Many states populate their highways with ominous 'Speed Limit Enforced By Aircraft' signs — as if squadrons of F-16s fly overhead waiting to pop motorists for going 10 mph over the speed limit. While there are states that still use planes to enforce the speed limit, there's one member of the Union that mostly just pretends it does.
Can you guess which state?
Spoiler alert: it's the Commonwealth of Virginia. Since 2008, the Virginia State Police have only used aircraft a grand total of five times to patrol the air for speeders, according to The Washington Examiner. State police only used the aircraft once in 2011 and a grand total of zero times in 2009.
The reason? Purely budgetary. The planes cost $150 an hour to use and require more troopers on the ground for enforcement for what amounts to, in their five deployments, just 87 tickets.
This doesn't mean you can or should speed in Virgina. The VSP will continue to use the always-effective — and eminently more efficient — squad car to bust drivers, a task made easier by the fact that Virginia is the only state to outlaw all radar detectors. (Hat tip to Amanda Meadows!)
Photo Credit: Blakemore