Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 10, 1994                   TAG: 9408100062
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RADAR UNIT IS A SPEEDER TRAPPER

But even if it does look more like an ice cream cart than Robocop, that doesn't mean it can't spot a speeder a quarter-mile away on a straight roadway.

"It" is a radar trailer, a battery-powered gizmo that tells drivers how fast they're going in the hope they'll slow down.

The odd contraption made its debut along two well-traveled streets Tuesday: Brandon Avenue and Grandin Road. City drivers can expect to see it all over town in the future, police Sgt. John Slusher said.

The $3,500 device was created with a grant from the state Department of Motor Vehicles. It consists of a radar gun and a large lighted display sign mounted in a box on a utility trailer.

Police intend to use it on streets where residents have complained of speeding traffic, Slusher said. The department's traffic bureau doesn't have enough officers to station one at each location.

The idea is that speeding motorists will slow down when they see how fast they're going, Slusher said.

It worked well in most instances Tuesday. Slusher said speeding drivers slowed after passing the trailer.

There was a single scofflaw, a woman driving on Grandin Road near Mud Lick. She was pulled over and cited for speeding by an officer down the street.

Slusher said that, normally, the officer won't be there.

"Usually, we're going to set it up by itself. Once [most] people see their speed through that display, they slow down."

He also called the device a "public relations-type thing, to let the public know if their odometer is off."