RCMP Heli Patrol Aug 23, 2013 HWY2

[v2kai]

Just a heads up. RCMP are currently running a heli patrol along the stretch of HWY2 between Airdrie and Crossfield. Had cruisers on the ends of this stretch both directions with people pulled over. Heli was pretty obvious but I always keep an eye peeled.

[Sugarphreak]

....

[AllGoNoShow]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Ahhh, the cost effective way of catching speeders... with a helicopter, haha.

I wonder if they would freak out if you fired a flare gun while they were tracking you, haha


Would be fun fighting one of these tickets...
"I see, so you track cars from above. I have here 3 pictures of car roofs... can you identify which one is mine?"

Probably similar result to the laser pointer at Hawcs, who wants to try??? ;)

[FraserB]

The thing about being able to identify which vehicle is speeding would be an interesting argument to hear. From the top, there are a ton of cars that would look identical. So you’d have a cop a thousand feet up or so telling a ground unit to pull over a certain vehicle based on vehicle type, color (as determined by looking at the roof) and lane position.

I’d also assume that the officer in the helicopter would be required to attend and that the recording of the communication would be considered evidence that could be subpoenaed. Or all the issued tickets would have to be registered owner tickets.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by FraserB
The thing about being able to identify which vehicle is speeding would be an interesting argument to hear. From the top, there are a ton of cars that would look identical. So you’d have a cop a thousand feet up or so telling a ground unit to pull over a certain vehicle based on vehicle type, color (as determined by looking at the roof) and lane position.

I’d also assume that the officer in the helicopter would be required to attend and that the recording of the communication would be considered evidence that could be subpoenaed. Or all the issued tickets would have to be registered owner tickets.

we've been over this many times on here. the cop in the plane/heli keeps visual contact with the offending car till its pulled over and confirmed with the ground officer

[jonsey737]

Originally posted by FraserB
The thing about being able to identify which vehicle is speeding would be an interesting argument to hear. From the top, there are a ton of cars that would look identical. So you’d have a cop a thousand feet up or so telling a ground unit to pull over a certain vehicle based on vehicle type, color (as determined by looking at the roof) and lane position.

I’d also assume that the officer in the helicopter would be required to attend and that the recording of the communication would be considered evidence that could be subpoenaed. Or all the issued tickets would have to be registered owner tickets.

I think rage mentioned he tried to fight a ticket from an aircraft and they explained how they identify the proper vehicle. Something to with counting the number of cars or something... I can't remember.

[roll_over]

Off topic but yesterday they had bike cops on both directions of 22x in between Cranston and Chaperal

[Xtrema]

Let's fatten up before winter comes.....

[AG_Styles]

speed limit seems so artificially low enough as it is...

[Shlade]

Spoke with some RCMP guys while in bc beginning of August when I went on vacation.

Supposedly it's mainly for the super car problems they have within the mountains and guys doing insane speed runs (who can blame them)

[DEATH2000]

Originally posted by Shlade
Spoke with some RCMP guys while in bc beginning of August when I went on vacation.

Supposedly it's mainly for the super car problems they have within the mountains and guys doing insane speed runs (who can blame them) Thats in BC though. Why Airdrie to Crossfield?

[m10-power]

Originally posted by Shlade
Spoke with some RCMP guys while in bc beginning of August when I went on vacation.

Supposedly it's mainly for the super car problems they have within the mountains and guys doing insane speed runs (who can blame them)

That and they are worth more at auction...plus everyone enjoys a rich person getting robbed story.

[Shlade]

Originally posted by DEATH2000
Thats in BC though. Why Airdrie to Crossfield?

Fuck me I have to start reading shit more

[DEATH2000]

Originally posted by Shlade


Fuck me I have to start reading shit more
:rofl:

[Traffic_Cop]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Ahhh, the cost effective way of catching speeders... with a helicopter, haha.

I wonder if they would freak out if you fired a flare gun while they were tracking you, haha


Would be fun fighting one of these tickets...
"I see, so you track cars from above. I have here 3 pictures of car roofs... can you identify which one is mine?"

