Inside a photo-radar van Portland police Officer Chris Barker gives a tour of one of the city's photo-radar vans. Traffic cops insist there's no such thing as a "speed trap," saying they park the vans where they get the most speed complaints. Watch video Using sound waves, a boxey black radar bolted to the back doors scanned two lanes of Southeast Division Street. When it detected an approaching car, it let out a high-pitched shriek that sounded like one of the nightmarish predators of the "Alien" movies.
The faster the car, the louder and more chilling the screech.
Sitting at the wheel of the parked Portland police photo-radar van, Officer Chris Barker glanced into a driver's side mirror. "Oooh," he muttered, interrupting Axl Rose. "Here's one coming wicked fast."
A white flash popped through the back window. An eastbound Honda flew past the van. Another flash erupted from the front bumper. The verdict appeared on a screen: 51 in a 35 mph zone. A $160 ticket.
Hard Drive
Joseph Rose covers commuting for The Oregonian and writes a weekly column about commuting issues.
I called it a speed trap. Oops. Cops hate that term.
Perturbed, the Traffic Division let me know that the preferred nomenclature is "safety enforcement action" and invited me to spend a couple hours inside one of the dark-windowed vans to get some perspective.
Yes, there's someone in the van. No, he isn't Darth Vader.
On a recent Friday, Barker, 42, and I were parked between an apartment complex and a Bike Gallery near Division and 112th Avenue. "We go where we get speeding complaints," he said.
The area is one of the city's worst for speed-related crashes.
Aside from the stereo pumping out classic rock, this isn't your high school party van.The van is a rolling fortress of techno-tude. Computers. Battery packs. Constantly calibrated, high-def cameras linked to the radar. Wires everywhere.
First lesson: Whether they're parked on Beaverton's Canyon Road or along Oregon 213 near Milwaukie, photo-radar vans really shouldn't surprise anyone who's paying attention.
State law requires police to set up a roadside "Traffic Laws Photo Enforced" 100 to 400 yards from the radar unit and 2 feet off the ground. That should give speeders ample time to brake before the radar beam -- shooting at a sharp, narrow angle -- locks on. "But too many people are on autopilot," Barker said.
Portland's radar cameras are typically set to only go off for cars exceeding the limit by 11 mph or more. The system rounds down. (I lost track of the number of lucky drivers who were clocked going 45.9 mph.)
Barker must also "witness" every ticket. As soon as the cameras go off – one to identify the speeder, the other to get the car's rear plate – he records lane, color and vehicle type.
When an SUV whizzed past at 48 mph, the van shook. I didn't want to think about the speeding vehicle hitting a pedestrian at that speed.
After getting popped, drivers have come back to plead their case on constitutional grounds through the window, flip off Barker or just kick the van. Many complain that photo radar is unconstitutional. "I've been called more bad names by classy people who look like my mom," the burly cop with a red goatee said.
Some drivers slam on their brakes when they see the flash and their speed pop up on a reader board, as if abruptly stopping in a cloud of smoke in traffic will erase the photos.
Perspective gained. But when 20 percent of the city's 28,908 citations in 2011 came from a short, tricky stretch of Northeast Willow Street, it's obvious the city knows where to make easy money. Portland recently changed Willow's speed limit from 25 to 30, saying it would improve things for drivers and residents. Really? Many cars approaching I-84 on the street push past 50. How is an extra 5 mph a fix?
Earlier this week, the radar vans were back on Willowfor the first time since the speed change, ringing up just as many tickets as before the change.
Not a trap? How about a jungle? Welcome. Flash.
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