Reckless Drivers Watch Out: Police Speed Guns Appear All Over Malta
Cover photo: TVM
Maltese drivers have another reason to stick to the rules of the road after the Maltese police force announced it would be rolling out speed guns to help curb abuses. The speed guns will be used by policemen themselves, who will be placed on roads around the country.
“It is a system which works with a laser that marks a vehicle up to 2,400 metres away and marks the speed from that point; this means it doesn’t have to pass in front of you, such as the traditional cameras installed in roads where you have to wait for a vehicle driving in front of the camera,” said Traffic Section deputy head Inspector Sergio Pisano to TVM.
And the first test run has already achieved impressive results. Used in Garibaldi Street, Marsa, on Thursday, 70 drivers were caught for speeding – one driver had even reached 140km/hr. Many cars caught speeding were stopped on the spot.
It will now be much harder for drivers to contest their contraventions
The speed guns also have the ability to record footage which will be used if a driver contests their contravention. They may also be used on dark roads as they have infra-red vision as well.
“This will help them monitor speed in areas where they can’t put a fixed speed camera and they can turn up on a motorcycle or in a car and they can stop anywhere they want and monitor anytime day or night,” said James Turnbell.
The police force itself is getting to grips with the new speed guns
“Our people are getting used to them and are being certified if they are competent to use the equipment… the equipment is giving good results,” said Inspector Pisani.
10 people have already died in 2018 due to traffic accidents, with almost 15,000 traffic accidents happening last year, 19 of them being fatal.
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