Police helicopters cracking down on lawbreakers (Yonhap)
SUWON, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) –During South Korea’s Chuseok holiday, there’s a big problem with people driving selfishly and breaking the rules to avoid traffic. They often use bus lanes or drive on the shoulder of the road illegally.
To deal with this and also apprehend drunk drivers, the police use helicopters and undercover patrol cars.
Here’s how it works: The helicopters and patrol cars are equipped with cameras that can spot violations from a distance. There are screens in the helicopter that show what’s happening on the highway through these cameras.
When someone is observed committing a traffic violation, the helicopter signals the patrol car to go after the offender and make an immediate arrest.
The camera on the police helicopter is extremely powerful. It can zoom in 120 times and even read license plates on the road from 600 meters up in the sky, so officers in the helicopter can tell the patrol car exactly where the violator is, and they can intercept them quickly.
If, for some reason, the patrol car can’t stop the offender, the helicopter footage can be checked later to find and identify the license plate. This footage is then used as evidence to issue traffic citations.
Recently, during Chuseok, the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency used 18 vehicles, including three special patrol cars and 15 regular ones, along with two helicopters from the Chungbuk National Police Agency, to crack down on traffic violations.
Officers were also on board to cover violations like using bus lanes, speeding, and improper seat belt usage.
Undercover patrol cars leave for a crackdown at the Gyeonggi South Police Agency in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, on the morning of Sept. 28, the first day of the Chuseok holiday. (Yonhap)
These patrol cars look like regular cars, except they have small signs that say “Police” on the front and back. They also have warning lights and sirens, but they only use them when they’re in pursuit of other vehicles.
As such, it can be difficult for drivers on the highway to tell they’re police cars.
During the crackdown that lasted a little over two hours, the police suspended the licenses of eight drunk drivers and caught 32 people using bus lanes illegally. They plan to stay vigilant until the end of the holiday weekend to make sure the roads are safe.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
