Radar as a Deterrent Makes Sense

Drivers along Interstate 5 between Glendale and Gorman take note: California Highway Patrol officers have begun using radar to nab speeders. After the initial, understandable grumbling, the use of radar to cut down on accidents along the busy stretch makes sense. If it helps reduce already decreasing accident rates, it ought to be expanded to other areas where the technology traditionally has not been employed.

For years, the CHP has avoided the widespread use of radar on state highways for various political and fiscal reasons, making California the only state in the country where radar has been a rarity. Free-spirited drivers liked the idea of having a fighting chance against officers in patrol cars who traditionally measured speed by matching the pace of violating vehicles. Now car-mounted radar can catch heavy-footed drivers before they even see a black-and-white patrol car.

Federal and county money pays for the sophisticated radar units, which can track two vehicles, either in front of or behind the patrol car. The goal, according to CHP officials, is not to increase the number of tickets but to decrease the number of accidents. They figure that the mere threat of radar-equipped patrol cars will help keep drivers near the 65-mph speed limit and on their toes. It makes sense.

Overall, the number of statewide traffic fatalities fell 35% between 1987 and 1997, due largely to seat belt laws and advances in vehicle safety such as air bags. That’s an encouraging trend--and one worth working toward continuing. Whether radar actually helps is still unclear. CHP officials will code tickets issued along Interstate 5 and then examine the effect of radar on the accident rate and the number of tickets issued. If that study shows an improvement, then radar ought to be extended to other stretches across Southern California. And the state Legislature should consider picking up the tab.