In a first for the UK, the Devon and Cornwall Police are deploying drones to watch drivers from the sky, recording any incidents of dangerous driving or speeding.

The drone rollout is part of the Devon and Cornwall road safety initiative Vision Zero South West. The scheme is principally aimed at catching motorcyclists after a series of collisions last year, which led to over 200 riders being either killed or seriously injured across the two counties.

Eye in the sky

The drones can monitor roads from up to four miles away, calculating the speed of an individual motorbike by using fixed points on the road.

If a rider is found to have broken the law, the drone sends back the footage so the police can check to see if the motorbike is MOTed, taxed and insured – or even stolen.

Depending on the seriousness of the offence, police can then decide whether to give the rider a word of warning, send them on a training course, or be fined and given penalty points.

If the riding offence is extremely serious, the police will arrest the rider on the spot.

“This innovative use of drones will give us early warning of any offences and allow us to be far more targeted in our approach on the ground. We will be deploying this technology on roads where we know motorbikes are travelling too fast … This technology can and will [also] be used to help detect speeding and dangerous driving in all vehicles on our roads.”

• Inspector Colin Harper, Drone team, Devon and Cornwall Police

High tech

The drones themselves feature cutting edge technology and can be operated in high and low temperatures as well as different weather conditions.

To ensure they capture high quality footage, drones are fitted with HD cameras that have powerful zoom lenses.

Global use

Drone technology is already being used in other countries to enforce traffic laws.

For instance, in the US, police departments in Los Angeles, New York and other areas use drones to monitor traffic and issue tickets for traffic violations.

In Australia, drones are being used to spot drivers using mobile phones while behind the wheel – and stop dangerous driving on beaches.

If the drones are a success here in the UK – and demonstrate they can reduce bad driving and speeding in Devon and Cornwall – then you can expect other police forces across the country to adopt the technology.

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