Ottawa Police Issue Tickets from Handhelds

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050818.wottawa0818/BNStory/Technology/' target='_blank'>http://www.globetechnology.com/serv...ory/Technology/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Errors are more common than you would think. According to most data in Canada and the United States, police make these mistakes on up to one in five tickets. While the rest of the country can enjoy the hope of human error to beat their tickets, Ottawa's police are cracking the whip by closing the loopholes and at the same time saving taxpayers a little money. On Thursday, the Ottawa police introduced a new technology to idiot-proof all provincial violations, including speeding tickets. The new “electronic ticket pads” will be used first by motorcycle officers and then will move to all patrols in the coming months. The devices streamline the ticketing process by importing personal information from the magnetic strip on a driver's licence and allowing the officers to access the relevant act electronically."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/_done_0818ottawa.jpg" /><br /><br />Just when you were hoping you'd get away with that speeding ticket - handhelds, the technology we know and love, will now help convict you of speeding. 8O Interesting use of the technology, my own personal feeling about the pointlessness of most speeding tickets notwithstanding. Can anyone identify what PDA they're using in this photo? I can't tag the make or model (there's a bigger image on the news site).

[ctmagnus]

I thought I heard a Pocket PC-ish beep on the news a week or so ago...

[dazz]

Cool use of the tech, but too bad tickets will be more accurate. :wink:

I think the unit is the new Symbol MC50 (http://www.symbol.com/mc50/).

[dMores]

vienna (austria) parking sheriffs (the men and women who give you parking tickets) are also equipped with PDAs.
since you can now pay for parking with SMS, they need a system that checks if the car is allowed to park there. usually you buy a paper thingie, fill in date and time, and put it on your dashboard. since the SMS system has no physical proof, it's stored in some kind of database. the PDAs check this database.
they also have a nifty printer on their belts, that prints the info onto a little sticker, they stick the sticker on the standard "you got a ticket" paper and put it under your wipers.
the devices seem custom-made, i guess they are ruggedized and with extra battery power, but they're definately pocketpcs.

[Darius Wey]

I think the unit is the new Symbol MC50 (http://www.symbol.com/mc50/).

You'd be right. I was playing around with a few of these at MEDC - neat little unit that.

[Rod3]

Looks sort of like my Sharp Zaurus SL-6000L, which is ruggedized. The side buttons on the left look very much like it.

[powder2000]

Cool use of the tech, but too bad tickets will be more accurate. :wink:

I think the unit is the new Symbol MC50 (http://www.symbol.com/mc50/).

Exactly what I was thinking the first time I saw the larger image. Nice work.

[Eriq Cook]

This is when PDA viruses would come in handy :devilboy:

[dazz]

This is when PDA viruses would come in handy :devilboy:

Ha!! :lol:

Let us know if you figure out how to do it. :wink:

[latinware]

Here in Bogota, Colombia the Transit Police it's using the same systems but the hardware are an HP 5550/5450 with wireless BT or WiFi? printer. very neat.