Road Patrol In Ohio May Be Taking To The Skies Soon

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Ohio has the most highly enforced traffic rules in the U.S. However, its police driver ratio is relatively low, so offending drivers tend to get familiar with evading citations by acting right in zones with high surveillance.

But, that could change soon, as the Ohio State Patrol is considering revamping its air patrol to complement its ground traffic surveillance.

Taking to the Skies with Technology

According to a local news outlet, the Ohio State Patrol is in the final stages of testing the efficiency of a more robust air patrol in Fairfield County. If successful, air patrol units will be deployed to the other ten counties in the state by the end of this year.

Air patrol is not a new thing to Ohio, but it is the first time the state patrol is deploying it on a large scale and using more sophisticated equipment. According to S/Lt. Justin Cromer, the Ohio State Patrol aviation commander, each pilot will be surveying a given radius looking out for erratic behavior on the roads.

But, they will not be alone up there; they will have a tactical flight officer who, unlike the pilot who depends on their eyes, will be operating high zoom cameras to catch and record unsafe road behavior.

It Is Worth the Cost

While this move may sound futuristic and could cost quite a bit, Chromer insists that it is worth every penny if it helps keep Ohioans safe on the roads. This move comes as Ohio recorded 1,360 car accident fatalities in 2021, the highest it has ever been in almost twenty years.

While speaking to the media, Chromer said that having eyes in the sky will ensure that the average law-abiding citizen stays safe by focusing on removing aggressive drivers from the roads. The department hopes that they will not have to make arrests and that drivers will be more inclined to drive better when they know that someone could be watching them.

The Ohio state highways patrol cites that distracted driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, speeding, and failing to wear a seatbelt are the leading causes of death on Ohio roads. If drivers can be careful to avoid these habits, it is possible to bring down car accident-related deaths, which have been on an upward trend for the last three years.

What’s New?

“It is not only your life that is at stake when on the road. The lives of others could also be dependent on the choices you make,” says personal injury attorney Charles Boyk. According to Boyk, you only get to understand the pain caused by reckless driving when you interact with victims that have had first-hand experience of being in a car accident.

While it is not the first time the Ohio Highway State Patrol is taking to the sky, it is the first time it is incorporating state-of-the-art technology in its aerial surveillance. Traditionally aerial surveillance teams only depended on quarter-mile markers on designated speed zones to catch speeders. Surveillance teams will depend on high precision speed measurement systems irrespective of the driver’s zone with the new technology.

According to the highway patrol Public Information Officer Sgt. Ray Santiago’s choice of Fairfield as a testing ground was because of its high-density traffic, meaning that if the program can work there, it can work in every other county in the state.