Like HAWC it has a camera. It simply zooms in and will grab your plate.

[speedog]

Originally posted by Traffic_Cop
Like HAWC it has a camera. It simply zooms in and will grab your plate.

Now that's just not nice - providing facts to effectively negate another beyond belief.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[ryder_23]

Originally posted by Traffic_Cop


Like HAWC it has a camera. It simply zooms in and will grab your plate.

Which means its probably recording, and therefore used against people fighting these tickets I assume?

[Traffic_Cop]

Kinda old n goofy, but this gives you a bit of an idea.

http://youtu.be/QdoN42fDVy8

[120Comm]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
I wonder if guys running trucks could just drop their tale gate though to defeat that?

"It's the one with the tailgate down."

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by 120Comm
"It's the one with the tailgate down."
:rofl:

That's literally what would happen. I remember watching a news report on this, and as Traffic Cop said, they have a camera they can use to zoom in on you.

Plus, the officer that's watching for speeders will keep visual contact with you the entire time, up until he guides a cruiser to your tail, watches you get lit up and pulled over, and then re-confirms that the correct car was stopped.

Obviously, patrolling the QE2 from the air can't be cheap, but I think it's more of a PR tactic than anything else. They're definitely not going to catch everything from the air, especially if the chopper has to stay with you until you're pulled over. That means that he has to wait for a cruiser to intercept the driver, while other speeders that are maybe 20km's ahead will get away.

There was a news video (I think it was the Herald) that showed them demonstrating how they pull people over, and they even said that because of how speeders stick out like a sore thumb, they can even direct 2 or 3 cruisers to pull over a group of speeders. The popular tactic is to stay in the middle of a group of speeders, so that a laser trap ahead will snag the first car, or a cruiser coming up behind will pull over the last car in line. If what they say is true, then the chopper can track a group of 5 speeders at once, and just ask their buddies on the ground to pull everyone over.

But like I said, I think more so than actual enforcement, its just putting a scare into people's minds, that the chopper could be watching at any time. Their other creative tactic is much cheaper, and probably a bit more effective. That one entails 2 or 3 officers sitting on an overpass clocking speeders, and radioing descriptions and license plates to their buddies 3km ahead. They'll have 5 or 6 cruisers parked at the side of the road with their lights flashing, so you have to slow down to 60. Then they simply walk out into the road, and pull over every speeder that was clocked. That one would probably be easier to fight though, in regards to them identifying you as the speeder.

[revelations]

Well, I might as well quit now and just set the cruise control to 115-119 kph on the weekends. :dunno:

(No hope for speeders on the QE2 anymore)

I'm not sure why the province/RCMP just dont get a bunch of camera vans and park them on the roads. Probably cheaper and safer than having guys flying around in a money-pit, or having an army of highway partrol vehicles parked on the on-ramp with a lidar guy hanging out by a bridge.... and would generate huge revenue.

[schocker]

Originally posted by revelations
I'm not sure why the province/RCMP just dont get a bunch of camera vans and park them on the roads. Probably cheaper and safer than having guys flying around in a money-pit, or having an army of highway partrol vehicles parked on the on-ramp with a lidar guy hanging out by a bridge.... and would generate huge safety.
Fixed :rofl:

[revelations]

Originally posted by schocker

Fixed :rofl:

bahahaha

[sidewaysD]

On the radio they said (660 news)

They said this is more for catching people "in a rush" weaving through traffic, excessive speeding, dangerous driving behaviour, and targeting Motorcyclists who frequently break the speed limit by a big margin.

[Stealth22]

^ I'll hold them to it then, if I'm ever pulled over on the QE2 again.

"So let me get this straight...you've got a guy up there in a helicopter, which is costing the RCMP thousands of dollars every hour in fuel and maintenance, telling you pull me over to give me an $89 ticket for going 120 in a 110 zone?"

[FullFledgedYYC]

Originally posted by Stealth22
^ I'll hold them to it then, if I'm ever pulled over on the QE2 again.

