By Barry Bateman

Speedsters beware: Tshwane metro oolice officers now have an added means at their disposal to ensure that your days are numbered.

Three vehicles have been fitted with state-of-the-art Moving Vehicle Recording (MVR) systems which can record the speed of vehicles while travelling. It is also able to make a video recording of the speeding vehicle, as well as being able to record the sound of the offending vehicle.

Metro constable Kobus van Aswegen said the public's reaction has generally been positive. “A lot of the people say it's like being on reality TV.

'It's like being on reality TV'

“When we pull someone over I explain to them how they were caught and that I have a voice recording device on me,” he said.

Van Aswegen's partner, Inspector Kevin van Wyngaard, said two modes on the device were used to detect speed. “We have a pursuit mode and a time and distance mode. In the pursuit mode we follow a car for at least 500m maintaining a consistent distance between the vehicles.

“The time and distance mode calculates an average speed the driver was travelling at over 500m,” he said.

Because the device makes video recordings it can be used for other offences too. “We record people who change lanes without indicating or who are driving recklessly,” said Van Aswegen.

The three MVR vehicles are marked with Metro Police badges on the doors and have blue lights on the roof.

Reginald Paterson, who was on Monday fined R700 for travelling at 103km/h in a 70km/h zone was taken by surprise after inspecting the device to confirm his speed.

"I saw the blue lights and I knew I was guilty. Seeing the technology in the car is mind-blowing.

“My wife isn't going to be happy about this, but I don't have a problem with it. It's a good idea for road policing,” he said.

Van Wyngaard said the system was effective and beneficial for the officer and public alike.

“We issue about 20 fines for various offences a day.

“Because it records what is being said, it disciplines the officer to treat the public with respect and if the officer is verbally abused he has a leg to stand on,” he said.

Every four days the recordings, which are stored on a CD, are taken back to the department to be downloaded.

Inspector Andre Booyzen said: “We download the information on to a hard drive and then it is cut to DVD which can be used in court. All the files are encrypted and cannot be tampered with. We have been using the MVR system since August this year,” he said.

The device costs about R140 000 per vehicle and three Metro Police vehicles have been fitted with it: two Alfa Romeos and a Toyota.

Another vehicle is being budgeted for in the new year.

• This article was originally published on page 3 of Pretoria News on December 13, 2005