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SALT LAKE CITY -- With the increasing number of rear-end accidents and fender benders, new technology will be helping police to document and record offenders.
In 2011, the leading cause of accidents in the city of Sandy was drivers following too closely to the vehicle in front of them. The 341 accidents accounted for nearly 20 percent of all crashes with more than $700,000 in vehicle damage alone.
According to Sergeant Arnold, a safe distance between cars is maintaining a two second space behind the driver in front when driving 45 miles an hour or less.
On Thursday, Feb. 9, Sandy police demonstrated how the TruCam technology will help police recognize which cars are traveling too close to the vehicle in front of them. The device, which is used much like a radar gun by police, uses laser technology to measure the speed of one car, and then measures the speed and distance of the car behind it.
TruCam not only documents the distance between the cars, but records it on video. Police are hopeful that this new technology will help resolve more disputes in accidents.
"So when we go to court, in these instances there's evidence, proof," said Sergeant John Arnold of the Sandy City Police Department. "We can show those distances between vehicles, both visually and it's computer documented."
According to Sergeant Arnold, a safe distance between cars is maintaining a two second space behind the driver in front when driving 45 miles an hour or less. When are traveling any faster, that time should be increased to at least three seconds.
