NH State Police Speed Enforcement

[BE Mike]

My wife and I just got back from a trip through New England. While traveling through New Hampshire, we got a hoot when we saw a portable warning sign on the side of the road that said, "Slow State Police". We first thought that a seat belt or DL check was ahead. When we saw a couple of patrol cars we thought, "How stupid does someone have to be to get caught at an announced speed trap?" We were wrong. It turns out, that by the time we saw the sign, we had already been clocked by aircraft. Fortunately I adhere to the speed limit. Here is a story: NH State Troopers Use Eye In The Sky To Catch Speeding Drivers « CBS Boston

 

[T-Mann]

A lot of states use them.....although I don't know that all of them mark them as well as Oregon...

 

[indykid]

Funny that with states crying that they are running out of money, some can still afford aircraft for speed enforcement (tax collection)?

 

[Scutter01]

Michigan had them back when I lived there. Many of the area freeways were marked every quarter-mile with hash marks. The plan (at the time) fell flat when people started counter-suing because the guy writing the ticket was not the one who actually witnessed the speeding. Apparently, the tickets were thrown out as hearsay. This was many years ago, though, so I'm sure that little legal oversight has been corrected.

 

[vitamink]

it has.

 

[T-Mann]

Funny that with states crying that they are running out of money, some can still afford aircraft for speed enforcement (tax collection)?

If you abide by the speed limit, then there is no "tax". Not that I am "holier than thou" and don't speed.....but I am prepared to take responsibility and face the consequences if I get caught.

Michigan had them back when I lived there. Many of the area freeways were marked every quarter-mile with hash marks. The plan (at the time) fell flat when people started counter-suing because the guy writing the ticket was not the one who actually witnessed the speeding. Apparently, the tickets were thrown out as hearsay. This was many years ago, though, so I'm sure that little legal oversight has been corrected.

The technique is called VASCAR. I'm sure they have changed the law in MI by now. When I was in law enforcement in GA back in the 90s, another officer could write a citation based on a violation I witnessed, as I was acting as a trained observer. I did occasionally use VASCAR, but since I was in a car, I would just stop the speeder myself.

 

[indykid]

If you abide by the speed limit, then there is no "tax". Not that I am "holier than thou" and don't speed.....but I am prepared to take responsibility and face the consequences if I get caught.

I agree completely with this statement. It is just that I have traveled too many roads at the legal speed where it was obvious that there was only one reason the limit was so low, and safety wasn't one of them.

Do you remember way back when Indiana actually had signs that after passing through a marked "speed zone" the signs that said "resume safe speed"? I loved those signs!

 

[BE Mike]

The article above says that since the stepped-up enforcement in NH, that traffic accidents are way down. The use of the airplane in conjunction with the road units did look like the traffic stops would be safer for everyone concerned.

On this trip, we were on a winding, mountainous two-lane highway in PA when we hit dense fog and extremely heavy rain. The water was pouring across the road. Some folks were driving way too fast for the conditions. It didn't take long for us to reach the scene of an accident where a SUV lost control and plowed into the side of the mountain. The accident vehicle rested on its front and rear bumper across a ditch. The wheels were suspended in the air. There wasn't enough shoulder to pull off safely with the conditions, but we reported it to the local Sheriff's Dept. via cell phone. They said that it had just been reported.

Since we got our GPS, it has become quite clear that speeding really doesn't save much time. The jeopardy of a traffic ticket or accident really doesn't make speeding worth it to me.