ACC has been buying former police radar equipment in a
clandestine plan to thwart speeding motorists who use radar
detectors.
The old radars, which have been renamed "drones", have been
mounted to power poles at up to 70 sites nationally, and are
intended to fool motorists with detectors in their cars into
thinking police are nearby.
Five drones have also been bought by school bus companies to
slow motorists down around children, and another six have
been requested.
Official estimates from the past decade put the number of
motorists with radar detectors at about one in 10.
The radars are renamed by a Wellington company, which buys
them from police and sells them on.
They are used as part of a project between ACC's Road Safety
Action Planning Group, police, the New Zealand Transport
Agency and councils.
Representatives from the Dunedin City, Central Otago,
Queenstown Lakes and Clutha councils approached last night
had not heard of the scheme.
However, Clutha Mayor Juno Hayes welcomed the move.
"It would be a good idea if it cuts the road toll."
The scheme has been under way for about a year, and about
$7000 has been invested so far.
ACC buys the drones for about $150, before passing them on to
NZTA, local authorities and others, for distribution.
Injury prevention manager Phil Wright yesterday said 10
drones were initially trialled in Canterbury for six months
before they were moved to the North Island.
While there had been no plan to keep the project secret, the
department had been happy for it to remain under wraps, he
said.
"We haven't tried to keep it a secret but we didn't tell
anyone, as we thought it would be best if, when a signal went
off, motorists didn't assume it was part of this programme."
In the last financial year, ACC processed more than $80
million in injury claims from crashes where speed was a
factor, he said.
Mr Wright said the radar idea had followed a proposal by
former transport minister Harry Duynhoven to ban radar
detectors.
"[Radar detectors] are sold to people who are the more
hardcore speedsters. They are an essential element in a
boy-racer car.
Dunedin's three drones
What about the three "drones" that are situated in the Dunedin city area. One on the Norhern Motorway, just past the second bridge, from town. Second one at Lindsfarne, East Taieri and the third one on the Fairfield off ramp, hidden behind a stand of trees.
Illegal radar detectors
Since the only possible use of a radar detector is to avoid the police when speeding, then clearly there is no legal use for them.
This should automatically make them illegal.
It should be an instant fine and confiscation of the offending device, and there should not need a law change for that to be the case.
At the very least they should be a reason for the police to pull over drivers with them in the car, under suspicion of having undertaken illegal activities (ie speeding).
There is no law in this
There is no law in this country saying anything primarily used to break the law is automatically illegal. Is that what you'd like? This judgement to be made by a cop on the street, who has the power to confiscate anything that they decide might be illegal?