<div>NATCHEZ, Miss. – City officials are making plans to crack down on speeders in school zones by equipping Natchez police officers with high-tech radars that record the information needed to issue tickets to violators without having to pull them over.“This is new technology,” said Mayor Dan Gibson. “You’ll get a ticket and you didn’t even know you get a ticket until you check your mail.” To attest how fast motorists drive in Natchez, Gibson cited statistics showing 60 percent of those passing by McLaurin School exceeded the 35 mph speed limit by 10 mph or more as recorded by a speed-monitoring device along Seargent Prentiss Drive this past week.“Natchez – we have a problem,” Gibson said. “We have got to get people in this city serious about obeying our speed limits and keeping our children safe. This is a way to do it.”The mayor and Board of Aldermen are considering contracting a company – Intellisafe – that will provide Natchez police with hand-held radar guns that record the necessary evidence needed to prove the speeding infractions and mail tickets to violators. Police officers won’t have to pull speeders over to write up and hand them the citations.The radar units will capture the speed and record the license plates of vehicles as they pass through the designated areas. “These (devices) don’t write warnings. They write tickets,” Gibson said.The technology enables digital data captured by the radar-camera units to be transmitted via the cloud to the Natchez Police Department to review and mail speeding tickets to drivers. Those cited have the options to pay the fines or have their cases heard in court.The speeding fine is $230. Of that, the city would get $75, the state $25 and the rest to Pascagoula-based Intellisafe for the equipment, processing, personnel and other associated costs for what is a for-profit company. Hattiesburg, Oxford and Moss Point are among the Mississippi cities using this technology to curb speeding, according to a report presented to Gibson and aldermen on Tuesday.While they didn’t decide Tuesday to implement this, the mayor said it’s likely after more study of legal and contractual details.“We want people to have advance notice – slow down,” he said.The current plan is to have police officers armed with these radar devices just in school zones. However, Gibson said this could be expanded later to catch speeders throughout Natchez. “This is a problem all over the city,” he said. </div>

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City officials planning high-tech crackdown on Natchez speeders

NATCHEZ, Miss. – City officials are making plans to crack down on speeders in school zones by equipping Natchez police officers with high-tech radars that record the information needed to issue tickets to violators without having to pull them over. “This is new technology,” said Mayor Dan Gibson. “You’ll...