Watch this video to learn how the Sturgis Police Department does this effectively.
Speeding (especially speeding in neighborhoods) is extremely dangerous for the community, and there is good reason to be concerned: even before the pandemic, speed was a factor in over a quarter of all traffic fatalities in 2019. In the first half of 2021 there were an estimated 20,160 people that passed away from motor vehicle crashes, which is an 18.4% increase from 2020. “That’s the largest number of projected fatalities in that time period since 2006,” according to the United States Department of Transportation.
To gather insights into how our solutions have been helping law enforcement agencies reduce speeding in neighborhoods, resolve complaints, and prioritize enforcement, we sat down with Lieutenant Damon Knapp of the Sturgis, Michigan Police Department. Lieutenant Damon Knapp and his department have been using All Traffic Solutions’ Shield 12 Radar Speed Signs and TraffiCloud® software to help resolve speeding complaints and prioritize enforcement in the community.
Resolving Neighborhood Speeding Problems and Complaints
“We always get calls saying ‘We have a speeding problem in this zone or this street or in this neighborhood,’ and you never really can take that at face value because a lot of people don’t realize when a car is going fast. Cause 35 could look pretty fast to some people… it looks different to everybody.” said Lieutenant Knapp.
Speed data collection through the Shield 12 radar speed signs and TraffiCloud software will identify whether there really are speeding problems or not. The Sturgis, MI Police Department uses ready-made traffic data reports generated through TraffiCloud to address residents’ speeding complaints.
“I have talked with many citizens saying people are speeding, and I’m like ‘You know I’ve had this sign down there for a month, and we’ve had one person over 35 miles per hour and it was during this timeframe… They like when you can tell them the statistics… I think it makes them feel better that you’re actually doing something.”
Also, the presence of a speed reduction sign itself on the road reminded any speeding cars that they should slow down.
“It’s very good proactive stuff when people see it, when they go by it and see that they’re going a little too fast… It also gives us what times the speeds are happening, so we like that a lot… It gives us a timeframe too, to address a problem.”
Since 21% of vehicle crashes are related to weather according to NHTSA, it’s important for the Sturgis, MI Police Department to help reduce speeding in neighborhoods (and across the city) during the coming months (Michigan is not known for their mild winters). As Lieutenant Knapp put it, “They (the Shield 12 signs) are up [in bad weather conditions]. I think we used them last year, and I even think we even used them in January for a little bit. They seemed to hold up fine and provided us with the data we need.”
Prioritizing Enforcement
“[The data and statistics from TraffiCloud] makes the community safer. It allows us to address the speed problems in the area and put our resources where there actually are problems.” said Lieutenant Knapp.
With the data collected, Lieutenant Knapp and the Sturgis, MI Police Department can see if people were speeding and when people were speeding. That information then makes it easier to prioritize if/when officers should go out to monitor the roads.
“If I don’t have to leave an officer on the street where there might not be any problems, it allows me to put them on the streets where we are having problems, it allows them to monitor it. It also lets them know, when I share the info with them, that we do have a problem on this street. These are the timeframes, so they don’t feel like they’re wasting their time going down there.” said Lieutenant Knapp.
“Being able to have that data from the radar really helps us say ‘yep, I need to put more resources down in that zone, or in that neighborhood, than we have right now or that we’re utilizing. And that number gives me hard facts to kind of direct our personnel that way.”
“It allows us to address speed problems in the area and put our resources where there actually are problems instead of people just complaining about problems that they’re not sure of.”
For Lieutenant Damon Kanpp and the Sturgis, MI Police Department, the Shield 12 and TraffiCloud helps not only reduce speeding in neighborhoods, but it also allows them to capture data to determine where (and if) there are speeding problems. This has helped the Sturgis, MI Police Department resolve speeding complaints and prioritize enforcement effectively.
“It’s really nice to have a tool that you put in the community and it does what it’s supposed to do, and gives you the results that you need to have.”
Additional Video Notes
- TraffiCloud is our secure, web-based traffic management software that makes it easy to manage all your traffic data and safety devices remotely using any internet-connected device. Receive alerts for when your devices have a low battery, have been tampered with, have identified high-risk speeding, and more. Generate reports to help you identify trends and make more insightful traffic management decisions.
- TraffiCloud made it easy to change the signs when needed. According to Lt. Knapp, TraffiCloud was extremely convenient because he can, “make all the changes from his computer and not even go out to the sign.”
- “The batteries are usually pretty good on them, we haven’t had a lot of problems… The solar power seems to keep it charged and it works great.”
Watch the video below to learn about how the Sturgis Police Department does this effectively.
About All Traffic Solutions
All Traffic Solutions has been proudly serving law enforcement and municipalities for over 20 years by providing traffic safety tools such as radar signs, radar speed and message trailers, and portable variable message boards that can be managed remotely by our patented TraffiCloud software.
ATS Gives Back
To show our appreciation for law enforcement and our commitment to public safety we started the ATS Gives Back program. With this program, we commit to donating two signs a month to police departments who demonstrate need.
If your police department or a police department you know might be eligible, please apply with this form (and include any supporting attachments) and send it to ATSgivesback@alltrafficsolutions.com. If you want to see previous winners, you can see them here.
