Folks,

We live on a "shortcut" that people use to avoid one traffic light in town. I am looking for an UNOBTRUSIVE, inexpensive automated means of recording vehicle speed, direction, and time of day. The road is a paved asphalt unstriped country lane that is approximately 20 feet wide.

My thought was two pairs of garage door obstruction sensors that are mounted fixed distance apart, along the side of the road. Record the time when each light beam was broken. Taking the differnce between the times will give me average speed and direction.

Cost and robustness is important. We are up in the New England portion of the US. I am thinking of using the parallel port of a PC for the data logging.

Thanks

That will work if you are only looking at one lane. You can still have cases where you get bad results.

Typical traffic is one vehicle at a time. It is the speeding Jack***** that decide, "Let's see if we can shave the almighty 30 seconds off of our trip, by speeding thru this low traffic neighborhood."

Watching the traffic data over a several week period would tell us when enforcement would be most efficient.

Don't they have the radar trailers there. We get them from the sheriff's volunteer group when we complain. Don't really expect much tho. Even if they do figure out you have a speeder problem, the "fix" will only last a few days (a cop with a radar gun).
For us, it slowed down a few people for a little while but it didn't last.

They may not even accept your data, only your complaint and you can always do that.

I did "let a trashcan" slip a couple of times and I have no hesitation of rolling a basketball out in front of the crazies. I thought about a bowling ball but plausible deniability is a little tougher with that.

We had the local PD do various 'surveys' to respond to complaints. Ranging from very well hidden speed recording/logging devices (chained to utility poles) to manned squad cars, to 'unmanned' squad cars. Visability reduced the problem, but as soon as that was gone it was back to speeding. I remember the 'top recorded was 65+ (in 25)

It's not 'shortcut' people, as we live in a waterfront area & this is one of the 'main' roads in & out. Yes, it's most prevelant in the spring/summer/fall. Speed bumps are requested, but the Twp is stalling for 3+ years. I'm begining to like Greg's ideas!!

Good Luck Larry!

If you could get the neighbors to contribute some money or you live in an area governed by a community association, United Rentals has the radar trailers for rent.

If not maybe the local township/city council could give you a grant to rent one.

Our Auto Insurance company loans out portable speed watch devices to community groups for a week at time to track speeding on residential streets.

Maybe some of the big auto insurance companies in the US like Allstate, Geico, State Farm have the same program.

There is always the obvious way to influence government. Have all of your neighbors write or call your local politician.

Dropping the matter to the politicos was another real waste of futility. Excuses abound, budgetary, engineering, astetics, etc.

I guess that is a local thing then. We can usually shake the bushes by calling a commissioner. It might be more response than you need.
I have had big things change with a well worded email hitting the commissioners and CC the county people who would actually implement it. It only took one Email to get that radar trailer here for a week and a cop for a few days after they looked at the data, but, as I said, it didn't last long.
I hit my county commissioner, the DOT commissioner and the VOICE people (the volunteers). I was CC'ed on a few back and forth "can we handle this" emails and the trailer showed up a few days later.

It took me talking directly with the Chief to get an afternoon of enforcement. The next night I talked to the town Selectmen and it was "taken under advisement". The town applied to get a radar gun trailer via a gov't grant, I don't know if that will come thru.

What I want to do is collect data to show the Chief, so that he can provide "encourement" at the most opportune times.

Larry

How about a radar speed sign? seems like it might be the most cost effect method. See them around here quite a bit and it does seem to help. Speed bumps and round abouts are used here aswell for traffic calming in residental areas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_speed_sign

That is the trailer we are talking about.

Speed bumps can be hard to get on a public road.
We had one hoa member suggest it and he was shouted down.
The DOT said they would not do it or allow us to do it anyway.

How about parking the residents' cars on both sides of the street and staggering them so the thru traffic has to either go slow or weave their way down the road? It may not stop them but it should infuriate the 65MPH+ clown.

How about a "Cardboard" cop? I have seen stories of people using a cut out of a patrolman holding a radar gun. It seems to slow people down. If not for safety, maybe they just want to get a look at it.

