SYRACUSE -- Wednesday's fatal motorcycle accident in Van Buren focuses attention on the problem of drivers with suspended licenses, but police have a new device that can help them catch illegal drivers in the act.
State Police continue to look into the crash that killed motorcyclist Steven Teachout. Troopers did say that the driver of the van, 26-year-old Sonya Phillips of Solvay, was driving with a suspended license and had multiple prior suspensions.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles could not provide CNY Central with statistics as to how many people may be driving with suspended licenses. Illegal drivers don't become known until after they've been involved in some other offense or an accident.
But police have a new device that can help detect drivers with suspended licenses. A license plate scanner is mounted on top of Trooper Mark Bender's patrol car. Bender says it can automatically read a license plate number as the cars drive by. "The camera will take a picture of the plate and the computer will interpret what the plate is and will instantaneously run that." Bender explained.
The license plate numbers are put into a database. Bender says if the car is stolen or the registration is expired or if the car is being sought in connection with a crime, an alarm will sound and information will show up on the scanner's screen. Trooper Bender will then have "probable cause" to stop the car and check the driver's license.
"With this technology, we're able to stop that vehicle and it allows us to look further into the registration and their license to make sure it is valid and they can be driving." Bender said.
With a price tag of $20,000 each, many police departments can not afford license plate scanners, but Bender calls it a "fantastic tool."
