The Kimball Police Department received a highway safety grant to purchase two mobile radar units. Fred Zwonechek, an administrator with the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety made the announcement on Tuesday morning.

“We have a couple vehicles that don’t have radar units,” said Mark Simpson, Kimball’s chief of police, explaining the need for state funding. He considers the devices useful not only for documenting a vehicle’s speed correctly, but also as a way to ensure traffic control and safe driving habits in general.

Mobile radar units have proven successful at reducing speed. Traffic and safety studies show a correlation between slower speeds and fewer fatalities.

“They should be commended for taking advantage of this funding assistance to equip their patrol units with the tools necessary to assure safer streets,” Zwonechek said.

Simpson pursued state support for the purchase as a way to offset costs.

“These units are expensive,” he said of the state-of-the-art systems. “It’s better that we seek a grant so that it doesn’t burden the citizens of Kimball.”

The state award dedicates almost $750 toward the purchase of the units.

The highway safety grant covers only part of the cost of each unit.