OUPD Chief says his department hasn't been enforcing speed limits closely — until now.
Speed demons, beware.
The Ohio University Police Department is now implementing a radar device to detect vehicular speed on campus as part of a new strategy to enforce speed limits.
OU Police Chief Andrew Powers said his department had not been strict with speed enforcement prior to acquiring the radar unit, but now more officers are gradually being trained to use the device.
“All the cruisers have a calibrated speedometer in them,” Powers said. “But pacing someone is difficult to do, so it is not something we did very often.”
The stricter speed enforcement is part of a multi-pronged approach to enhance safety on campus roadways implemented by the President’s Advisory Council on Campus Safety, according to a previous Post article.
Powers said some members of the council, especially students, had voiced concerns that pedestrians did not feel safe crossing streets on campus.
Although the committee reviewed multiple awareness-raising options, Powers said a law-enforcement solution was also needed to prevent drivers from violating the speed limits on campus.
“We told them we didn’t have any functioning radar units, so the committee decided that it would be a worthwhile use of funds as part of this process of trying to enhance pedestrian safety,” Powers said.
Lt. Tim Ryan, OUPD’s head of criminal investigation, said the radar unit was a very accurate way of measuring speed in comparison to using a speedometer. Ryan said the radar unit would be taken out of service if it deviated more than 1 mph when measuring a vehicle’s speed.
In addition to the radar unit, OUPD also acquired an electronic speed limit sign that displays a driver’s speed in comparison to the posted speed limit, as well as added improvements to existing speed signs. The funding for these efforts were all made available through the Safety Now account.
Jeff Campbell, OU’s director of Environmental Health and Safety Department, said the electronic speed limit sign comes with a $4,150 price tag while the cost of changing existing speed signs on campus was $300. It was not immediately clear as of press time how many signs had been updated.
“These are a part of state appropriated funds,” Campbell said.
Powers said his department was in the process of training officers to use the radar unit.
“We’re getting people trained and they’re trickling out, starting to use it,” he said. “As people are getting trained, they’re starting to use the radar.”
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