MADISON, Wis. — In an effort to combat reckless driving, the Madison Police Department has increased their speed measuring technology.
The department received eight new lasers this week from a grant through the city’s Vision Zero initiative, a program designed to improve traffic safety.
Officers completed a 24-hour training cycle yesterday in order to learn the functionalities of the lasers in addition to practice using the technology out on the roads.
The lasers can measure speeds on vehicles up to 3,000 feet away, which allows officers to obtain a precise read on the vehicle they are measuring.
The city is specifically targeting East Washington Avenue, Mineral Point Road and the Beltline Highway to address speeding in those areas.
“We’re just trying to get out and reduce some of these speeds,” Madison Police Officer Michael Malloy said. “I think nationwide we’ve seen an increase in reckless driving over the past few years, so this is just what we’re doing to try and help reduce that.”
The increase in technology will supplement the 20 to 25 lasers the Madison Police Department has used for the last three decades.
According to Malloy, the police department hopes to purchase eight additional lasers by next year.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
