Air radar
 

I hope that I am not breaking any forum rules but has anyone heard of law enforcement using helicopter or air radar to pull people over? My "friend" was pulled over and the authorities informed him that they used air radar to detect his car. I have never heard of this before and wanted to know if it is accurate and has anyone else had a "friend" who was in a situation like this?

Over here where I live there are air patrols. There's even "aircraft enforced" signs.

I see signs sometimes on the highways here in Ontario that say it is being air-patrolled but I've never heard of anyone being booked this way, nor have I noticed any helicopters above. I always thought it was more of a scare tactic that they might employ once in a blue moon.

long island's ocean parkway usues air rader.

every quarter mile there is a horizontal hashmark...when you pass it they time you till you reach the next hash mark (1/4 mile away), and divide your time by distance, and come up with your speed...

they dont do this very often as airplanes/helicopters are not cheap to run...

It happens but it is rare these days due to the cost.

ya it just seems like they wouldn't generate enough revenue to cover the cost of operating aircrafts. This is why I think its more of a scare tactic than a legit way to catch people speeding.

My "friend" said that the trooper informed him that they used air radar, he came around the corner of a highway and two cruisers were sitting there waiting for him. My "friend" wants to appeal his violation but does not know how air radar works and how accurate it is. My "friend" is very upset, poor kid

sounds like your "friend" is being scammed. Poor kid indeed.

Does your "friend" happen to have a 2010 370z 40th anniv ? :tup:

You can try to appeal but you'll likely lose. Seems like they did have a plane up there and they got your average speed.

Though I wonder if you went to court the ticketing officer and the spotter up in the plane would be required to attend. If that's the case you could get lucky and one or the other might not show?

I doubt it's a scam... they could have easily been doing a highway safety weekend or something in which case they can justify the cost of putting a small plane or two up in the air, because they are likely to catch hundreds of speeders.

Definite possibility. I think if you took it to court, there's a good chance that no one would show up.

I think this is a situation where it might be worth it to consult a lawyer, just to figure what your options are. All depending on how much of a fine you are facing, of course.

Yea my "friend" is weighing his options, but he said he will appeal it and hopefully get his 362 dollar ticket reduced. My friend is also interested in finding out if the radar is actually a video or just a tagged picture.

I'm sure if your "friend" seeks such information, they are obligated to give it to him. Tell him to let you know what they say so that you can inform us as well. I'm certainly interested to know.

:iagree:

I know in WA state on some of the more open parts of I-90 (major highway) there are aircraft patrols which consist of light planes being flown overhead of the highway. They run what is essentially a dash cam like in a squad car, and use a combination of radar/laser within a certain range, and also the previously mentioned hash marks

hmmm interesting, what exactly is a hash mark though? As my friend was saying, its one thing if a cop gets you on the side of the road with a radar gun or you drive by them going to fast, but how accurate can a helicopter or airplane be? Thats what my friend is trying to figure out

they can get you for speeding in a variety of ways.

a friend of mine got a ticket because his average speed between two easy pass stations (a few miles apart) was to high. He made it to the next easy pass to quickly and the easy pass came up as a red flag and wouldnt let him through...cop walked over and told him to pull to the side of the road.

If they used the hash marks on the highway then they were using a stop watch and a lookup chart, not radar. There are air to ground radar systems but they are very expensive so not sure how prevalent they are outside of the military.

Either way, if you appeal you are entitled to discovery. File a motion with the court for the state's evidence, if they fail to produce the evidence then it is likely that your case will be dismissed. The evidence will allow you to do additional research into the potential accuracy of the speed measurement, and allow you to challenge on certain grounds.

Those lines going across the road on the highway... The airborne officers will time you from line one to line two, then divide that distance by your time, arriving at your average speed between two points. If the points are 1/2 mile apart and it takes you 24 seconds to go from line one to two, you're doing about 75 mph...

Yes, this is what my friend intends to do. He said that he wants proof or evidence from the air radar that he was indeed going the speed they clocked him at. The hash marks/stop watch method could prove to me a tough thing to argue, but if it was indeed an air radar then proof should be available.

When aircraft are used in California, the spotter in the plane simply times you between painted marks that have set distances apart on the freeway. Once you are clocked they just call ahead to a waiting CHP.

Simple physics. Rate = distance/time

The stop watch method is subject to human error, but the error has to be significant to throw it off. At 60 mph you are covering a 1/4 mile every 15 seconds, at 90 mph you'll do it in 10. They might be off by 0.1 to 0.3 seconds due to parallax error or reflexes.

No "air radar" used. Just timing the car between 1/4 mile hash marks on the road. I got nailed once in my '79 280zx by a state trooper helicopter. The trooper that pulled me over thought it was hilarious that my radar detector didn't warn me.

Interesting stuff, thank you for the info. I think my friend is going to appeal it and ask the troopers for evidence of his clocked rate of speed.

I was in the same boat as you until 2 weeks ago. My buddys gf was coming back to Kingston from Cornwall and she received a ticket from air-patrol.

Apparently what happens is they time you going between certain lines/points to see how much you're speeding. Then they phone to ground patrol and a cop car will find you on the 401 and issue you a ticket. She said that when she was pulled over the cop informed her that he didn't see her speeding, but it was from air patrol.

So weird.. don't we have better things to waste our tax dollars on??

Tell your friend to get a lawyer.
It will help in making things easier and show he is trying to be professional and not just some 'punk kid.'

So did she appeal it or is she going to pay the fine?

lawyer up, will be expensive now but will save you cash in the long run

She is going to pay it.
I believe she said if she fought it she would have to go the Cornwall court. Wasn't worth it to her in the long run... sorry I couldn't have helped with fighting techniques!

That is why they have those white stripes painted across the highway. They can pin point your car and know how fast you are going from point A to point B. Then they will call the ground patrol if your are speeding according to their calculations.

Yup, they have these marks on some roads in CT also.... That is exactly how they figure the speed...