[Dion]

From the cockpit, an RCMP officer uses a stopwatch to determine how long it takes a suspected speeder to pass from line to line -- if the vehicle is speeding, the airborne officer radios ahead to Mounties waiting on the ground.

The advantage for police is that a number of speeders can be caught at once. So long as the officer in the plane bears witness to the correct vehicle being pulled off the road, the charge will stick.

"In a particular zone, you could monitor five vehicles and call in five vehicles all at once, all speeding," said Hardy.

The planes were only grounded as speed traps in the 1990s, after laser speed guns were introduced.

Hwy. 1 and Hwy. 2 are on the list for air-patrols in the Calgary area, and other detachments throughout the province are expected to make the return to propeller-policing within a month or two.

"I can spot many violaters if I drive along the highway, but there are not a lot of safe turn-around spots for me to go and get them," said Const. Troy Savinkoff, also of the Cochrane detachment.

"As soon as I go stationary, traffic slows right down, usually because people are flashing each other and warning of a speed trap ahead."

There's no warning for those scurrying down the highway, as the police plane swoops above.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/colum...28806-sun.html