Vitronic is a company that specializes in what I would call traffic technology. They sell and distribute technology to assist in traffic enforcement and even things like toll and vehicle identification systems. If you live in Europe, you’ve probably seen, or maybe even fallen victim to, one of its average speed or red light enforcement solutions. Vitronic also has another speed enforcement system that you should be on the lookout for, but this one can be moved easily and will likely pop up in places you would never expect it.

The image you see above is what the enforcement trailer looks like. I know you’re probably saying “that’s not like any trailer I’ve ever seen.” And, you would be right. For starters, the wheels and tongue of this trailer tuck away and hid inside its thick outer shell – that shell is bulletproof, by the way. It can operate uninterrupted for five days, but that doesn’t matter because law enforcement can replace the batteries on site if needed. The device uses LIDAR technology to detect the speed of vehicles across multiple lanes at the same time, and sure will snap a picture of your vehicle and plate, should you violate the posted speed limit. Once a violation has been detected and a picture taken, all the available data is then wirelessly transmitted to local law enforcement.

If you think that something like this can be easily stolen or destroyed, think again. As I said before, the wheels and tongue stash away inside the bulletproof body when it is deployed. Being bulletproof means you can’t easily render it useless. Smashing into it probably won’t do much either. That leaves physical tampering, right? I wouldn’t try that either. This this is rigged to alert local law enforcement should someone try to gain unauthorized access to it. So, unless you know the ins and outs of the device itself, chances are you’ll still be neck deep trying to break in while the boys casually roll up behind you – not a good situation.

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Why it Matters

I can see the benefit of this thing to a certain extent. It can easily be deployed in accident hot spots or in construction areas where people really should pay attention to the posted speed limits. But, I also see this as another way for law enforcement to increase revenue generation without having to do much at all. Will it increase safety? Maybe. But, it has been long debated as to whether or not speed traps like this are actually ethical. What I find humorous is how protected the system is. Vitronic has gone the extra mile to make the device bullet proof and difficult to steal (I’m sure there’s a GPS tracker in there too), but I’ve already determined one way that would render this thing inoperable. All you have to do is cover the lens. Come at it from behind and cover the lens with a towel. No more pictures. Or, if you’re really brave, give a quick spray of black paint over the lens from behind. If nothing else it will annoy the poor guy who has to keep coming back to clean up the lens or remove whatever has been draped across the lens.

Now, I’m not in any way saying you should try anything like this. In fact, I’m telling you to just obey the damn speed limit. But, if I came up with those ideas in a matter of minutes, I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to make the boys wish they had just posted a patrol there instead. For now, it seems that these are only being used in certain areas of Europe, so I doubt we have anything to worry about here in the U.S., but give it time, and we’ll start seeing them floating around on highways too. If you’re interested in learning more about the technology, you can check it out in full detail here.