Four years after starting to post radar locations online, Charlottesville Police have successfully reduced the number of speeding tickets issued.
According to Charlottesville Police Sgt. Ronnie Roberts, police started the program as an effort to change drivers' behavior by making them more aware of speed limits.
Police also wanted to avoid issuing unnecessary speeding tickets and to decrease incidences of speeding in city neighborhoods, he said.
The impetus to post the sites online came from a desire to accomplish three goals, Roberts said.
"The objective is to modify drivers' behavior on a particular piece of road," he added. "We're not out to issue as many tickets as possible."
The Charlottesville Police Department notifies citizens via its Web site each week where the motorists will find the radar locations.
"This has been very successful for everyone involved - the community and the police," Roberts said.
The program has been a success because the police department has issued fewer tickets than before radar locations were posted, Roberts said. Police usually catch 10 to 15 speeders per week at each site.
Specific statistics for motorists caught speeding in the radar zones were not available.
Police change radar locations every Monday based on complaints from individuals who report high incidences of speeding in their area, Roberts said.
The four locations are rotated throughout the week. Locations also are shifted between mornings, afternoons and evenings, so while the locations are announced, specific locations and times are not available to the public.
Radar locations for this week are located along Little High Street, Meade Avenue, Jefferson Park Avenue and Rugby Road.
If caught, speeders face a mandatory $30 court fee and $3 for every mile per hour over the posted limit at which they are clocked.
Drivers also will be docked points against their licenses, which will reflect in their insurance rates, Roberts said.
A driver caught speeding one to nine miles over the speed limit will be docked three safe driving points, while one speeding 10 to 19 miles over will lose four points.
If caught exceeding the posted speed limit by 20 miles or more, a motorist can be charged with reckless driving, be penalized six points, face a fine of up to $1,000 and risk losing his license.
Speeders caught on Grounds are issued uniform traffic summonses by University Police. Violators then are referred to either a Charlottesville or Albemarle County court, depending on whose jurisdiction a speeder was caught in, University Police Capt. Michael Coleman said.
"We want to make places safer in terms of driving," Coleman said.
Robets said the project has been very succesful in its assigned purposes since it was first introruced to the Charlottesville community four years ago.
Updated lists of locations can be found each week at http://police.ci.charlottesville.va.us.
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