The Associated Press
SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) - Two state police officers patrolling in San Miguel, Sandoval and Santa Fe counties are participating in a pilot program designed to cut down on ticket-writing time.
Instead of writing citations out by hand, the officers will take a motorist’s driver’s license and swipe it through a computer. Within minutes a ticket will be printed and data about the motorist will be collected in the computer’s memory to be downloaded later.
The motorists will be asked to sign an electric pad acknowledging they received the ticket.
Officials estimate an average traffic stop lasts between 10 to 15 minutes. Under the new system, they hope to cut back that time so motorists and officers can get back to doing other things.
State police spokesman Lt. Jimmy Glascock said the goal isn’t to issue more citations.
“This will make it quicker for the violator, and we can utilize this technology to make things more accurate, professional, and get them on their way quicker,” he said.
Glascock said there’s no time frame for the pilot program. If it goes well, the hope is that the card readers will be in every state police car.
In the future, Glascock added, the same technology could be used for accident reports and DWI arrests.
The technology recently became available when the state’s Motor Vehicle Division started issuing driver’s licenses with magnetic strips on the back that contain data.