P.E.I. RCMP's new tool to catch speeders: 5 things to know

RCMPhave a new tool to catch speeders and they'll be starting with the problem area of the theHillsboroughBridge between Charlottetown and Stratford.

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"It's newer technology than traditional radar that we would use," said Cst. Robert Honkoop with Queens District RCMP.

Here are five things to know about the new device, called LiDAR.

It's more precise

The LiDAR is much more effective than radar, especially in areas where there is a lot of traffic and multiple lanes, Honkoop said.

"It's very target-specific.It takes out any guesswork of which target we're looking at."

Officers use it like a camera: just point and shoot, Honkoop said.

It uses laser technology

The laser's beam is three feet wide, much smaller than traditional radar, and reaches a distance of 305 metres.

Police will aim the LiDAR at a vehicle's front bumper.

"What you do is aim the optic, there's an optic sight, a little red dot. Aim that at your target, and within about .3 of a second, it's going to give you the distance that vehicle is from you, and the target speed as well," said Honkoop.

It's faster

"Within less than a second, I'm going to have the speed and distance that is [specific] to that particular vehicle," he said.

"It's quite neat, in fact."

Police to focuson Hillsborough Bridge

Since the Hillsborough Bridge between Charlottetown and Stratford was widened to four lanes, and Stratford's population boomed, speeding has become a problem, sothe newLiDARwill be especially useful there.

"There's a high flow of traffic now, people coming and going from work, there's a lot of vehicles on the roadway and travelling at an excessive rate of speed," said Honkoop.

"It's obviously a concern to us, many collisions can attributed to speed."

Police plan to get 'stricter'

Islanders should give themselves more time to get where they're going, said Honkoop, because catching speeders is a priority for Island RCMP.

"The enforcement efforts will be stepped up and basically if the public can reduce their speed, drive with more care, then they won't have to meet us in an unfortunate manner by way of a ticket. Enforcement will be stepped up and will be much stricter."