Airdrie Sheriffs nab speeders from the sky

EDMONTON- The Airdrie Integrated Traffic Unit (ITU) handed out 35 tickets during aircraft-based traffic enforcement along the QEII Highway Friday.

Twenty-eight vehicles were stopped during four hours of enforcement along the busy stretch of highway just north of Airdrie. Police say motorists received tickets for offences including speeding and following too closely.

“We know that speed is a factor in about 25 per cent of the fatal and serious injury collisions that occur on Highway 2. Using an aircraft as an observation platform gives our officers the ability to spot vehicles that are travelling conspicuously faster than the flow of traffic,” explained Sheriff Jason Graw with ITU.

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Graw says aircraft-based enforcement also gives officers another tool to slow down drivers and reduce the number of serious and fatal collisions.

During aircraft-based enforcement, a specially trained officer goes up in the aircraft as an observer. The observer uses a stopwatch to time vehicles on the highway as they travel through marked enforcement areas. The enforcement areas are painted with a series of lines that have been surveyed and certified. The observer is then able to calculate the speed of the vehicle by measuring the time it takes to drive through the series of lines.

“Aircraft enforcement is a tool that Integrated Traffic Units throughout Alberta will be using on a more frequent basis. Motorists should bear this in mind as they travel on provincial highways, and lower their speed accordingly,” Graw explained.

The aircraft used for this enforcement was the RCMP ‘K’ Division Helicopter, a 2007 Eurocopter AS350 – A-Star.

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