"So let me get this straight...you've got a guy up there in a helicopter, which is costing the RCMP thousands of dollars every hour in fuel and maintenance, telling you pull me over to give me an $89 ticket for going 120 in a 110 zone?"

It will happen, don't worry. I swear the police and people in general have way too much free time/resources on their hands. This province needs another natural disaster to keep people busy.

[v2kai]

Originally posted by sidewaysD
On the radio they said (660 news)

They said this is more for catching people "in a rush" weaving through traffic, excessive speeding, dangerous driving behaviour, and targeting Motorcyclists who frequently break the speed limit by a big margin.

when I saw it, the heli seemed to be hovering closer to the crossfield overpass on the west side of the highway versus patrolling along with speeders so in this instance that statement was likely accurate

[120Comm]

Originally posted by Stealth22
^ I'll hold them to it then, if I'm ever pulled over on the QE2 again.

"So let me get this straight...you've got a guy up there in a helicopter, which is costing the RCMP thousands of dollars every hour in fuel and maintenance, telling you pull me over to give me an $89 ticket for going 120 in a 110 zone?"

This has frequently been stated every time stories about tracking violators via aircraft come up. They don't care about the guy doing 119. They want to catch the ones doing 145-160, and the squids lane splitting and doing 2bills plus.

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by 120Comm
This has frequently been stated every time stories about tracking violators via aircraft come up. They don't care about the guy doing 119. They want to catch the ones doing 145-160, and the squids lane splitting and doing 2bills plus.
I'm well aware of that. There was a hint of sarcasm there.

[FullFledgedYYC]

You honestly they think they won't pull people over for going 20 over? Pull your head out of the sand. They will get as many as possible, regardless of speed.

[v2kai]

What I really hope is they see the arse-tard doing 109 in the overtaking lane beside a semi doing 110 and the line of traffic behind him/her and pull that inconsiderate prick over.

[120Comm]

Originally posted by FullFledgedYYC
You honestly they think they won't pull people over for going 20 over? Pull your head out of the sand. They will get as many as possible, regardless of speed.

I heard them on the scanner this weekend and the lowest speed mentioned was 139.

While it admittedly wasn't an RCMP member, there was a story in Car & Driver a number of years ago about a state trooper somewhere in the US in a fixed-wing, and he said they typically don't care about people that are going the same speed as the traffic around them. It's the egregiously faster (or, yes, slower) that stand out that grab their attention. That's been said in this thread quite a few times.

[g-m]

So if we all agree that 110 is dumb and we all go 150 we should be good right? The road is practically straight after all...

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by v2kai
What I really hope is they see the arse-tard doing 109 in the overtaking lane beside a semi doing 110 and the line of traffic behind him/her and pull that inconsiderate prick over.

This ain't the States, man. That's NEVER going to happen. :cry:

Once...just ONCE I'd like to see a CPS/RCMP/Alberta Sheriff cruiser do this:

LZhdvl_P1Zc

[spikerS]

I was on deerfoot a while back, and this guy in a silver windstar was doing 85-90 in the far left lane at about 11pm. I got right up on his bumper, even flashed the high beams a couple times, and buddy would not speed up, or change lanes.

I passed him in the middle lane, then switched back into the fast lane, and slowed down to the point I made him switch lanes to go around me, then, I speed back up to 110-115.

Apparently this REALLY pissed him off because then he decided to pass me again. I swear, some people just don't get it.

[Canmorite]

Originally posted by spikers
I was on deerfoot a while back, and this guy in a silver windstar was doing 85-90 in the far left lane at about 11pm. I got right up on his bumper, even flashed the high beams a couple times, and buddy would not speed up, or change lanes.

I passed him in the middle lane, then switched back into the fast lane, and slowed down to the point I made him switch lanes to go around me, then, I speed back up to 110-115.

Apparently this REALLY pissed him off because then he decided to pass me again. I swear, some people just don't get it.

I think people are proud of doing their own 'police work' by doing the limit or less than the limit in the passing lane.

