One of the worst things you can experience while speeding on a public road, apart from an accident, obviously, is to get caught by the police and fined.
With the advent of radar detectors and/or mobile apps that inform users of the location of speed traps, a lot of traffic policemen have had their workload increased, which is probably why a German company has invented what looks like a speed camera that is nearly foolproof and scarily effective.
Meet the appropriately named Vitronic Enforcement Trailer, a speed enforcement device that is about as high-tech as a military drone while also looking like a prop from a 1980s Sci-Fi movie.
Essentially a speed camera, the thingamajig is mobile, unmanned, has a wireless modem, and it even has a bulletproof shell. Thanks to the onboard battery, it can function uninterruptedly without an operator or an outside power source for up to five days.
Until we get to the “launch and forget” description, we should probably also add that the Vitronic Enforcement Trailer is highly mobile, as part of its name clearly suggests. The contraption can be transported by any vehicle that sports a tow bar and then left near a part of a road that has the propensity to attract speeders.
As you can see in the video, it even features a remote-controlled system for low-speed maneuvering after it's been parked. Before it begins to do its job, the entire trailer can be lowered to ground level so that its wheels and trailer hitch are fully covered by the armor-plated exterior panels, making “unauthorized movement or transportation of the speed enforcement unit much more difficult.”
On top of it, the high-tech speed camera weighs a little over a metric ton and also features an alarm system to protect it against vandalism, so don't think you can bully it just because it looks small and is mobile.
On the other hand, we're not entirely sure that all this technology is enough to deter angry speeders from messing with it. Wouldn't it be relatively easy for some evil-doer to drop a sheet over it? Better yet, how about a few squirts using an aerosol spray on the bits that count? We're not saying you should do that if you see one on the side of the road, but it is possible to defeat its purpose in a lot of creative ways.
Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project. Full profile
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