Spain manages traffic inspection from the air. The result? 28 thousand fines

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The Spanish roads are currently patrolled by eight Pegasus helicopters. As part of the tests, Spain is already using light aircraft to control the busiest sections and is also planning to use drones for this purpose in the future.

The Spanish Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) has been using Pegasus helicopters for traffic inspection for 3.5 years now. From the air, Spanish officials monitor particular sections where most accidents occur.

Since March 2014, they have caught over 28 thousand drivers this way, states formaciondeltransportista.com, a Spanish transport website. According to the DGT statistics, the air patrols in recent years have lasted a total of 3.8 thousand hours and inspected over 76 thousand drivers.

Pegasus helicopters fly even 300 m above the ground and are equipped with panoramic cameras which detect the speed of vehicles and are able to record their registration numbers.

This is what the air patrols look like:

Light aircraft and drones will help in the inspections

DGT has already announced that light aircraft will soon join the helicopter fleet. Trial flights of the light aircraft has already started this summer in Las Palmas. The Directorate wants to check the potential and applicability of this approach.

The Directorate is also planning to introduce drones that would help the DGT officers in controlling the traffic.

Thanks to that, it will be possible to increase the effectiveness of traffic control which will also mean the improvement of road safety and the rationalisation of expenditure, as every tool [helicopters, light aircraft or drones – Ed.] will be used based on the type of operation,” said Gregorio Serrano, the director general of the DGT.

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