Q: Paul Benoit of Riverside said he and his wife recently noticed several blue strobe lights atop tall poles in various locations along freeways and access ramps in the Inland Empire. In some instances, he said, the lights are blinking, and others seem to remain steadily illuminated. Benoit asked what these are and what they are all about.

A: Without photos or more information about exact locations of these lighted poles, it’s hard to say what they are, but we can offer a few likely possibilities.

First, many businesses these days around the Inland Empire are using a security device called a Mobile Surveillance Trailer, Caltrans spokesperson Eric Dionne said. These have flashing lights on poles that resemble law enforcement lights and the blue flashing lights tend to grab people’s attention. In a nutshell, these trailers have a surveillance camera that is used to monitor a specific area. The cameras can record constantly so the area is under continual video surveillance. A surveillance company or someone else can watch what is going on in real time. Monitoring also may be done from a cellphone. The trailers also can be equipped with alarms, two-way speakers, automated voice commands, flood lights, and radar and thermal imaging to alert whoever is keeping an eye out that someone is loitering around the area. The goal is to let people know they are being watched. These mobile trailers could be located along freeways or at businesses or construction sites that front a freeway or are off the freeway, Dionne said.

Or, these could be devices used by Caltrans.

“As for our infrastructure, in some cases, they could be Emergency Vehicle Preemption systems,” Dionne said. “Some of these devices are mounted on traffic signals. Typically they do not actively blink as described. They are designed to give priority to emergency vehicles at intersections.” EVPs are mounted to intersections that detect when an emergency vehicle is approaching and the signal changes to the emergency vehicle’s priority to reduce traffic incidents. Essentially, this gives the emergency vehicle the right-of-way. However, EVPs are not used along freeways, Dionne said, so it’s likely what our reader is seeing are the mobile surveillance security trailers described above.

DMV online accounts

Finally, in response to a caller to our hot line who claimed to have used a shared email and a plus sign to register an account with the Department of Motor Vehicles, we’d like to post a reminder from Geovana Herrera, a DMV spokesperson.

“Each MyDMV account must indeed be linked to a unique email address. This policy ensures that all communications and services related to the driver’s license are personalized and secure. If an email address has already been used to register a different driver with the DMV, any subsequent registrations will require a new, distinct email account.”

Do you commute to work in the Inland Empire? Spend a lot of time in your vehicle? Have questions about driving, freeways, toll roads or parking? If so, write or call On the Road and we’ll try to answer your questions. Please include your question or issue, name, city of residence, phone number and email address. Write ontheroad@scng.com or call us at our new phone number, 951-368-9995.