Tag Archives: Police Cars

Drone Target: Police Using UAVs To Catch Bad Drivers And Ticket Them In Poland

When it comes to catching law-breaking drivers, police will use any technology legally and financially available to them. That means as drivers we have to watch out for fixed and mobile cameras, average speed cameras, marked and undercover cars, helicopters and sometimes, as in the case of Missouri state Highway Patrol, even police airplanes timing us over a stretch of road.

Drivers in countries like Poland can add police drones to that already lengthy list. The video sourced below from Polish police shows various cars and motorbikes being filmed crossing a solid white line to overtake slower vehicles, blissfully unaware that their misdemeanors were being tracked from the sky.

Though almost certainly larger than a consumer DJI-style drone, the police drones are sufficiently small and flying high enough to make them hard for drivers focused on passing the cars ahead from spotting them.

Only when a policeman in a high-vis jacket steps into the road much further on to pull them into a side road do they have the first inkling that they’ve been busted, even then they won’t know how.

Also: Police Chopper Stealthily Films Subaru BRZ Driver Potentially Accumulating Over A$10,000 In Speeding Fines

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Poland isn’t the only country employing drone technology to catch drivers. Police forces in the UK first began using drones equipped with high resolution cameras and thermal imaging equipment to target bad driving in 2019, and forces in Australia’s Queensland rolled out their crime-fighting drones this summer to tackle illegal street races, having previously used them to record crime scenes for forensics teams.

In the U.S., police forces are also using drones, though that use varies from state to state and isn’t specifically related to catching speeding drivers. It became possible after a 2016 ruling by the Federal Aviation Authority that opened up airspace to non-hobby flyers, though the regulations insist the done should only be flown in line of sight, despite the fact that the technology allows them to fly much further.

Those drones are often used for surveillance or as virtual first responders, but in 2019 San Diego was considering flying a 12,500 lbs (5670kg) ex-military drone with a 79 ft (24 m) wingspan over the city to catch speeders. Fortunately for Southern Californian hoons, the plans came to nought.

Do you think police forces should be allowed to use drone technology to enforce traffic laws? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Tesla Model 3 Driver Nabbed By The Police Falling Asleep Behind The Wheel For The Third Time

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The driver of a Tesla Model 3 in Kenosha County, Wisconsin was recently fined after being spotted by police driving down the highway while asleep.

It is understood that police received a call about the man sleeping while behind the wheel of the Model 3 and quickly responded. Dashcam footage from one of the police vehicles shows officers driving alongside the Tesla and noting that the driver had his eyes closed and his head was down.

The officer then pulled behind the Model 3 and flicked on his lights but for approximately 2.2 miles, the Tesla driver failed to respond and continued to drive down the highway at 82 mph (132 km/h). Officers then pulled alongside the car with their lights and sirens blaring and finally, the driver pulled over to the side of the highway.

Read Also: Tesla Recalls 285,000 Vehicles In China Over Unintended Cruise Control Activation

For the following few minutes, officers and the driver of the Tesla Model 3 have a conversation and the latter repeatedly denies being asleep while behind the wheel, despite what the officer saw. Authorities then confirm that the driver had the ‘Navigate on Autopilot’ function that can guide the car from a highway’s on-ramp to an off-ramp enabled.

Despite clear evidence that Navigate on Autopilot was enabled, meaning the car’s Autosteer system was also enabled, the driver denied that he was using Autopilot. He was ultimately issued with a citation for inattentive driving and his car was towed because he had two priors for sleeping while behind the wheel.

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