[KCE90M3]

So I noticed this on AOL when I went there to check my mail this morning....interesting article about speeding over 100+ mph. Didn't realize some states spent so much money enforcing speed limits...cameras I've heard of, but aircraft?

http://autos.aol.com/article/safety/...02142009990001

[777ER]

It's still around but sporadic.

[Express]

the planes are all over the north florida area. watch out I-10 users.

[SoYank]

In Virginia one of the first signs you'll see after crossing the state line says "Speed Limit Enforced By Aircraft". How can an aircraft "enforce" a speed limit? Land on your car? All the aircraft can do is determine your speed. The enforcement takes place on the ground.

[jlaw]

Very common. The method I'm aware of is calculating your speed based on the time it takes you to travel between two predetermined points on the road. Ever see those big white perpendicular lines across the highway?

[777ER]

Originally Posted by jlaw

Very common. The method I'm aware of is calculating your speed based on the time it takes you to travel between two predetermined points on the road. Ever see those big white perpendicular lines across the highway?

The problem with that is right after you pass by one of the white line at high speed... slow down to a crawl or pull over to the side of the road and wait a min or so and go on your merry way...that messes the est. speed based on time.

[Blake]

what really blows my mind away is that our cash strapped government is spending all this money on catching speeders by airplane. i'm well aware it's nothing new, but you would think there are bigger fish to fry than a couple of bmw's zipping down some lonesome interstate in the high desert.

[RRGOO7]

Very Very common here in Florida

[Blake]

at least speed cameras aren't as common here as they are in the UK and europe...yet...

[Seminole]

Yup, I've seen them use little Cessna's here in FL.

Those white lines that run across the highway are what they use. There is a spotter who watches for a car moving at a higher rate of speed than the cars around him, then calculates the average speed based on how long it takes to go between two lines. Down the road a bit are usually a few Troopers ready to pull out and pull over the car that the aircraft radios to them. You could pull over and stop, as 777er suggested, but the road is littered with those white lines. It would be a much better idea just to drive the speed limit than stop every time you see a white line.

[Blake]

or outrun the awaiting troopers too

[777ER]

The way it works is the spotter in the aircraft picks a car out, flips a switch on the timer once you pass the white line, then flips the switch again when you pass the next white line.
It gives out a average speed reading based on the formula to convert time into speed.
There is a small margin of error involved in this way, (something around 2%) which is the reaction from seeing the car go by the white line to flipping the switch.

It's a average speed, slowing down or speeding up between the white lines affects the average a lil bit.

Now the problem is they have to radio the cop car up ahead and give a brief info on the color and the lane the car is in and a update to the officer's car once he's on the road and if he's behind the correct car or not (ie if there's two white cars within each other, the spotter will inform the patrol car on the ground that's the one he's behind before they hit the lights).

Not sure what FL laws says but most state laws requires both officers to show up in court when it's contested...the spotter in the aircraft and the pursuit officer.

[synclastica_86]

Originally Posted by Blake

what really blows my mind away is that our cash strapped government is spending all this money on catching speeders by airplane. i'm well aware it's nothing new, but you would think there are bigger fish to fry than a couple of bmw's zipping down some lonesome interstate in the high desert.

I do a bit of flying and I think that you a wrong. I rent a small cessna 172R (the same plane they use for catching speeders) for around $150/hr. Catch a few speeders and they will be profiting.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by synclastica_86

I do a bit of flying and I think that you a wrong. I rent a small cessna 172R (the same plane they use for catching speeders) for around $150/hr. Catch a few speeders and they will be profiting.

perhaps, but at the same time its far cheaper sitting in a bend with laser gun. the whole plane operation costs more than the plane...you've got manpower on the ground too. suddenly, after you factor in all expenses, it becomes a very expensive operation with diminishing returns. the government spends too much on crap like that for non-violent crimes.

[.:bHd:.]

Originally Posted by 777ER

The way it works is the spotter in the aircraft picks a car out, flips a switch on the timer once you pass the white line, then flips the switch again when you pass the next white line.
It gives out a average speed reading based on the formula to convert time into speed.
There is a small margin of error involved in this way, (something around 2%) which is the reaction from seeing the car go by the white line to flipping the switch.

It's a average speed, slowing down or speeding up between the white lines affects the average a lil bit.

Now the problem is they have to radio the cop car up ahead and give a brief info on the color and the lane the car is in and a update to the officer's car once he's on the road and if he's behind the correct car or not (ie if there's two white cars within each other, the spotter will inform the patrol car on the ground that's the one he's behind before they hit the lights).

Not sure what FL laws says but most state laws requires both officers to show up in court when it's contested...the spotter in the aircraft and the pursuit officer.

Wow that''s complicated.. only if they spent that much time trying to fight real crime

[hollandjean]

wow...that's 2 much....

[c0nstant]

Originally Posted by SoYank

In Virginia one of the first signs you'll see after crossing the state line says "Speed Limit Enforced By Aircraft". How can an aircraft "enforce" a speed limit? Land on your car? All the aircraft can do is determine your speed. The enforcement takes place on the ground.

i lol'd pretty hard at the image i got in my head