CAN - Police to track speeders by plane

Police to track speeders by plane




The StarPhoenixNovember 10, 2009




City police have armed themselves with a new tool for catching Saskatoon's most foolish aggressive drivers.
Yellow "hash marks" have been painted at 500-metre intervals on several city streets where police say speeding and stunting have gotten out of hand -- including Circle Drive, 22nd Street West and Eighth Street East.
The marks will allow officers in the police air support unit -- a light plane known as the EAGLE -- to calculate a vehicle's speed from up in the sky.
Starting this month, signs will be posted in these areas to warn motorists the roadways are patrolled by aircraft, says a news release issued Monday by police.
The last few years have seen an increase in both the number and severity of collisions in Saskatoon, partly due to speeding, stunting and carelessness, the release says.
"Annually, aggressive driving contributed to 255 collisions, 58 injuries and one death, at a cost of $8 million," police said.
Other cities that have added aerial enforcement to their traditional methods of policing have reported significant reductions in the number of collisions in targeted areas, police said.
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Isn't Saskatoon in Canada?

What a waste of money. Owning/renting a plane isn't cheap, hiring a pilot isn't cheap, and flying it isn't cheap. They would have to rack up a lot of revenue to make it worthwhile. And no doubt they will.

They're doing this for city streets? Sheesh. Someone should "accidentally" spill black paint or pavement sealer over the hash marks.

Yeah I'm an AZ native and never heard of Saskatoon. Quick google search revealed The StarPhoenix is the newspaper for the town of Saskatoon. So yeah defiantly for our Canadian friends.

Watch for them bush pilots in Canuckistan!:eek:

Someone could, undercover, remove the hash marks and repaint them a slightly longer distance apart, say 520 meters instead of 500. Then the VASCAR speed readings will be lower than actual.

Or paint a bunch of hash marks in between and beyond the official ones at random distances to confuse the operator.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kpatz

Someone could, undercover, remove the hash marks and repaint them a slightly longer distance apart, say 520 meters instead of 500. Then the VASCAR speed readings will be lower than actual.

Or paint a bunch of hash marks in between and beyond the official ones at random distances to confuse the operator.

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Sorry folks I can't do it, I am too far south, anyone else? lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kpatz

Isn't Saskatoon in Canada?

What a waste of money. Owning/renting a plane isn't cheap, hiring a pilot isn't cheap, and flying it isn't cheap. They would have to rack up a lot of revenue to make it worthwhile. And no doubt they will.

They're doing this for city streets? Sheesh. Someone should "accidentally" spill black paint or pavement sealer over the hash marks.

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Which actually isnt a bad idea. :D. Waste of money but now that means they are going to issue a lot more citations than usual.

They are doing it in Ontario, on the major hwy's. 400, 401, 11 and hwy 9. They all have lines but the OPP only have 1 plane. They rent a second one for long weekends.