New York is one of several states to scale back the use of aircraft for traffic enforcement in recent years because of budget cuts or concerns about cost-effectiveness, reports the Associated Press via MSNBC.
Typically, aerial enforcement programs involve a plane, a pilot, a spotter to time vehicles as they travel between lines painted on the road and several cruisers to pull people over and issue tickets.
"That ain't cheap," Sgt. Kern Swoboda, a state police spokesman, told the Associated Press. He added that updated laser technology now allows a trooper on the ground to get speed readings over long distances and in heavy traffic—two situations where aircraft used to be superior.
Read the full Associated Press story.
