O.P.P. traffic airplanes

[se_k]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080510.plane10/BNStory/SpecialEvents2/

[-RJ3-]

Nice!!! Speeders beware!!

[Silver_M6]

that is overkill

[b3GS]

4 cars.. whoopee.. it is overkill and a waste of money/resources if you ask me

where were they when I had a HUGE Ford F250 blast past me on the 400 doing probably 160 this past weekend? It's bull.. people are NOT slowing down on the highways.

[Flagrum_3]

I guess another good reason to get a sunroof :chuckle

Keep your eyes to the skies guys!

But seriously, note what they look for; tail-gating and numerous lane changes!
Keep in the same lane at a steady speed and they won't bother you, atleast that's my experience and I drive up the 400 usually at a steady 130kph, every week.


_3


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[tweak_s]

4 cars.. whoopee.. it is overkill and a waste of money/resources if you ask me

where were they when I had a HUGE Ford F250 blast past me on the 400 doing probably 160 this past weekend? It's bull.. people are NOT slowing down on the highways.

Especially when they don't see a presence of cops ON THE ROAD.

Have more cops on the road, and people will slow their cars down becuase they don't want a ticket.

I think its second nature for ignorant people: unless its an immediate direct "threat" that they see.... it doesn't affect them.

While this might be a "great tool" as the cop says, its very limited becuase it can only be in one place at one time and staring at one area.... I agree with overkill, but mainly because I think that you could do a more effective job through less extreme means.

[-RJ3-]

WHile driving to the cemetary, I saw a white unmarked opp SUV... debadged but you can see the led bar and red blue strobes on the grille.

Drove beside me, but I didnt bother to look.. He just drove off.

The boys in blue are getting lots and lots of toys!

[zedtech]

Beware on the 403, I've seen a black "maintenance" van just after the 401 merges w/ the 403 westbound off to the shoulder after pulling someone over. Even has a ladder on top to complete the effect but had the red, white and blue lights flashing.

Sometime late last year, a "stock" teal Buick Regal flew by me on the 407 to track down a car that flew by a few secs earlier. Looked completely normal (reg manufacturer badges and all) but had its sirens and lights going. They're starting to get trickier out there.

[3GFX]

OPP in the skies is nothing new, but them policing the 401 from the skies is new.

Friend on the dash won't help you hear. My tip, drive proper, and don't single yourself out.

I'm a fan, this will get a lot of people this weekend.

[-RJ3-]

Come to think of It, today when I saw that SUV.. I wonder if eye in the sky was looking down on me LOL!!!

[loganm3]

I'm all for stopping speeders on the 400/401 etc... but this is getting a little exessive. Check out this article in rebutal to the new plane.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Columnist/article/422792

My two cents, keep enforcing the law on speeding but start ticketing people who sit in the passing lane and go below the speed limit. If the passing lane (too many people call it the fast lane, and it's actually only for passing) was open they you wouldn't have all those idiots doddging and weeving through traffic.

My personal tip, with gas at $1.25 and having a 5spd 115km in the middle lane is fast enough.

Watch out for the idiots on the roads this weekend!

[-RJ3-]

DAng.. Just realized im heading up to Ottawa this Sunday for the tulip festival. (for the wifey lol)

Cruise control!!

[bunchi]

put up a sign on your roof that says "STOP LOOKING!" lol IMO they doing the right thing. speeders are not putting only their own life on trouble but also those of other people around him. might be overkill but you can't put a price on a person's life. at the end of the day, OPP is just concerned of our safety. drive safe!

they might only be using 1 plane but accdg to the news they are catching a crazy driver every 6-8 minutes! if this is successful they might even expand from a single plane to a fleet. more violators means more revenues :chuckle

[b3GS]

OPP in the skies is nothing new, but them policing the 401 from the skies is new.

thats not true, when I was younger, my Dad got pulled over when we were heading south on the 400, and they were using planes then. They used to have painted markers on the roads that would help them calculate from the air how fast you were traveling.

this has been done before, they just didn't have the budget to continue it. It costs an obscene amount to use planes.