I can't count the number of times I've done exactly the same and a few honks, and they won't pull over :nut:

[120Comm]

Originally posted by Canmorite
I think people are proud of doing their own 'police work' by doing the limit or less than the limit in the passing lane.

Unfortunately these kind of toolboxes never bothered to read the Traffic Safety Act or its Rules of the Road regulations. Even if you share it with them, they still refuse to believe (or follow) it.


Driving at appropriate speed
2(1) A person shall not do any of the following:
(...)
(b) subject to this Part and Part 2, where a highway that is
located outside an urban area has 2 or more traffic lanes
on the same side of the centre line for use by vehicles
travelling in the same direction, drive a vehicle in the
traffic lane nearest the centre line unless the vehicle is
being driven at or near the maximum speed permitted;
(c) drive a vehicle at such a slow rate of speed so as to
impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of
traffic then existing on a highway except when it is
necessary to do so for the safe operation of the vehicle or
to comply with Parts 1 and 2.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1)(b), a person driving a vehicle
on a highway at a speed that is below the maximum speed limit that
is established or prescribed for that highway may drive the vehicle
in the traffic lane nearest to the centre line for the purpose of
overtaking and passing another vehicle.
(3) A peace officer may direct a person who is driving a vehicle in
contravention of subsection (1)(c) or section 115(2)(q) of the Act to
do one or more of the following:
(a) increase the rate of speed at which the vehicle is
travelling;
(b) remove the vehicle from the roadway;
(c) drive the vehicle in a different traffic lane.
(4) Where a peace officer gives a direction to a person driving a
vehicle under subsection (3), that person shall operate the vehicle
in accordance with the direction.

The people who hang out in the left lane and say "I'm going the speed limit, you can't tell me to move" don't notice that the below doesn't mention the speed limit at all.. if everyone else is doing 115 and you are parked in the left lane doing 100, you're in the wrong.


Slow moving vehicles
3(1) If a person driving a vehicle is driving the vehicle on a
highway at a speed that is less than the normal speed of the traffic
on the highway at that time and place and under the conditions then
existing, that person shall drive the vehicle
(a) in the right traffic lane then available for traffic, or
(b) as close as practicable to the right curb or edge of the
roadway,
except when either
(c) overtaking and passing another vehicle travelling in the
same direction, or
(d) preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private
road or driveway.
(2) If a traffic control device directs slow moving traffic to use a
designated traffic lane, a person when driving a vehicle slowly
shall drive the vehicle only in that lane.

They also don't understand that "traffic control device" means anything from a barricade to a sign to a traffic light to a digital message board.

Solution, though likely impossible to accomplish: Retool testing so that people have to know all this stuff before they get to go behind the wheel.

[Nitro5]

Originally posted by spikers
I was on deerfoot a while back, and this guy in a silver windstar was doing 85-90 in the far left lane at about 11pm. I got right up on his bumper, even flashed the high beams a couple times, and buddy would not speed up, or change lanes.

I passed him in the middle lane, then switched back into the fast lane, and slowed down to the point I made him switch lanes to go around me, then, I speed back up to 110-115.

Apparently this REALLY pissed him off because then he decided to pass me again. I swear, some people just don't get it.

Hero

[FullFledgedYYC]

Originally posted by 120Comm


Unfortunately these kind of toolboxes never bothered to read the Traffic Safety Act or its Rules of the Road regulations. Even if you share it with them, they still refuse to believe (or follow) it.



The people who hang out in the left lane and say "I'm going the speed limit, you can't tell me to move" don't notice that the below doesn't mention the speed limit at all.. if everyone else is doing 115 and you are parked in the left lane doing 100, you're in the wrong.



They also don't understand that "traffic control device" means anything from a barricade to a sign to a traffic light to a digital message board.

Solution, though likely impossible to accomplish: Retool testing so that people have to know all this stuff before they get to go behind the wheel.

No use re-tooling testing when 50% of NW Calgary never even takes a test to get their license.

[DEATH2000]

Originally posted by FullFledgedYYC


No use re-tooling testing when 50% of NW Calgary never even takes a test to get their license.
Dont you mean NE?