NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Saturday, February 4, 2006

Mike touts car device that lights up if pedal's to metal SPEEDERS, LOOK OUT.
Mayor Bloomberg backs new technology that shines a light on drivers in the fast lane.

     On his weekly WABC-AM radio show yesterday, Bloomberg voiced support for placing devices atop taxis and private vehicles that would light up when motorists exceed the speed limit, making speeders easy prey for cops. He mentioned seeing such alarms in Singapore.
     "We all want the laws enforced. And when we have technology [that] can let us enforce the law and save us money in doing so, what's the argument against that?" Bloomberg mused.
     "If I have a police officer watching to see if you're going down the street speeding, or the car reports automatically when you speed, you know, is either of those things fundamentally different in its infringement on your liberties?"
     Asked yesterday whether Bloomberg is looking at bringing the technology to New York, his spokesman Stu Loeser said, "It's just something he was chatting about."
     Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and other city officials said they look at new technology all the time, but the anti-speeding device has yet to be examined.
     "We want to tap into the uses of technology as much as we can," Kelly said. "Is that a possible use of technology? Sure. It's not around the comer - no question about that."
     According to the Singaporean Embassy in Washington, all taxis and light trucks in Singapore are fitted with speed warning devices - a ringing chime for taxis and a yellow flashing light for trucks. The instruments go off when the driver exceeds a preset speed limit.
     In Canada, government officials are investigating a system that uses Global Positioning Satellite technology to enforce speed limits by making it difficult to push down a vehicle's gas pedal once the speed limit is reached,
     A Canadian company, Persen Technologies Inc., is currently selling a GPS-based device called "Otto" that is tailor-made for five cities in Canada, alerting motorists when they exceed the speed limit or when they enter a potentially hazardous intersection, among other things. The company has sold 600 such devices since last summer, said Irene Wagner, manager of business development.
     Bloomberg, who became a billionaire by developing a computer terminal with up-to-date financial information for the business world, mentioned the anti-speeding technology during a rambling discussion about how technology can interfere with personal freedoms.
     "What is clear is whether you like it or not there is going to be more and more intrusion into your privacy," he said, citing cameras in the subways and cell phones that have the potential to track a user's whereabouts.
     "We're all glad that the police are watching if somebody comes after us, but if they [criminals] don't come after us we don't like it," said Bloomberg, adding technology needs to be judged on a case-by-case basis.
     "Technology is coming - probably no stopping it, "Bloomberg concluded. "And it gives you great benefits, and along with it comes problems, or comes, at least, a different world."

With Robert F. Moore
msaul@nydailynews.com