GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – This week, drivers speeding in Northeast Wisconsin could get caught from above.
The Wisconsin State Patrol announced over the course of the week, it will be conducting a number of aerial missions to catch speeders and other traffic violations.
“Violating the speed laws, reckless drivers, driving erratically, passing on the shoulders are all behaviors that we see.”
Captain Ryan Chaffee says their mission is to promote safety on the roads.
“These are types of behaviors that cause crashes and that is what we are trying to avoid.”
A pilot will be flying a fixed-wing aircraft and monitoring for violations.
“When you are in the air, you have a very wide range and your view is very large and you can see what is happening for miles sometimes.”
Once one is spotted, word is sent to a patrol officer on the ground who will locate and pull the vehicle over.
“This is just additional way that we can accomplish our mission in maintaining safe travels in getting people from point A to point B the safest way possible,” Chaffee says. “What the pilot is looking for are those kinds of violations that are sometimes hard to find when you are on the ground.”
Enforcement continues Friday along I-43 in Brown County.
“We have a number of aircraft zones that are set up along our interstate system and highways across the state.”
Chaffee says it is about education and enforcement.
“Our goal is not to write more tickets, it is to get people to comply with the laws,” he said. “It is to give people an awareness that we are out there and we are trying to make the roads safer.”
Enforcements took place on I-41 in Outagamie County on Monday and on I-41 in Winnebago County on Tuesday.
State Patrol says its aircraft uses highway markings and a timing device, known as VASCAR, to determine vehicle speeds. If an aerial officer notices a driver violating a speed or traffic law, it will notify a ground-based officer to initiate a traffic stop.
Most State Patrol aerial missions are made possible through federal funds specifically designated to support traffic law enforcement.