The thing I’ve noticed with speed bumps is that if they go over them fast enough, they don’t really even feel them. Especially in a truck, van or SUV type vehicle. I know with my own truck, or the wife’s small SUV, if I drive over them anything above 25 MPH, I barely feel them, however if I slow down to a crawl, it really throws the vehicle upward. The spacing for multiple speed bumps seems to make a difference as well, but they people will eventually learn how fast they need to go to get over them the smoothest. Sometimes people even will drive on sidewalks and lawns to get around them at night, when no one is looking.
Another issue is that they might raise hell with the plow trucks during a snow storm.

At the risk of finding a mob of pitchfork-wielding peasants at my door, I have a contrary opinion to offer.

It's a public street. That means that every driver has just as much a right to use the street as anyone else. You don't like that, too bad.

Speeding is another issue, and one for the police to enforce. They ought to be willing to have someone there a few times to see if there is any substance to your complaint. Assuming that they manage to catch a few, the police will likely welcome finding a new source of revenue.

Otherwise, your solution is political - that is, get the city to close off one end of the street. Or, they can deed the street over to you and then you can put a gate on it.

Like electricity, traffic takes ALL possible paths.

If Larry's cops are anything like ours, they could care less about lawbreakers...unless someone sideswipes the patrol car while the cop is napping in it.

Reno:
I don't own a pitchfork!
Yes, the streets are public domain, but there are 'laws' that we all should abide by for we live within a society of people, not alone.

The speeding issue I mentioned involves the safety of pedistrians, kids, bike riders, walkers, etc. Personally, the 25 MPH limit is on the low side, but that is what's posted.

As to the 'speed bumps'...the Twp I work in uses 'speed humps' (6' wide, curb to curb) on resi streets with issues, and they seem to work quite well. Yes, they are a PITA, but they were necessary. They also installed a lot of 'stop' signs, which slow down the speed on the problem streets. Again, some think this is a PITA, but it works.

And with the recent 2-3' of snow, there was no issues with the 'speed humps' & plows; but there are issues with the 'speed bumps' in the gated communities.

End of soap box....

Not a problem, no offense taken. I understand that the public can use any street they wish. I am just looking for a means to collect data and inform the police of what I think is an unsafe condition. If they choose to do something, that is their decision. If I disagree with their decision, I have other avenues I can pursue.

Anywhere I know of, doing 65 mph in a 25 zone is a spectacular fine and a trip to the local jail. You don't just sign the book and drive on.

A couple of such tickets per week would pay for the trooper. One per day would cover the county budget.

You need to set up a 'hide' for the county mounty so that his business is pleasant.

As for personal traffic control: that went out with Robin Hood. Only officialdom is allowed to rob passersby these days.

In 1968, 88 in a 45 was $100 to get out of jail in D.C. ... or so I hear

They revoke you, then forget about it a couple years later and 14 years later they remember again ... but that is another story.

Apparently, the fund raiser situation doesn't interest the Twp. They have a few 'red light' cameras at major intersections that are raking in $$$$.

Some neighbors are going to Feb council meeting to raise this again.

We had a revolt here about red light cameras and they decided not to charge "right turns with a rolling stop" or "pulling too far across the crosswalk before you stop" offenses. The vendor who operates the cameras for a piece of the action said they were going to pull the cameras because that was their biggest source of revenue. It turns out most "red light runners" are not just busting through the light, they are turning on red without a complete stop, behind the stop line (where you can't see if there is a car coming).

Government should be prohibited from sharing a piece of the pie.

About 2,000 years ago Rome used such methods: 'tax farming.'

It destroyed the Republic as it naturally got completely out of hand.

We're seeing the same follies in modern America whereby this or that public entity is selling its crown jewels for peanuts.

( Parking meters and their income on SIXTY year terms. As if there's no corruption to be found in such mega-deals.)

There's a city about an hour away that has gone crazy with vehicle traps. Consequently, their business district has collapsed. The word got out.