Police to use smart cameras, radar cars to tackle dangerous driving

Paul Broer, the new national infrastructure project manager at the police, plans to make use of new technology in the fight against dangerous driving behavior. He is looking into using things like smart cameras and so-called radar cars to catch speeders and people using their phone behind the wheel, he said in an interview with the Telegraaf.

"We are certainly not standing still. There are always creative colleagues who come up with something. But I myself expect a lot from mono-cams, with which we can look into the car. We will start using it after the summer. But we will also use equipment with which we can vertically check whether someone has a smartphone on their thigh," Broer said to the newspaper.

"We are also testing special radar cars that can measure the speed of overtaking or even oncoming traffic," he continued. According to Broer, this equipment can be installed in any car, ranging from an old Fiat Panda to a brand new BMW. "Then no one can feel safe when he or she is driving too fast, because any car can contain a police officer recording your speed."

According to Broer, the police are not out to meet a quota for the number of fines issued. "No, absolutely not," he said to the Telegraaf. "For the simple reason that writing fines is not a primary objective. The police is not a fine factory, because we stand for maintaining better road safety." According to Broer, sometimes a warning and a good conversation can have more of an effect than a fine.