[chinsterr]

Nice!!! Speeders beware!!

nice?

It's a waste of tax payers money.

[3GFX]

Notice how I said 401 ;) I know its been done on the 400.

Its probably been done on the 401 before as well. They're make the money back this weekend thats for sure.

I haven't seen markers on the 401 mind you.

[theurgy]

It costs $1.4 Million to operate that plane.. and for what? to stop maybe a few hundred speeders?

If the average ticket is $120... it would take 11,666 tickets to be handed out to break even on the costs.
The only people happy abou this is the cops who have to do less work and probably loving the opportunity to fly in a private airplane on the taxpayer's dime.

[Flagrum_3]

There seems to be alot of different opinions on the matter, so here's mine :chuckle

Speeding does not kill! IDIOTS KILL...I've said this before a few times on these speeding posts.I'm against the generalization that someone doing 20-30-40 or even 50kph above the speedlimit is putting themselfs or anyone else in danger.It should be stressed, that it is the asshats who decide to speed excessively when the conditions are not ideal or start weaving thru traffic or tailgating etc; etc; that cause the kaos. Now I'm all for this new plane, 1.4 million might sound like alot but they'll make it back in fines and at the same time nail the asshats....How much is your life worth? or the life of a child? I think that can't be answered, so compared to $1.4 mil its a bargain.


_3


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[b3GS]

I don't think they'll make their money back on just what the plane catches alone. It just can't be efficient enough. Think about how much fuel they will use circling again and again, and they STILL have to have units on the ground to actually pull over the car and issue the ticket. How does this make sense? Why not have just put that money into more units on the ground and and increased police presence. People would slow down if they actually saw more cops on the road. BUT NOOOOO, they want to be all sneaky and catch people from the air.
That tells me, they really aren't concerned with stopping people from speeding, they are more concerned with catching speeders so they can get more revenue.

[Scottobot]

Everyone's obsessing in this thread about catching speeders, but the article says the eye in the sky is actually looking for dangerous driving habits:


a car that took less than 18 seconds to travel between them was over the 100-kilometre-an-hour speed limit.

But that wasn't the focus of his efforts.

Sgt. Pileggi was looking for drivers whose habits made them stand out from the surrounding traffic due to high speed, tailgating and/or numerous lane changes. “That's what creates the risk,” he said. “That's what we watch for.”

I don't think they'll make the money back on operating the airplane, but as _3 says it's about punishing bad, idiotic drivers who drive dangerously, hopefully preventing accidents and maybe saving a life or two along the way, so that's all good in my books. And it makes sense to me that it's easier to spot those jackasses from the sky than it is on the ground, as a ground officer's field of vision is waaaaaay less than what can be seen from the sky.

So to contradict theurgy who says the only people who are happy about this are the cops who get to play with an airplane, I am happy about this. As far as I'm concerned, they should outfit that Cessna with an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator and vaporize people who tailgate and change lanes aggressively and dangerously (I expect that would get a lot of minivans off the road).

B3GS: I'm a little confused that in the same post you state:


I don't think they'll make their money back on just what the plane catches alone

..and..


they really aren't concerned with stopping people from speeding, they are more concerned with catching speeders so they can get more revenue.

Are you suggesting that they're hoping to make money with the airplane, but won't because their business plan isn't sound?

Anyway, I might drive a little fast from time to time, but I'm never a tailgating jerk who doesn't know how to use a turn signal yet compulsively dart from lane to lane because I pwn the road, so I'm not concerned about 'the man' watching from the sky.

If you don't want to get busted, just use your brain when you drive and follow the rules (acknowledging the slight leeway regarding speed limits). That way it doesn't matter if a cop is driving beside you or flying circles over your head and you don't have to worry aboot it.

