Due to the numerous speed camera application options available, - Police now track down truckers via helicopters.
More than 10,000 trucks travel on the A4 highway each day, creating a traffic jam on this four-lane road. In spite of bans, heavy trucks continue to overtake, organize elephant races, and drive too close together. Due to people using speed camera apps to avoid speeding fines, police have started patrolling from the air. A helicopter team records, while patrol cars arrest the offenders.
A 90-kilometer stretch of highway is controlled by the Bautzen freeway police. The airfield in Bautzen serves as the base. An Airbus helicopter from the Saxon state police aviation squadron lands at the airfield for a briefing. A highway police officer joins the helicopter crew before it takes off.
Meanwhile, a patrol car waits at a highway exit. Soon after, the first radio message arrives: a Polish semi-truck has overtaken in a construction zone where it's prohibited. The patrol car follows the truck, intercepts it at the next rest area, and issues a 95-euro fine.
Not long after, the next violation occurs. The helicopter team reports a minimum distance violation. At the rest area, the trucker receives a 120-euro fine.
Police spokesperson Anja Leuschner (36): "A staggering 713 accidents happened on this stretch of freeway between Dresden and Görlitz in 2023, a 58% increase from the previous year. Lack of safety distance is the most common cause of accidents on the A4 with 130 incidents. There are always severe traffic accidents with disastrous results, especially when trucks are involved."
Leuschner: "With the aid of a police helicopter, an entire section of freeway can be monitored simultaneously, and drivers with the most severe distance violations can be identified without a doubt."
Following two hours of patrolling the highway, the helicopter refuels and takes off. At least six checks per year are conducted with air support in eastern Saxony. The officers from the highway patrol stop another truck for a check. Fortunately, the driver avoids a fine, but is advised to replace his brake disks as soon as possible.
Read also:
- Five occurrences of fives noted in Stuttgart.
- Hahn's proposal of marriage to Hannah
- Officer halts intoxicated motorist aged 61.
- Geraerts' decision set for release next week
Source: symclub.org
