WSP targets drivers from the air: Specially equipped planes help troopers apprehend violators

Nov 29, 2008 (The Columbian - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- FLIR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Let's say you're driving down Interstate 5 one night and some joker passes you, flips you off and zooms ahead, swerving from lane to lane and tailgating other cars.

How rude! you think. So you activate your hands-free visor device and give your cell phone a voice command to call 911.

"I think I got passed by a drunk driver," you tell the dispatcher, explaining where you are and the kind of car it was.

"Stay on the line, I'll be right back," the dispatcher says.

Unknown to the aggressive driver, a Cessna 206 airplane equipped with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera system is in the air not far away, its two-person crew looking for just such a problem.

The dispatcher gives your cell phone number to the pilot, who works for the Washington State Patrol. Sitting in the back of the plane is a trooper, called a tactical flight officer, who's operating the $375,000 camera system.

As the pilot banks toward your location and throttles up to about 165 mph, the trooper in the back calls your cell with his satellite phone.

If you agree, the trooper in the plane says, he'll stay on the phone with you as you follow the aggressive driver, using your information to help the pilot get the plane over his car.

When that happens, the trooper thanks you, zooms the camera system in on the speeder's car and turns on the data recorder.

As the plane follows the car, troopers in cars have been radioed to move in. Before long, three police cruisers are behind the aggressive driver, their blue and red flashing lights signaling him to pull over.

If he's impaired by alcohol or drugs, he'll be arrested. If not, he'll get tickets for the violations the crew saw and recorded from the plane.

"It's a lot of fun," said Sgt. Jim Nobach, the WSP's chief pilot. "You see a lot from the air. People speeding, passing on the shoulder, aggressive driving, bad lane changes. They have no idea that we're up above them."

The state patrol has had planes equipped like this for a couple of years, thanks to a federal grant. There now are two. But the WSP began using them full time in July, Nobach said.

They can be used anywhere, he said, and have been used in Clark County for enforcing speed limits and even finding stolen cars. The systems can send and receive Lojack signals from cars that are equipped with the theft-recovery system.

The planes are equipped with kits that allow them to fly at low airspeeds when following a car.

A video that was aired on KOMO 4 TV in Seattle last year shows a FLIR plane following a 490-horsepower Ferrari F-430 that was racing past other vehicles on a freeway.

At first, the camera used regular visible light, giving color images of the cars below.

At the end, as police cars pulled the $175,000 car over, the operator switched to the FLIR system, giving spooky black, gray and white images. White represents the warmest areas, including cars' engines and people moving below.

The planes will be used around the state to catch DUI drivers this holiday season. About half of motorists who call in suspected impaired drivers are correct in their assumption, officials said.

"We see an opportunity for us to improve our response to these very credible reports from sober drivers," WSP Chief John R. Batiste said in a bulletin.

Variety of tactics

In their relentless effort to get impaired drivers off the roads and save lives, police have used many tactics.

Troopers have used fixed-wing aircraft for years to catch speeders.

Using large half-mile marks painted on the freeway, troopers time cars as they move from one mark to another, and calculate the speed. They then radio the car's description to other troopers waiting below in patrol cars.

It's common in Clark County to field extra officers on overtime for interagency crackdowns, paid for by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

And the WSP has used a specially equipped motor home with several alcohol breath testing stations during crackdowns here, so officers can process multiple drivers at once.

Police agencies including the Washington State Patrol also have officers with advanced training to detect legal and illegal drugs that can impair drivers, besides alcohol.

During last year's holiday season, 31 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes in Washington, and it needs to stop, the bulletin said.

"Impaired driving continues to be the leading cause of death in motor vehicle crashes throughout Washington, and therefore remains our No. 1 traffic safety priority," Lowell Porter, director of the traffic safety commission, said in the bulletin.

Police also will use some symbolism to remind folks not to drink and drive in a partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving that's called Tie One On For Safety. You'll see red ribbons tied to cars' radio antennas, and you're invited to tie them to yours.

And here's another sobering thought: Defense attorneys have said a first conviction for DUI can cost $8,000 or more in fines, fees and legal costs.

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