New radar gear tracks speeders

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office has new tools to enforce speed limits, particularly around schools.

New radar equipment interacts with new videocameras to record drivers' speed.

The department received a $19,200 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and matched a small amount of its own to buy six new radar guns and four new videocameras, patrol commander Pete Wingert said.

The equipment registers the speed of vehicles moving both ahead of and behind the patrol car.

It's recorded, along with the speed of the officer's vehicle, and the time and date. It's been in use for about two weeks, Wingert.

"We're seeing excessive speeds, particularly in school zones," he said Thursday. "I think it's a matter of people forgetting school zones after a long summer."

On Thursday morning, deputies recorded drivers going 70 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone near West Valley School.

Wingert said deputies may warn or ticket drivers. Officers have been writing tickets this week, he said.