipment is unique in law enforcement circles in its ability to spot aggressive driving behavior almost automatically, officials said. It has the ability not only to take photos of license plates on rear bumpers, but also to shoot the identifying numbers on the cabs of trucks--even when they blow by at 90 mph.

Violators caught on camera will get only warnings during the 12-month test phase of the program, but that could change, said David B. Mitchell, superintendent of the Maryland State Police. Police said they are considering seeking authority from the General Assembly to issue citations.

Even without such authority, Mitchell said, the new equipment offers police the ability “to radio instantly to troopers on the Beltway about an aggressive driver,” who can then be pulled over and given a ticket.

About a decade ago, Maryland’s efforts to use cameras to catch speeders and issue tickets by mail were quashed when many residents complained about the intrusive nature of the technology. “But with the increase in road rage today, the public is fed up,” said Ray Cotton, who directs the project for the state police. “They’re now ready.”

Ultimately, if legislation were to give police the authority, dozens of tickets could be issued in an hour or two by a single officer using the kind of equipment on board the Bronco. The officer would never have to give chase or pull over a violator--actions that can cause accidents on busy roads.

The special Bronco, which was developed and promoted with federal and state highway safety funds and help from scientists at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center, works like this: The clearly marked brown and tan vehicle is parked alongside the road, in the direction traffic moves, with its rear-mounted video camera and a speed-measuring laser aimed at oncoming traffic. A car or truck traveling above a threshold speed--which police will not reveal--triggers the equipment that then videotapes the vehicle’s movements and measures its length as it passes. If the vehicle is a truck, an onboard computer activates a side camera that photographs the truck’s federal identification numbers. Then, as the vehicle speeds by, another camera takes six shots of its license plate.

The warning letter that officials said they will send to the vehicle’s owner cites the date, time and the Maryland law being violated, such as going 78 mph in a 55-mph zone. The letter explains the Aggressive Driver Imaging & Enforcement Program and advises the driver that “this is not a citation.”