Police SUV nabs speeders with photo radar on front bumper
The Calgary Police Service has a new photo radar vehicle to snap shots of speeding motorists on city streets.
Some sleuthing Calgarians noticed the radar camera and flash attached to the front of a CPS Traffic Section vehicle, posting pictures online of the unmarked police vehicle.
The post says putting the radar on the front of the truck makes it “more difficult to spot” for drivers. But Sgt. Joerg Gottschling, with the Calgary Police Traffic Section, says the new unmarked Ford F150 photo radar vehicle only has the front-mounted unit because police are going back to an older way of doing business.
“Up until five years ago we used front-mount radar and flash systems,” Gottschling said. “Because of a concern that the stuff was going to get damaged ... they looked into mounting it on the roof.”
Gottschling said the equipment used on the new vehicle, which has been in service since December, has the same flash and radar units used on other CPS photo radar vehicles, it’s just in a different spot.
“The downside is it was more difficult and more expensive to put them on the roof because now we had to ... remove upholstery and drill four to six holes into the roof of the car to mount it permanently,” Gottschling said, adding the modifications made the resale of radar vehicles a problem.
“I wouldn’t go out and buy a car with six holes in the roof,” he said.
Gottschling said CPS is looking to use the front-mounted system for future vehicles added to the photo radar fleet as older models are retired. He said going back to mounting the gear on a removable bumper bar is a cost-cutting measure.
And he added: “If you see a Ford F150 pulled over on the side of the road with its hazard lights on ... it might be a good idea to slow down.”