According to BestColleges.com reporting, there are nearly 6,000 colleges and universities in the United States. For communities that are home to an academic campus, a variety of safety issues emerge, including concerns about pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The safety of students and local residents must be a priority for the area’s law enforcement.
All college towns, whether large or small, have to deal with an influx of traffic on their roadways when school is in session, but even more so when there are sporting and other special events on campus. Speed awareness tools are a critical component for maintaining safety.
Common Hazards On a College Campus that Contribute to Road Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents actually put college students more at risk than on-campus criminal incidents. According to a study on the causes of mortality among American college students, vehicular-related injury was the leading cause of campus deaths.
There are certain hazards on and around a college campus that often contribute to road accidents resulting in injury and death. These hazards include scenarios like:
- Increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic
- Drivers who are not familiar with the area
- Distracted and sleep-deprived drivers and pedestrians
- Intoxicated and impaired drivers and pedestrians
Mitigating these hazards can help improve safety for the campus and the community.
Ways to Use Speed Awareness Tools in College Towns
More vehicles and more pedestrians in a college town can mean a need for speed awareness tools for local law enforcement. Speed awareness tools can help “multiply” local police presence without the need to pull law enforcement officers from other duties when school is in session or events are happening on campus.
Speed awareness tools like messaging trailers and RADAR speed displays can be used in multiple ways:
- Use RADAR speed displays in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic to remind speeding vehicles to slow down to prevent accidents, injuries, and fatalities.
- Use messaging trailers to convey important traffic updates during move-in days to help direct new and returning students to dorms, apartments, and other campus buildings.
- Rely on an easy-to-read messaging trailer when funneling heavy traffic during special events like football games, concerts, and alumni weekends.
- Program a messaging trailer when emergency updates are needed for weather-related incidents, construction notifications, accident warnings, and more.
- Install RADAR speed displays in high-traffic areas to help reduce the speed of vehicles and decrease the instances of motor vehicle accidents.
Speed Awareness Tools From Kustom Signals
When it comes to high-quality, innovative, and easy to use in-car RADAR, it’s the Eagle 3 from Kustom Consider a Speed Monitoring Awareness RADAR Trailer (SMART) for your college town. SMART VMS messaging trailers from Kustom Signals are the ideal tools for providing both static and dynamic messages—plus they’re equipped with RADAR feedback, making it easy to generate data points, action plans, and more.
Easy to move, easy to set up, and easy to operate, SMART VMS messaging trailers:
- are highly visible and versatile
- can be pre-programmed with user-created messages
- feature large text plus display-sized graphics
- can be read up to 305 meters (1,000 feet)
- are all LED matrices and graphics capable, with the ability to flash individual lines or the entire message
SMART message trailers from Kustom Signals are available in multiple sizes with various features to best suit specific needs. These features can include a traffic data recording system, solar panels, GPS, and high-performance batteries.
RADAR speed displays are another tool that can help law enforcement agencies promote safe driving. Kustom Signals offers both portable and permanent pole-mounted RADAR Speed Displays. With highly visible amber LEDs, flashing character overspeed violator alerts, and sturdy construction, RADAR Speed Displays can help alert motorists that they need to slow down—especially in areas with construction or heavy pedestrian traffic.
Let our team of professionals at Kustom Signals help you find the right speed-awareness tools for your college town. Contact us today for more information and for quotes on our SMART message trailers and RADAR speed displays.