Abbotsford Police Department (AbbyPD) have started a program called ‘Project Homer’ in response to concerns about excessive speeding within the city.
AbbyPD’s Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU) has deployed new technology such as “Black Cat” radar units to help identify speed patterns across the city.
This is part of an intelligence-led strategy to address speeding.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER’S LIVE TRAFFIC UPDATES
The Black Cat monitors and records vehicle speed, the time of day that this happens, traffic volume and lane usage.
The information gathered informs officers of the times that drivers are exceeding speed limits.
In May, a resident contacted AbbyPD to report speeding along Simpson Road near Millwright Drive. The caller said multiple cars were travelling at high speeds daily.
TEU installed a Black Cat in response.
Between May 31st and June 6th, the data from the Black Cat confirmed the complaint from the resident.
Over that period, about 28,000 vehicles were analyzed. The average speed was 58 km/hr in the posted 50 km/hr zone.
More than 20 vehicles were travelling at least 61 km/hr over the speed limit with one care travelling at three times the posted speed.
Based on this information, TEU launched “Project Homer” to address the issue.
Over two days, nine vehicles were impounded for excessive speeding.
The average speed of the impounded vehicles was in excess of 113 km/hr.
The highest speed recorded was 126 km/hr in the 50 km/hr zone.
In addition to the vehicle impoundments, numerous violation tickets were issued.
