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High-tech road spikes may put the brakes on car chases
Web posted at: 12:04 a.m. EDT (0004 GMT) POMONA, California (CNN) -- Los Angeles County has become the nation's first county to arm its sheriff's deputies with portable remote-controlled tire spikes -- a high-tech gadget that can quickly, and efficiently, stop a fugitive on the run. Police departments around the nation have for years used portable tire spikes to bring car chases to a halt. But the problem has been that the spikes stop every car that crosses them -- including police cars and the vehicles of innocent bystanders. But the new remote-controlled tire spikes can target just one vehicle -- puncturing its tires in about two seconds -- before quickly reverting to a non-deployed position. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department plans to have 126 of the devices, called Roadspike, in the field by next year. Each Roadspike costs about $13,000. Law enforcement officials in Florida and other states are also ordering the devices, and the U.S. Border Patrol is looking into semi-permanent versions of the devices, said John Waiter of PMG Manufacturing Group, the West Virginia company that manufactures the gadgets. Safety is another reason law enforcement officials find the remote-controlled spikes an attractive alternative to the older versions. A tire blowout can result in a deadly accident for a vehicle traveling at a high speed. A rising number of fatalities and injuries resulting from high-speed chases have prompted some police departments to revise chase policies or stop the procedure entirely -- which just lets suspected criminals get away. Correspondent Susan Reed contributed to this report. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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