Hashi

Erm, just wondering....can a police helicopters' camera get as close as to read your numberplate?

I was going a little quicker than I should have on an empty dual carriageway and then I heard a (presumably police) helicopter above so i slowed down. Snooper didnt make any noises, and no white squares on the road, but i'm still a bit paranoid...



[Edited by Hashi - 8/2/2003 12:06:18 AM]

Ajax

phil_stephens:
Not on a cloudy night M8
Wrong angle if it is over the top of you, depends on height of the chopper, the weather conditions and also movement.

Very un-lightly!

If the conditions are right he could check your tax disk.
The scoobys faster in a straight line, but the choppers better on the corners!


It’s the wrong tool for the job, speed cameras are cheaper
They would have more on their mind that a stupid speeding ticket, sure you did not report it stolen


[Edited by Ajax - 8/2/2003 12:40:20 AM]

Brun

If they want to read it they will
Unless you were going mental quick ie- double the speed limit, i wouldn't be too worried

Phil

Satalites can read number plates so I am sure a chopper could

greasemonkey

Spy satellites can't read your numberplate, unless you stick it to the roof of your car!

Police helicopters can't with any ease either, as they don't carry high resolution cameras, and even if they did, the helicopter itself is too unstable a platform to get a steady image, without the super-expensive gyro stabilisers used by Hollywood movies.

All of this is irrelevant anyway. It's very difficult for helicopters to accurately ascertain the speed of land vehicles one way or the other. The only way they can do it legally is to time you between those white squares painted on the road, so if there weren't any around when you felt at risk, or indeed if it was dark, it's safe to say they didn't even notice you.

Luke

no. but they could shi.t on your car.

Phil

trust me they can

Richard Askew

Thames Valleys can!!

Phil

Can they tell what your prize was

LOL

Pete Croney

Police helicopters are all fitted with very high resolution, gyro stabilised, cameras. Their prime roles are to search and to gather evidence. There's not much point spending £1m on a helicopter and then putting a £500 Sanyo camcorder on it.

As for accurately recording speed, they will have CAA certified GPS and beacon nav systems, both of which are very accurate.

They have been using a helo on the Cat and Fiddle to catch speeding bikers.

Katana

If you wear a tinfoil hat, them nasty satelites wont be able to read your brainwaves. Oh, and dont look up or wear a hat or those satelites can ID you. I'm just saying..

GaryCat

They also use VASCAR using the white squares you see painted in the middle of the road.

Gary.

Ajax

Sheila and the Helicopter

One day Screaming Sheila was playing on the swing in the park. She then decided to go for a wander. Unfortunately, Sheila went too far and ended up getting lost. She became very frightened and started to scream. Fortunately the police helicopter managed to find her and take her back to safety.

The police helicopter helps to find people who are missing, as well as criminals.

Thames Valley Police - Helicopters

Thames Valley Police has two helicopters which it shares with Bedfordshire Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary, one based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshsire and the other at Luton Airport. They are used to help track down suspects and to help look for people who have gone missing. The helicopters are also used to take people who are seriously injured to hospital if it would be too difficult to take them by road. Both helicopters are specially equipped with video cameras which also work in the dark, powerful searchlights and loud hailers.

Ajax

I'm Benson and I have a really exciting job. I am a police helicopter and whizz around rescuing people, catching crooks and helping to take the injured to hospital.
Every day I am woken up early and inspected by the pilot and the police air observer to make sure that I am ready for a day's flying.
I am then towed out of my hangar - a really big home for helicopters like me - and I am taken to my pad where I sit and wait for my first adventure of the day. Sometimes I can be sitting there for hours. Other times, my skids don't hit the ground.



When I'm needed for a flight, the pilot and observer come rushing out of their office. They jump inside, put their flying helmets on and after safety checks we are off, up into the sky, ready to take on the world.


We zoom off to all parts of the Force across fields and towns, villages and lakes. The landscape is a pretty place from the sky. Houses look as if they are toy buildings and people seem like little dots on the ground.



We search for old ladies who might be lost and we help to find little boys and girls who may have wandered off, upsetting their mums and dads.




We help catch all those bad people who break into grown-ups' homes and steal their belongings. From the sky we can spot stolen cars and chase them until they stop.

My rotors whirl as we hover and take photographs of places where accidents have happened or where people have been hurt.



When it is night-time, the observers use a camera that can see in the dark. If there are no street lights, we have a special spotlight we shine down on to the ground so that police officers there can see where they are going and track their way through trees and gardens more easily.

Before we land back on the heli-pad, I have to be refuelled so I have enough energy for my next trip. At the end of the day, I am pushed back into my hangar, where I sleep, dreaming of my escapades.


[Edited by Ajax - 8/2/2003 5:11:17 PM]

Ajax

Well that killed this thread!