When travel , you might notice some signs on the highway that read “ speed limit enforced by aircraft . ” Those signaling may bid images of the cops scrambling a squad of K fighters to take a driver with a lead foot off the road . In reality , it ’s a minuscule less exciting .
Take Pennsylvania , for model . Certain distance of main road that are get laid to be trouble muscae volitantes for speeding are targeted by the State Police Aerial Reconnaissance Enforcement ( SPARE ) ; other state will have their own names for similar program . Those targeted stretches of route are marked with start and finish lines at a fit distance from each other . Two officers — a pilot and a discoverer — sail over these stretches in a lowly gear up - annex aircraft ( other statesmay use helicopters as well ) .
When a vehicle crosses the start line , the watch uses a specially design stop watch ( some law departments also useVASCAR system ) to clock the railcar ’s stop number through the enforcement zone . If they decide that a fomite is speeding , the officers in the plane receiving set another officer on the undercoat , who pulls the vehicle over and issues a just the ticket .
Scanning for speed demon from the above is n’t as unwashed as it once was , thanks to improved engineering like microwave radar and Lidar . Budget cuts have also carry a bell on the practice . “ We do n’t needs countersink up as many specific speed enforcement contingent as we did 10 or 15 years ago , predominantly because of the advent of Lidar , ” Jim Andrews , a California Highway Patrol pilot film , say KQED . “ But there are still circumstances where we are unquestionably valuable , where traditional footing enforcement may not work . ”
Several states have gravely concentrate oressentially abandonedtheir operations . But that does n’t mean you should ignore those “ speed demarcation enforce by aircraft ” signs when you drive past them . Depending on which state you ’re passing through , there ’s still a chance someone may be clocking your speed from the sky .
A version of this story originally ran in 2013 ; it has been updated for 2023 .