[RallyPlaya]

Yeah thats true but keep in mind modded cars like mine our targets by Cops i have a big red circle on my car basically and ive been pulled over once for absolutely no reason asked for ownership and then he chked it and left with no responce at all he was allso circling my car and having a look...... i know modding mean bringing attention to yourself but i hate this viewpoint i have as punk street racer kid....as i actually am a great responsibel driver that is just a car enthusaist.......i blame it on the Fasta dn furious movie even though im excited for the new one coming out lol hahaha

[b3GS]

Are you suggesting that they're hoping to make money with the airplane, but won't because their business plan isn't sound?

Anyway, I might drive a little fast from time to time, but I'm never a tailgating jerk who doesn't know how to use a turn signal yet compulsively dart from lane to lane because I pwn the road, so I'm not concerned about 'the man' watching from the sky.

If you don't want to get busted, just use your brain when you drive and follow the rules (acknowledging the slight leeway regarding speed limits). That way it doesn't matter if a cop is driving beside you or flying circles over your head and you don't have to worry aboot it.

I'm suggesting that it's a waste of taxpayers money, because it is not enough of a deterrent to get the asswipes to slow down. And the plane is an inefficient method. By the time they spot a car, they need to radio down to a cruiser, and then circle around to pass over the highway again. It's not like they can just keep cruising along the highway, because they need support from the ground. So why wouldn't they have just put that money into hiring more officers and putting more cruisers on the road? Police presence would be much more of a deterrent to would be asswipes on the road.

you don't have to be on ANY of the major highways for long, before you come across some dickhead driving like he owns the road. And I just don't see enough police cruisers out to catch those :AH 's

but hey, at least the cops have a new toy to play with :bang

*edit

take a look at this video of them catching a vehicle
http://opp.ca/Organization/TrafficSafety/HighwaySafetyDivision/opp_006442.html

seems like alot of effort to catch one car at a time like that

[RallyPlaya]

Damn That video is scary thats intense Everyone watch yourself on highways the track si where you push it

[Scottobot]

seems like alot of effort to catch one car at a time like that

Meh, I don't think it's as much effort as trying to co-ordinate a bunch of cruisers patrolling randomly. Besides, most people slow down and smarten up when they see a cruiser (which I know is your point) and wouldn't get caught at all, which would not deter them from driving like :AH 's when there are no cops in sight. I still like the airplane.

[-RJ3-]

whether you guys like it or not OPP is in full force... Street racers be aware... I can't stand some other tuner, or non tuner drive by me like he has something to prove.. This will certainly stop them and avoid potentialy killing someone in the process. Life vs Tax dollars.. I'd keep my life.

[Unoriginalusername]

well there is always the other appraoch (gone in 60 seconds style) .... what is the the top speed of a cesna LOL JK :chuckle

[Noisy Crow]

well there is always the other appraoch (gone in 60 seconds style) .... what is the the top speed of a cesna LOL JK :chuckle

The the maximum airspeed of the 206 is about 150 knots... which is over 280 mph. Normal cruise is a more leisurely 140 knots...

[MAZDA Kitten]

This is so great when oil prices are at an all time high and I'm pretty sure jet fuel isnt $1.24 a litre. For what... to bust 3 or 4 cars. Ontario government has shit for brains. If they want inpact how about more police presence.

Child poverty is at an all time high in this province but I guess there is better things to throw tax payers money away on

[Unoriginalusername]

The the maximum airspeed of the 206 is about 150 knots... which is over 280 mph. Normal cruise is a more leisurely 140 knots...

dang it

[RX9]

i was driving around 180km/h at 401 couple yrs ago at around 02:00. when i got off the highway, there are four OPP patro car pull me over b/c choper see me, but they just warned me not a ticket at that time. from that time, i will never drive that fast that i know they have chopers up there. lol.... i forgot to mention that durham police has more than 2 choper in the sky almost every night.

[MAZDA Kitten]

Where is Durham

[RX9]

^^^ east of scarborough. lol...