AIRCRAFT Radar!!!

[Road Warrior]

Hi experts, up here in Toronto area there is a hwy called 7, north of Toronto, speed limit is 80kph (50mph) but you can do 20 kph over w/out being pulled over... now, the large signs off the road say "radar enforced by AIRCRAFT", so my question is: can an RD, and in particular my cordless Solo S2, alert me against any possible "turbulence in the sky"? Of course, an aircraft, helicopter in this case, is always in motion so laser is out of discution, what stays in play is the conventional radar unless they have some special devices that can be used from above! And can a Specter RDD be successfuly used from the police chopper?
Thanks a lot.

[jimbonzzz]

Police radar and laser cannot be used from aircraft. They'll time your travel between two points to calculate your speed (Vascar).

Jim

[Road Warrior]

Got it! So keep it within 100 kph (60 mph)!
Good to know... I've never seen any police chopper patrolling that particular road... I bet they want the signs to work more like a fear factor!!!
Thanks a lot Jim

[Longsnowsm]

There is a section of interstate where I live that is marked that speed is enforced by aircraft. I have never seen or heard of anyone getting a ticket by an aircraft on that road. So as far as I can tell it is purely a scare tactic. When I drive that road I keep an eye on the sky and the road however.

Longsnowsm

[SmaartAasSaabr]

I've seen "Surveillance Aerienne" signs on the Autoroute 20, I still go 130-160 km/h if the traffic isn't too heavy.

One thing to note, is that the aircraft surveillance method is to basically use a stopwatch and measure the time it takes for you to go a particular distance. And it has to be visible from the air. Normally you will see big white lines perpendicular to the road, maybe 100m apart, and maybe several sets of them. Or perhaps a big landmark on the road, like a large pylon or something. If there isn't really anything there, as on the Autoroute 20, I wouldn't worry too much!

As well, it's a very inaccurate way to measure speeds. Generally you shouldn't get busted for speeds relatively close to the limit, like 100km/h in the 80. Another good way to spot them is to open your sunroof and look up, or use a police scanner. The aircraft doesn't actually land and chase you on the ground of course, they have a police chase car to do that, and there has to be radio communication between them.

[Road Warrior]

Yes, I'm working on a police scanner, it will be a BCD 396T, the only dealer in the Toronto area that sells this stuff just got it in stock, they are going to update their files and then test it on the road, I was told to call back in 2-3 weeks... it costs C$900 plus 15%tax but they will load it with ANYTHING you want, you tell them what you want and they will do it for free (I mean included in the price, that's why it's so expensive).

[cmdrstask]

Also consider that they can only fly in pretty decent weather, so you *probably* won't get aircraft enforcement if it's extremely overcast. Especially overcast near the ground.

[SpeedFreak]

Consider that aircrafts cost a lot of $$ to operate and fuel up so its not a big threat and like cmdrstask said bad weather keeps them away too.

[tjbender]

Considering how wide the radar beam gets even at a distance of 200 feet, could it even be viable for use from an aircraft for traffic?

[Road Warrior]

They cannot fly bellow 1,000 ft, otherwise thay will create a mess on the road!!! Imagine hundreds of vehicles doing 80-100 kph and all over sudden a flying huge and noisy object being just above your head!!! I bet the officers doing that would be quickly repremended for their stupid action!!! Exception is just for EMS chopper attempting to take some victims of a serious car crash WHEN a normal EMS truck cannot get through due to the road congestion!!!
As Jim said before, VASCAR is what they are using, IF they really enforce that sign!!!