Training Day for North District Traffic Services
This Kodiak plane is training air-traffic observers in Stoner this week – photo 250 News
Prince George, B.C. – No, that’s not a passenger jet flying high above Stoner today.
Rather it’s North District Traffic Services using a Kodiak plane to train air-traffic observers.
Officer in Charge, Inspector Martin Dey, says by the end of the week 13 officers will be trained as air-traffic observers and notes it’s a very effective way to crack down on bad drivers.
“On a horizontal plane sometimes you can’t see the person tail-gating or the person weaving in and out of traffic. But from the air you can’t miss it.”
He says once training ends they’ll be looking for speeders, impaired drivers, tail-gaters, and those passing over solid lines and says the planes will be deployed anywhere north of 100 Mile House.
“It’s an old technique but it is certainly valuable. You can’t put your radar detector through your sun roof. It’s not going to detect a plane that is there.”
Comments
How can this possibly be economical?
It can’t be economical ! The average weight of those guys in Highway Patrol is huge! Going to need something bigger than a Kodiak plane to get them off the ground !!!! Maybe a Hercules ??
Its not but will hopefully make the roadsa safer more pleasent to drive on.
That was my very first thought!!
Funny how cost never seems to matter when it’s someone else (the taxpayer) picking up the tab!!
A few cruisers on the ground would be far more effective. Its not like you cant spot a plane flying around above you. Much easier to spot than a patrol car on a side road.
If it takes only one idiot off the road before they kill someone its worth it
An aircraft will get those dangerous drivers that a cruiser won’t. An aircraft will get the ones that endanger others lives. They include piles of commercial drivers as well. If you are looking up into the sky for an aircraft while driving what does that tell you about your privilege to hold a drivers licence?
Great news, the taxpayer gets to fund a fun day of free flying for the highway patrol. Speed limits increased for the lower parts of the province, while we in the north who have to travel the most to the lower mainland get stuck with lower limits and more policing. The speed limits were set back when vehicles had drum brakes and no technology, such as todays vehicles. I’m not suggesting no speed limits, but at least make them consistent with the times and entire province.
Last nights Global news story about the police handing out 24 hour suspensions and criminal code charges based on hand held breathalyzers that were not calibrated properly!! Seriously?? Then ICBC comes for their money grab. I don’t condone drinking and driving, but the police are handing out serious charges based on faulty data. Wrong, just plain criminal.
Communist Russia didn’t have any many rules!
Right on, very happy to see this. They’ve had those aircraft monitoring lines on the roads for years but seldom used them.
Now maybe there will be more guys throwing their radar detectors on the pavement and stomping on them!
All these people commenting against it will have to pay more attention now.
If you are not breaking th e law you dont have to worry about it.
If you are a driving jerk, they seem to be the ones who worry about getting caught. They can have all the planes and cars out on roads as they like, my life will be a lot safer.
Let’s just set all the speed limits to 20 km/h and everyone will be safe and there will be no fatalities.
Awesome!
Let’s get some idiots off the road.
Who cares what it costs.
Putting peeps to work looking for idiots is a win win.
Lets see if they advise us of the number of people caught by aircraft, the fines involved, and the cost to do it.
Still think that catching speeders is probably the easiest thing to do. You just sit on the side of the road and wait for them to come by. Not all speeders have radar detectors.
Every car going in and out of Vancouver on the freeway is going 10k or more over the limit, and you rarely see a police car.
People on the Hart, Highway 16, and 97 South are speeding everyday of the week. Rarely do you see anyone pulled over.
If patrol cars cannot solve these problems, then why do we have them???
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