Kaua‘i police have stepped-up efforts to keep pedestrians and drivers safe by putting portable speed detection signs in areas with traffic problems around the island. While such speed enforcement isn’t new — the Kaua‘i Police Department has been using trailers
Kaua‘i police have stepped-up efforts to keep pedestrians and drivers safe by putting portable speed detection signs in areas with traffic problems around the island.
While such speed enforcement isn’t new — the Kaua‘i Police Department has been using trailers for the past few months — it’s especially critical in preventing pedestrian fatalities, especially in the wake of 10 such deaths on O‘ahu, Lt. Mark Scribner said.
No pedestrians have been killed on-island this year, however, one pedestrian was killed on Kaua‘i in 2006, a tragedy the police department is trying to prevent from happening again.
With a $25,000 grant from the Department of Transportation, KPD was able to purchase its third speed-calculating trailer that can intermittently display miles-per-hour and messages, such as “watch for pedestrians.”
The trailers will also include reminders, such as “click it or ticket,” and will continue to be placed in front of schools, so people are aware of how fast they are actually going in contrast with the posted speed limit, he said.
The grant request to purchase the device was one of five that Scribner wrote, which in all netted $250,000 in funds for the department.
The most recently acquired trailer — purchased at the end of last year — is superior to the other two portable devices because it can tabulate data, Scribner said.
“It has statistic gathering capability, like how many cars go through each day,” he said.
After setting up a trailer, police usually wait one day before enforcing speed violations, he added.
