"Speed Enforced by Aircraft" ??

[jmcoreymv]

I was driving up the 101 and saw a few signs that said "Speed Enforced by Aircraft". I don't quite understand what this means. The two things that came to mind are:

1. Planes above use radar to see how fast you are going and then radio police cruisers on the ground to ticket you. (WTF?)

2. Air-to-ground missiles. (Double WTF?)

Anyone know what the signs are for?

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv
I was driving up the 101 and saw a few signs that said "Speed Enforced by Aircraft". I don't quite understand what this means. The two things that came to mind are:

1. Planes above use radar to see how fast you are going and then radio police cruisers on the ground to ticket you. (WTF?)

2. Air-to-ground missiles. (Double WTF?)

Anyone know what the signs are for?

Option 1.

They also use helicopters.

 

[jlee]

1. Planes above use radar to see how fast you are going and then radio police cruisers on the ground to ticket you. (WTF?)

 

[loup garou]

*checks OP's profile*

California...figures. :roll:

 

[ShadowBlade]

Originally posted by: loup garou
*checks OP's profile*

California...figures. :roll:

QFT

 

[tweakmm]

It depends upon the state, in Ohio and Tennesee they just radio down to a police cruiser to pull you. In Texas they break out the missles.

 

[MX2]

Didnt it used to be that planes above you used tick marks that were painted very inconspicuously along the roadway to check your speed by timing you from one to the other?

 

[notfred]

The idea is that planes watch cars on the freeway. They paint two lines on the freeway, say one mile apart. Then the plane watches cars drive over both lines, and records the time it takes the car to go that far, so they can figure out how fast the car is going. Then they radio to someone on the ground in a car, and have him pull over speeding cars.

In reality the "Speed enforced by aircraft" signs do nothing except frighten people into driving slower. They never actually have any planes in the air. I don't know if the CHP even actually owns any planes. In either case I have *never* heardof anyone actually getting pulled over based on a speed easurement from an aircraft. I completely ignore the signs.

 

[Elderly Newt]

Originally posted by: MX2times
Didnt it used to be that planes above you used tick marks that were painted very inconspicuously along the roadway to check your speed by timing you from one to the other?

Yes. Those tick marks are still along the highway where I live. I don't know if they still use them though.

 

[jmcoreymv]

Originally posted by: notfred
The idea is that planes watch cars on the freeway. They paint two lines on the freeway, say one mile apart. Then the plane watches cars drive over both lines, and records the time it takes the car to go that far, so they can figure out how fast the car is going. Then they radio to someone on the ground in a car, and have him pull over speeding cars.

In reality the "Speed enforced by aircraft" signs do nothing except frighten people into driving slower. They never actually have any planes in the air. I don't know if the CHP even actually owns any planes. In either case I have *never* heardof anyone actually getting pulled over based on a speed easurement from an aircraft. I completely ignore the signs.

I've been up and down that highway many times and I've never seen a plane/helicopter overhead. That's why I wasn't quite sure what the sign meant.

 

[0roo0roo]

as if our state can afford such things lol

seriously..we cant

 

[skyking]

The state patrol uses planes all lthe time in WA. Mx2times explained it properly, I'd see the crews at the local airport. The observer had a clipboard with a couple of stopwatches on it.
The planes would be flying a racetrack over the hashmarks, and fly alongside the target car. They'd radio the waiting ground units hiding at the next overpass.

As soon as I started flying, i started spotting the traps from the car.

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: Elderly Newt

Originally posted by: MX2times
Didnt it used to be that planes above you used tick marks that were painted very inconspicuously along the roadway to check your speed by timing you from one to the other?

Yes. Those tick marks are still along the highway where I live. I don't know if they still use them though.

These tick marks are also used in systems that are collectively called VASCAR. Essentially, it's the same timing scheme, except it's a cop, sitting in a car, pushing a button twice to do the timing, or in some obscene implementations, computers do all the visual analysis.

 

[Rastus]

Originally posted by: tweakmm
It depends upon the state, in Ohio and Tennesee they just radio down to a police cruiser to pull you. In Texas they break out the missles.

