Last May the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office received official notice that it had been awarded two speed radar units from the Missouri Blueprint for Highway Safety Coalition, and on Nov. 6 a member of the Missouri Department of Transportation delivered the radar units to the sheriff’s office.
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The Stalker radar features state-of-the-art technology, including rear traffic alert, designed to warn the patrol officer of rapidly overtaking same-lane traffic. The unit can simultaneously measure two to four targets and has direction sensing technology for closing, going away, or both.
“I believe these units are the best and most expensive on the market today,” said Deputy Todd Watson.
The units were made available to the sheriff’s office through a grant, and would have cost approximately $3,000 each to buy.
Deputy Watson said all the officers at the sheriff’s department now have radar in their vehicles, two with the new units and two with the conventional moving radar.
The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety was formed in 2003 with the goal of reducing fatalities on state highways to less than 1,000 by 2008 — a goal that now seems within reach. When the Coalition was formed in 2003, the total number of statewide fatalities was 1,232. As of mid-October 2007, that total is 761, down 12% from last year.
In July of this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made the announcement that Missouri leads the nation in the number of lives saved.
The Northwest Blueprint for Safer Roadways Committee is made up of a cross section of engineers, education professionals, and law enforcement. The Blueprint Committee has addressed such issues as safety belt usage, impaired driving, driver education, child passenger safety seats, and speeding.
One aspect of the effort has been to provide assistance to rural law enforcement in the form of radar guns.
In 2006, the coalition provided radar guns for Atchison, Clinton, and Holt counties. This year, the Blueprint Committee has expanded that assistance to include: Andrew, Buchanan, Daviess, and DeKalb counties in addition to the towns of Cam- eron, Gower and Maryville.