A Remote-Controlled Speed Bump
The California Highway Patrol has a new tool to bring high-speed chases to a safer stop, reports CBS Station KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. CHP officers showed off their new remote-controlled "road spikes" during a demonstration in Los Angeles County on Wednesday.
This is how it works: Innocent passersby drive their cars unharmed. But when a fugitive, who is most likely driving recklessly, passes over the black plastic strip, a police officer can activate the spikes with a remote control, instantly slashing the fugitive's tires. The fugitive is then forced to stop.
 The activated road spikes. |
The strips are thin enough that they are barely noticeable, officials who have tested the new device say.
"If I wasn't looking for it, I probably wouldn't have really noticed it was there," says Officer Brent Carter of the South Sacramento California Highway Patrol.
The spikes are hollow to allow for a slow deflation rather than a blowout. Each strip costs about $13,000.