Nurb608
18th December 2009, 04:40 PM
Must have ran out of speed cameras, lol.
Victorian police are dusting off speed-detecting gear rarely seen in two decades as part of their Christmas driving campaign.
Those speeding through Melbourne's inner suburbs on Friday found out the hard way that retro technology can still clock a speeding car.
A variety of motorists from truckies to working mums were all pulled over in Clifton Hill because of the "digitector".
"What we're doing is putting every piece of technology available to us out on the roads," Deputy Commissioner Ken Lay told reporters.
He said the old device can still be effective on drivers who may have figured out where speed traps and cameras are located.
"There is a whole generation of drivers out there who haven't seen this older technology," he said.
The old-fashioned long black tubes laid out on the road 25 metres apart measure a vehicle's speed as a simple time over distance maths formula.
Traffic Inspector David Griffith, who hasn't used a digitector since the early `90s, joked it may have been more fitting to use them during Movember when many officers grew big moustaches like `80s Magnum PI star Tom Selleck.
"But I can't grow a moustache to save my life so I grew out the big sideburns," he said in a chuckle.
Even with their advanced age, there are no legal issues with using the digitector as evidence in court cases, he said.
"The courts love them because it gives you an average speed," he said.
"It's not like radar that gives you an instant reading."
A 2006 auditor general's report into speed enforcement states that Victoria still had 112 digitectors but usage had fallen out of favour "because of the time taken for setting up the device and their poor covertness".
The device will be used until January 3 as part of Operation Aegis in which 3,000 police officers will aim to drive down the Christmas road toll of 14 deaths last year.
Victoria has led the nation in road deaths over the holiday period for the past two years.
The 2009 campaign started off poorly when a speeding car crashed into a power pole at 4am (AEDT), killing a 19-year-old woman and injuring two others.
Police will focus on speeding drivers, those who have been drinking, taking drugs or are fatigued.
Thousands of motorists will face random breath tests, drug testing and vehicle stops.
Victorian police are dusting off speed-detecting gear rarely seen in two decades as part of their Christmas driving campaign.
Those speeding through Melbourne's inner suburbs on Friday found out the hard way that retro technology can still clock a speeding car.
A variety of motorists from truckies to working mums were all pulled over in Clifton Hill because of the "digitector".
"What we're doing is putting every piece of technology available to us out on the roads," Deputy Commissioner Ken Lay told reporters.
He said the old device can still be effective on drivers who may have figured out where speed traps and cameras are located.
"There is a whole generation of drivers out there who haven't seen this older technology," he said.
The old-fashioned long black tubes laid out on the road 25 metres apart measure a vehicle's speed as a simple time over distance maths formula.
Traffic Inspector David Griffith, who hasn't used a digitector since the early `90s, joked it may have been more fitting to use them during Movember when many officers grew big moustaches like `80s Magnum PI star Tom Selleck.
"But I can't grow a moustache to save my life so I grew out the big sideburns," he said in a chuckle.
Even with their advanced age, there are no legal issues with using the digitector as evidence in court cases, he said.
"The courts love them because it gives you an average speed," he said.
"It's not like radar that gives you an instant reading."
A 2006 auditor general's report into speed enforcement states that Victoria still had 112 digitectors but usage had fallen out of favour "because of the time taken for setting up the device and their poor covertness".
The device will be used until January 3 as part of Operation Aegis in which 3,000 police officers will aim to drive down the Christmas road toll of 14 deaths last year.
Victoria has led the nation in road deaths over the holiday period for the past two years.
The 2009 campaign started off poorly when a speeding car crashed into a power pole at 4am (AEDT), killing a 19-year-old woman and injuring two others.
Police will focus on speeding drivers, those who have been drinking, taking drugs or are fatigued.
Thousands of motorists will face random breath tests, drug testing and vehicle stops.