Appendix C: Official Letter of Introduction

Appendix C: Office letter of Introduction to Head of Agency

Date

Name of Head of Agency

Law Enforcement Agency Name

Street Address

City State Zip

RE: State of Knowledge and Practice for Using ALPRs for Traffic Safety Purposes

Dear [insert name]:

I am writing to inform you of an opportunity to participate in a very important research study. The Texas Transportation Institute, a Texas state agency that is part of the Texas A&M University System, is conducting the study, which is on law enforcement’s use of automated license plate readers (ALPR) for traffic safety purposes (such as detecting drivers with suspended, revoked, or restricted licenses). This study is being conducted on behalf of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, U.S. Department of Transportation for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Governors Highway Safety Association. It is one of several studies being conducted under the National Cooperative Research and Evaluation Program, a program established under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) (Public Law 112-141) to research and evaluate state highway safety countermeasures.

Your agency’s participation in the study will provide us with useful information on the use of ALPR technology for traffic enforcement activities to improve highway safety. Participation in the case studies will be confidential; neither your agency nor any individuals participating on behalf of your agency will be identified in any study report or publication. Study findings will help other law enforcement agencies interested in the use of ALPR technology for traffic safety purposes. Within the next few days, you will receive a follow-up email from me that will provide additional information on the research study and next steps in the process.

If you have any questions regarding this research, please contact me at 202-679-3195 or j-zmud@tti.tamu.edu. You can also contact Margaret Petrella, Volpe’s Contracting Officer Representative at 617-494-3582 or Margaret.Petrella@dot.gov.

Cordially,

Johanna Zmud

Principle Investigator and Senior Research Scientist

Texas A&M Transportation Institute