Only if you have yankee plates on your car.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: notfred
The idea is that planes watch cars on the freeway. They paint two lines on the freeway, say one mile apart. Then the plane watches cars drive over both lines, and records the time it takes the car to go that far, so they can figure out how fast the car is going. Then they radio to someone on the ground in a car, and have him pull over speeding cars.

In reality the "Speed enforced by aircraft" signs do nothing except frighten people into driving slower. They never actually have any planes in the air. I don't know if the CHP even actually owns any planes. In either case I have *never* heardof anyone actually getting pulled over based on a speed easurement from an aircraft. I completely ignore the signs.

I know quite a few people that have been pulled over due to aircraft speed enforcement... though it's rare.

 

[Umberger]

Originally posted by: notfred
The idea is that planes watch cars on the freeway. They paint two lines on the freeway, say one mile apart. Then the plane watches cars drive over both lines, and records the time it takes the car to go that far, so they can figure out how fast the car is going. Then they radio to someone on the ground in a car, and have him pull over speeding cars.

In reality the "Speed enforced by aircraft" signs do nothing except frighten people into driving slower. They never actually have any planes in the air. I don't know if the CHP even actually owns any planes. In either case I have *never* heardof anyone actually getting pulled over based on a speed easurement from an aircraft. I completely ignore the signs.

A friend of mine got a ticket when he got timed by a plane. (On interstate 81 in VA, if you're wondering) He was dicking around with some other car and was going 84 in a 65. He had slowed down by the time he got in sight of the police car, but he still got pulled over. The officer told him he had his speed recorded by an aircraft. He went to court to try to fight the ticket (cause over 80 is reckless in VA)... but the pilot was in court (same as the officer that writes the ticket always is) and he got nailed. That is the only time I have heard of it happening, but yes... it is actually done.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: tweakmm
It depends upon the state, in Ohio and Tennesee they just radio down to a police cruiser to pull you. In Texas they break out the missles.

:laugh:

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Umberger

Originally posted by: notfred
The idea is that planes watch cars on the freeway. They paint two lines on the freeway, say one mile apart. Then the plane watches cars drive over both lines, and records the time it takes the car to go that far, so they can figure out how fast the car is going. Then they radio to someone on the ground in a car, and have him pull over speeding cars.

In reality the "Speed enforced by aircraft" signs do nothing except frighten people into driving slower. They never actually have any planes in the air. I don't know if the CHP even actually owns any planes. In either case I have *never* heardof anyone actually getting pulled over based on a speed easurement from an aircraft. I completely ignore the signs.

A friend of mine got a ticket when he got timed by a plane. (On interstate 81 in VA, if you're wondering) He was dicking around with some other car and was going 84 in a 65. He had slowed down by the time he got in sight of the police car, but he still got pulled over. The officer told him he had his speed recorded by an aircraft. He went to court to try to fight the ticket (cause over 80 is reckless in VA)... but the pilot was in court (same as the officer that writes the ticket always is) and he got nailed. That is the only time I have heard of it happening, but yes... it is actually done.

Ok, so it's done in Virginia. CHP stands for "California Highway Patrol", BTW.

 

[wasssup]

They have these signs in NJ too...I think I've seen it on rt287...

 

[Minerva]

Actually the lines don't need to be that far apart for VASCAR to be effective. Coming soon to a (corrupt) township near you: grooves in the road that make a pitch proportionate to travel speed. Microphones will listen and calculate speed. :Q -M

 

[NFS4]

Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft

 

[DrPizza]

I'd think that it would be far easier to spot speeding vehicles in traffic from the air, especially in heavier traffic.

 

[GregGreen]

hey have those signs up and down I-476 (NE Extension of PA turnpike) also... seen a few people pulled over on that highway but i'm not sure if they were caught by aircraft or by patrol cars

 

[Yossarian]

stupid helicopter pulled me over once. I freaked when I saw the lights in the rearview mirror.

 

[Eli]

They probably just put the signs up in areas of high air traffic so everyone will be like "OMGNOES" and slow down everytime they see an airplane or helicopter.