Speed-Monitoring Trailer:

Speed-monitoring trailers—sign boards on trailers that display the speed of passing vehicles—are used by police departments and transportation agencies as educational tools that can enhance enforcement efforts directed at speed compliance. Speed radar trailers are best used in residential areas and may be used in conjunction with Neighborhood Speed Watch or other neighborhood safety education programs. They can help raise residents’ awareness of how they themselves are often those speeding, not just “outsiders.” Speed trailers are not substitutes for permanent actions, such as traffic-calming treatments, to address neighborhood speeding issues.

Speed-monitoring trailers can be used at several locations and should have occasional police monitoring and enforcement to maintain driver respect.



  Purpose
• Enhance enforcement efforts through public education and awareness.
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  Considerations
• Occasional enforcement is needed to supplement the speed-monitoring trailers.
• Speed-monitoring trailers are not a substitute for engineering measures.
• Should not obstruct pedestrian travelway or sightlines.
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  Estimated Cost
$10,000 to $15,000 to purchase the speed-monitoring trailer, plus the cost to move the trailer to different locations and to monitor the trailer.
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  Case Studies
Boulder, CO
Bellevue, WA
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Adapted from Making Streets That Work, Seattle, 1996


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U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration