Know the Road with the CHP: What is the CHP airplane used for?
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- With more cars on the road for the holiday weekend, the CHP is stepping up their enforcement efforts from the air. So what is the CHP airplane used for?
"I'm standing here with the CHP aircraft. It's a valuable tool in our enforcement efforts to keep our roadways safe," said Sgt. Brian Pennings with the California Highway Patrol. "This aircraft is equipped with two seating positions: they have a flight officer, and the pilot."
"When a reckless or dangerous driver is spotted, they will call ahead to the ground unit to conduct an enforcement stop based on their observations. The pilot and ground unit will relay their observations and the information to the ground officer to confirm that they have the correct vehicle stopped," Pennings explained.
"So having an eye in the sky such as the airplane, it's a valuable tool to cover vast areas in remote places. So never make the assumption just because there's not a ground vehicle in the area that the eye in the sky may not be observing your violations."
For other answers from the CHP, go to abc30.com/knowtheroad.
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