Re: Air Enforcement

[Tom Kelly <kellytom@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Using planes to catch speeders is not a new science.

I got my first air ticket 35, yes, thirty-five years ago, near Salinas.
(I've gotten a couple since, too. Dumb, eh?) I was driving my '57 Chevy
Bel Air (sigh), and they got me for 85 in a 65. At that time, the cop
told me that my car was NOT being clocked. The plane was keeping pace
with my car and timing itself between two established points. There've
probably been a million such tickets issued since then, and if the CHP
is not playing by the rules, they're sure doing a damn good job of
hiding it. 

On the other side of that coin, though, is what happened a few years ago
in Pasadena, where I live. The local PD was using an parked, unmanned,
"discreetly" marked SUV equipped with photo radar. When the robot would
catch a speeder (which happened a LOT) or light-runner, it would
photograph the driver, and the registered owner would be cited. (To get
off, you'd have to prove you weren't the evil-doer in the picture.) 

The system didn't last long. The judge threw every ticket out because
state law requires that a vehicle issuing tickets must be clearly
marked. The city finally gave up on the idea. Guess they figured it
wouldn't be cost effective without the benefits of mass production.

Tom Kelly
 
Cheers, 
Tom Kelly

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