Victoria Police will ramp up its road enforcement of freeways today with the introduction of aerial speed detection
April 19, 2012
Victoria Police will ramp up its road enforcement of freeways today with the introduction of aerial speed detection in a bid to encourage motorists to slow down.
The Police Airwing will use an unmarked helicopter to fly over a pre-measured stretch of roads, measuring the time it takes a vehicle to travel from one point to another to determine whether they are travelling within the speed limit.
If the drivers are caught speeding, police from the helicopter will then radio the details through to the highway patrol unit on the ground, which will then intercept the offending driver.
Superintendent Neville Taylor says the method of enforcement had been used by police in the past and was very effective in making motorists think twice about how fast they were travelling over longer distances.
“There are some road users out there who know where fixed cameras are on the freeways and think it’s OK to slow down when they approach the camera and then speed up again when they go past,” Taylor says.
“Our message to those drivers is that you need to be travelling within the signed speed limit at all times because we are watching – from the sky and the road, and if you’re speeding, we will catch you – even if you can’t see us.
“There is a high volume of traffic on our freeways and major arterials so if you speed you’re putting a large number of other road users at risk, not just yourself and your passengers.
“This type of enforcement is just one of the ways police from right across our organisation are working together to take action against road trauma,” he adds.
The enforcement is part of the existing ‘We are the toll’ campaign, which was launched earlier this month following predictions that the final road toll for this year could be up to 40 deaths higher than last year.
Police will be running a number of large-scale road operations throughout the state with a focus on motorcycle licensing, registration, alcohol and driving behaviour offences.