Sneaky CPD cracks down on speeders in Midtown

Coeur d’Alene Police officer Nick Knoll uses a LIDAR to detect the speed of oncoming vehicles on Third Street in downtown Coeur d’Alene on Wednesday. (Loren Benoit/Coeur d’Alene Press photo)

Depending how fast you were driving down Third Street Wednesday morning, the two men you zipped past in a 10-foot high aerial bucket probably looked like utility workers.

They weren’t. They’re employed by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, and boy, did they have their eyes on you.

From his aerial post on Foster Street, Officer Nick Knoll had his laser-based LIDAR gun pointed at downtown-bound motorists. Information about speeders who exceeded the 30 mph limit was relayed to officers three blocks down the road, who doled out warnings or tickets.

The seven-officer operation was part of an effort to reduce speeding in that part of town, an exercise which lasted from 9 a.m. to noon. The officers made 44 stops and wrote five speeding tickets in those three hours. Four seat belt tickets and three no-insurance tickets were also doled out/ Ryan Collingwood , Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.

Question: Do you usually travel over the speed limit when driving in town here?