Constables are using technology that takes pictures of speeding cars in a fraction of a second in an effort to reduce traffic accidents on the road.
SAN ANTONIO — In an effort to reduce crashes in Bexar County, Precinct 3 constables are now using technology to warn drivers who’ve been speeding.
Precinct 3 Constable Mark Vojvodich says the new technology could be implemented as early as the end of January.
“Some people call it a speed trap, to us we’re doing traffic enforcement,” Vojvodich said.
Doing away with a traditional radar, law enforcement is implementing scanning LIDAR technology.
“Finds a violation, it takes a picture of the car and the license plate and the driver, which is not stored in a database,” he said.
Vojvodich insists you won’t get a speeding ticket for going to two or three miles over the speed limit.
“A lot of people said, ‘Oh my goodness we’re going to get tickets everyday.’ I said, “No, it’s only people who are driving considerable amount over the speed limit by a considerable amount of speed. A school zone in particular where we have a very low threshold for that,” he explained.
This is no ordinary camera, this scanning technology instantly gives you stats like which lane the car was in and which direction and speed the car was travelling.
“The device itself doesn’t issue any citations, it just provides data for the court which is not unusual,” he said. “If there’s a citation that’s gonna be sent out, after we’ve identified the exact driver who was operating a vehicle at the time of the violation, then the citation is issued.”
From there, Vojvodich says you get a court hearing.
The technology sounds similar to the now-outlawed red light cameras, but when it comes to differences, Vojvodich says the scanning LIDAR technology records criminal violations not civil violations.
If you receive a citation from LIDAR tech, you could pay a fine which would be considered a Class C misdemeanor.