OH - Police nail speeders from sky

[StlouisX50]

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/disp...1_6I72SFU.html

[sethy]

You have got to be kidding me :shock:

That has to be a scare tactic

[kpatz]

Sounds like something they would do in the Speedtrap State...

But then they do the same thing in NH too. Air VASCAR, they call it.

Purely a revenue scheme, since they have to ticket a lot of people just to cover the cost of sending the plane up.

[TSi+WRX]

You have got to be kidding me :shock:

That has to be a scare tactic

^ I've wondered, myself, if the recent publicity (i.e. last month's Car and Driver article) regarding the Ohio Highway Patrol VASCAR air-enforcement isn't really just a scare-tactic.

I honestly don't think so, though.

Remember the 04/29 to 05/31/07 "Highway Enforcment Blitz" that just took place (Cyuahoga County, 480/90/271 - high-density zones;
Cleveland, Brooklyn, Euclid, Garfield Hts, Maple Hts and Warrensville Hts)?

Our local Scooby enthusiast club has a well-respected member who is a local LEO. He reports that yes, the Ohio Highway Patrol does use aircraft for enforcement in precisely such a manner, and especially during such selective-enforcement events. And in case you're wondering, no, he wouldn't say something like that just to "scare" us - it's both against the code of auto-enthusiasts in-general as well as expressly against the code that exists among our local enthusiasts. We just don't do crap like that to each other. EVER.

So, no, it's not just a scare tactic. It's real.

But honestly, come-on. :roll:

Like the Car and Driver article said, though, if you can't pay enough attention to the roadway to notice the quarter-mile (for an entire mile, no less) markings - and to just slow down when you enter such sectors - then you pretty much deserve the ticket.

This is especially the case since most air-related enforcement is specifically targeted towards aggressive/erratic/dangerous drivers and/or tail-gaters.

Regardless, we're always fond of saying that our first-line countermeasure should always be our eyes and our brains. This is not something that can't be seen or noticed by an alert driver. If we can't pick out these enforcement zones as we drive along the highway, we have no one to fault but ourselves.

[EdFromOhio]

Well, it's still alive and well in 2008. Just got pulled over last week because a police airplane had me timed at 20 over.

It was on Route 76 in Ravenna (near Akron.)

What ever happened to those scanners that looked like radar detectors and would alert you when police or airplane transmissions were nearby?

[statusquo]

Note, too, that officer Stein in the article has issued 40,000 tickets by using the plane.

The CA CHP has 16 planes and 16 helicopters in the one article appearing elsewhere in this forum. Someone is paying their way - even with a $5.94/gallon price. They aren't effectively the most fuel efficient (even the CA Terminator governor spends "$30,000 per DAY" for 3 hours in his Gulfstream), but the long empty roads can forego a cruiser fuel savings and keep them near the city for local control and accidents while the plane calls it in and they get you once you near the city.

Besides, they are suibsidized by federal grant monies and your taxes. A large portion of the ticket moneies around here go back to the issuing department so it behoves them to write like mad and go sking when they can't ride their traffic cycles in the winter.

Time to get one of those "airplane collision avoidance" detectors.


sq

[TSi+WRX]

Well, it's still alive and well in 2008. Just got pulled over last week because a police airplane had me timed at 20 over.

It was on Route 76 in Ravenna (near Akron.)

What ever happened to those scanners that looked like radar detectors and would alert you when police or airplane transmissions were nearby?

Sorry to hear, fellow Buckeye.

Thanks for the data-point!

[noTe]

Aircraft in Ohio is starting to make me think about just selling my V1 and LI and giving up.

I really didn't want to throw the white flag up but if we can't detect aircraft then to me there is no point in even getting by with radar and laser.

[CincinnatiKid]

Just look up. Outside any city they are easy to see. Again, CB's are perfect for this. Eye in the Sky and Bear in the Air

[CincinnatiKid]

Especially this weekend. I should see some action on my way to the Queen City tonight. I might see the staties x, k, laser and airplane all in one trip.