Suffolk County Sheriffs Using Traffic Plane

**Gerard** · 2010-06-19, 08:17 AM

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suff ... -1.2035207

**Fighting_falcon_51** · 2010-06-19, 08:55 AM

They need a plane dedicated to New Highway :lol:

I like the idea though.

**Zee71** · 2010-06-19, 09:09 AM

Red light camera's ..... plane's in the sky ..... what's next? Vehicle cockpit recorders (VCRs)?

**moose135** · 2010-06-19, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by Zee71

Red light camera's ..... plane's in the sky ..... what's next? Vehicle cockpit recorders (VCRs)?

Don't run red lights, obey the speed limit, don't drive like an idiot...

**cancidas** · 2010-06-19, 11:17 PM

California Highway Patrol and Arizona DPS both do it... i learned the hard way on the 101 north of San Jose.

**mirrodie** · 2010-06-20, 10:49 AM

Its all fine if they find all the considerate imbeciles out there.

But I do challenge the HOV issues. Line of sight to seeing the amt of people in a car is not effective.

**moose135** · 2010-06-20, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by mirrodie

But I do challenge the HOV issues. Line of sight to seeing the amt of people in a car is not effective.

That is probably more about people who enter or exit anywhere they like, rather than at marked points.

**Nick** · 2010-06-20, 12:03 PM

Yeah and when they do so they shoot rocks and sand all over my car!!

**Big Tim #70** · 2010-06-20, 12:03 PM

Moose is right, it's not about the # of people in the vehicle, it's about the improper entering & exiting of the HOV lanes.

Most states have something like this in place & have had it for a long time. Infact, NY has done this for years as well, what makes this different is that they have a govt. grant for the purchase & more importanly, the operation of the aircraft.

Whenever you're driving & you see those lines painted in the breakdown lane, those are there for measurement purposes from the air. The observers time how long it takes you to go from point A to point B & they can calculate how fast you're going (an AVG anyway). They can then radio down to the checkpoint set up on the highway & they'll gladly write you a ticket. The State Police did this a few months back on Ocean Parkway here on LI as well & wrote hundreds of tickets in one day.

Personally, I don't have a problem with it but I hope that since they're cracking down on aggressive drivers, they're also cracking down on knucklehead drivers. If you're driving in the left hand lane, & you get passed on the right, you're a hazard. No matter how fast you're going, the left hand lane is supposed to be for passing (according to the motor vehicle code). I can't tell you how many times I've seen accidents or near accidents because people wanted to pass & some dope was just tooling along not paying attention. There are plenty of jerks out there who drive like morons but it's not just the ones that are driving aggressivily that are the hazards.

**cancidas** · 2010-06-20, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by Big Tim #70

Personally, I don't have a problem with it but I hope that since they're cracking down on aggressive drivers, they're also cracking down on knucklehead drivers. If you're driving in the left hand lane, & you get passed on the right, you're a hazard. No matter how fast you're going, the left hand lane is supposed to be for passing (according to the motor vehicle code). I can't tell you how many times I've seen accidents or near accidents because people wanted to pass & some dope was just tooling along not paying attention. There are plenty of jerks out there who drive like morons but it's not just the ones that are driving aggressivily that are the hazards.

agreed. part of the reason my driving is so agressive (aside from the fact i'm from brooklyn) is the dopes that decide the road is a place to talk on a cell phone or apply makeup or go out for a lesurly drive. i think that agressive driving is only a byproduct of inconsiderate and incapable drivers.

**PhilDernerJr** · 2010-06-20, 08:17 PM

I'm not a Suffolk resident, so maybe my opinion doesn't matter as much, but I can't imagine that the tickets a plane can get can bring in enough money to warrant (NO PUN OMG!) the costs of flying a plane, no?

As long as they don't get stupid, auto-flagging any car that exceeds 55mph, then oh well. I wonder if they can offer better evidence if someone fights it in court, though.

**Earl** · 2010-06-23, 07:10 PM

Sheriff's are not breaking new ground in Suffolk County. This sign has been on the Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach since last year.

**Gerard** · 2010-06-23, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by Earl

Sheriff's are not breaking new ground in Suffolk County. This sign has been on the Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach since last year.

If you believe that one I have a bridge for you. :lol:
NY State PD AViation rarely work in this area unless it is for a specialized event like the Air Show, US Open or
the July 4th Fireworks and that mission is usually medevac or SAR. I believe they have/had a fixed wing (Cessna?)
but that is another rare sight.

**T-Bird76** · 2010-06-24, 03:13 PM

The only time Ocean Parkway is even remotely patrolled is during the summer and even then its lite besides on the weekend. Go there in the winter and that road is yours to do what you like with.

I remember when I had my bike taking Ocean Parkway at 150mph....! That was a rush!

**Derf** · 2010-06-24, 03:36 PM

in march one morning they used a helicopter and pulled over at least 100 cars... my friend had a cellphone pic of 20 cars lined up and they had every state patroller on that shift to write all the tickets... Nobody I spoke to ever saw anything like that. The helo was just spitting out numbers and then a few miles down the road they stopped everyone and was writing anyone over 70. (That is usually around 50% of the traffic on that road)