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By Doug Haines, Haines Security Solutions

Making St. Markets, Outdoor Café and Pedestrian Zones Safe


STREET MARKETS I’m probably stating the obvious here. But most St. markets are temporary in nature (farmer’s, or harvest markets) and only occur on a certain day or two of the week or for a short period (Christmas Markets). Local police department’s put up metal stanchions and post a traffic cop more for crowd and traffic control, than anything else. They are not a deterrent to a dedicated threat using a vehicle as a weapon or an errant driver. Now before you go and tell the mayor or the police commissioner his cops are ineffective let me explain. It’s a matter of physics and not “goodwill or attentiveness” on the part of the policeman. A vehicle traveling at just 10 mph covers a distance of approximately 73 to 102 feet in the 5-7 seconds it takes a trained officer to view, identify and react to an errant vehicle – intentional or otherwise. Unless the speed of the vehicle is severely reduced to below that speed the vehicle will travel significantly further before it is recognized as a potential threat. Cops are doing a great job everyday but they can’t beat physics – no matter their super hero powers, unfortunately.

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