Dallas-area police are throwing away the paper notebooks in which they used to write tickets for speeding and other traffic offenses, reports the Dallas Morning News. Richardson and many other area police agencies are converting to a high-tech system that will halve ticket-writing time and streamline record-keeping.
When an officer stops a motorist, he processes the ticket with a handheld device instead of writing on paper. When he swipes the driver’s license into the device, it downloads the motorist’s driving history and personal details – name, address, height, gender, eye color and license number – which are encoded on the magnetic strip on the back of the card. Using a drop-down menu, the officer can quickly enter the type of offense and location, make a printout for the driver, and be on his way. The process takes five to eight minutes instead of 10 to 15 minutes the old way.
Link: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-tickets_19met.ART.State.Edi