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The British always seem to be the first when it comes to Law Enforcement. The famed Scotland Yard was one of the world’s first organized police forces, and now it seems as though Scotland police will soon stop using a widely-used auto speed detection device.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in Scotland recommended against using the Vehicle Average Speed Computer and Recorder (VASCAR) system to issue speeding tickets to car drivers.
The memo — sent on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 — is a major blow to the 35-year-old technology used to detect car drivers that speed and lower car accident statistics. Despite its inaccuracies, it is still commonly used throughout the rest of the United Kingdom and even the United States. It will be replaced by other radar and laser speed guns — devices already in use in some areas — to detect speeders.
Our firm’s experienced car accident lawyers know that speeding drivers are a major cause of automobile accidents. When car drivers speed, they limit the amount of time they have to react to something in front of them and any resulting car accident will be much worse due to the higher speeds.
So why are Scottish Police eliminating this system? Well, the problem, it seems, is that this system is just not accurate enough due to electronic interference.
According to the VASCAR website, “Unlike many police radar guns, the basic operation of VASCAR has the officer visually select any two landmarks (utility pole, crosswalk, sign, etc.), determine distance between landmarks (already known or measured with patrol vehicle odometer), and measure the time it take a target vehicle to travel between landmarks (push a button when target passes each landmark).”
The upside to using VASCAR is that the officer need not be in close proximity to the road; rather, the officer merely needs to be able to see the car pass between the landmarks to determine its speed.
The downside, however, is that VASCAR is unreliable when used with new digital radio systems and automated number plate recognition (ANPR) systems now employed in police cars. Tests determined that there needs to be a 6 ½ feet distance between the VASCAR and ANPR systems — a major problem considering that VASCAR is often a part of the car’s dashboard control.
As a result, officials have decided to scrap the system.
The car accident lawyer at our firm hope that this news does not mean that speeding violators will increase in Scotland. Speeding drivers are one of the leading causes of a wrongful death on any road, no matter what country. Our law enforcement officials need to continue to combat this problem. Should a system have to be perfect to try to limit this problem?
As a society, we put the police in charge to make sure that laws are obeyed, but there are no laws when it comes to car accidents, which is why it is always good to have the best auto insurance policy on your side.
Call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident attorney and find out how we can help you. We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case. No fee if no recovery
SENIOR PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY & FIRM FOUNDER
Michael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in 1987. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes how insurance companies work and how they decide how much to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael’s inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents. Learn more about Michael Pines