Thunder Bay police deploy new device to help collect traffic data, target speeders

Thunder Bay police have begun deploying a new device that can inconspicuously collect traffic data, and help officers crack down on speeding drivers.

During Tuesday's meeting of the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, acting traffic Sgt. Salvatore Carchidi said the service recently obtained a Black Cat device, which can be mounted to hydro poles or street lights and record vehicle speeds.

Carchidi said police regularly receive complaints about speeders on city streets, but finding the resources to monitor a specific road over a suitable period of time to determine how big the problem is can be challenging.

"So for us to deploy our limited number of officers, or even to request uniformed patrol in their free moments, if they have any through the day, attend an area, they might not be capturing that true information of the true speeds," Carchidi said.

There are locations in the city that house speed trackers, which display a vehicle's speed as a deterrent to speeding. However, since the speeds are visible, those affect the behaviour of a driver and don't necessarily capture accurate speed data, either.

The Black Cat, he said, is an answer to that.

The device is housed in a black case, which can be affixed to any light or hydro pole, and records vehicle speeds in both directions.

"It's inconspicuous," Carchidi said. "It runs off a battery, it can last up to a week."

"What that, then, does is gives us the data of all vehicles recorded travelling on that roadway during that time."

The data includes the percentage of vehicles speeding, and at what hours of the day the speeding tends to occur, which can guide police in deciding when to do targeted traffic enforcement in a specific area.