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Re: What the Hell is going on 95?
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Subject: Re: What the Hell is going on 95?
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From: dshank@mitre.org (Dwight Shank)
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Date: 11 Sep 1995 14:05:57 GMT
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Newsgroups: dc.driving
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Organization: The MITRE Corporation
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References: <42pnv1$moc@mumford.pbs.org> <431br6$1m0@news4.digex.net>
In article <431br6$1m0@news4.digex.net>, Mike Lastort
<lastort@access.digex.net> wrote:
> Alan Heitz <aheitz@pbs.org> wrote:
> >What I want to know is, what's the deal with my radar detector
> >going nuts on x-band, whenever I drive under an overpass on the
> >Maryland side of the beltway. I looked up at each overpass, whenever
> >this happened and there seems to be some sort of detector mounted at
> >almost every overpass and a few signs as well. What are these detectors
> >and what are they used for? Any thoughts? Well, I know one thing, it's
> >making my radar detector go bonkers!
>
> Yeah, I noticed the same thing the last couple of weeks. The way I figure
> it is it could be part of an effort to slow people down. Pennsylvania has
> similar devices mounted in contruction areas, as well as places where
> slowing down is imperative (e.g. at the end of I-70 in Breezewood).
>
> Most people who speed probably use a radar detector, and it could be that
> Maryland wants to control the speeds of those people by filling the
> airwaves with bogus signals.
>
My guess is that what you are noticing has been thoughtfully placed on the
bridges by the Maryland State Highway Administration as part of the program
cleverly(?) entitled Chesapeake Highway Advisories Routing Traffic (CHART).
Last week, US Secretary of Transportation Pena and FHWA Administrator Slater
held a ribbon cutting at the operations center near Glen Burnie. The
detectors collect information for use by the center in efforts to reduce
traffic delays by clearing collisions faster and offering alternate routes
when traffic is horrid.
These radar/microwave detectors replace the loop detectors cut into lanes and
allegedly are cheaper to install and require less maintenance. They are
being installed on interstates throughout the state and route 50. Yes, they
do measure the speed of the traffic stream as well as count cars. The folks
at the operations center swear that the speed data are used only by SHA and
are not turned over to the police for speed enforcement.
No, I don't work for the state, but I'm looking at a report that they put
out in 1994 analyzing the program.
Dwight Shank
dshank@mitre.org