Speed camera helicopter will target motorcycles

A helicopter equipped with state of the art speed detection and video equipment is aiming to catch motorcyclists, police have said.

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Speed checks carried out by the £1000-an-hour chopper will mainly be on motorbike riders, officers have indicated.

Essex’s senior traffic management officer Adam Pipe said: “Our focus remains on reducing the number of casualties and there is concern that a small number of riders continue to use Essex roads with total disregard for not only their own safety but that of other road users, and continue to flout a wide range of traffic legislation with inappropriate rider behaviour.”

Signs showing a helicopter on a blue background with the message ‘Police traffic enforcement’ have been erected on roads in the county.

Cllr Norman Hume, chairman of the Essex casualty reduction board, said: “We need to make more of an impact on motorbike accidents. There is a perception that it is sometimes easier for motorcyclists to evade detection of offences because of the speed they travel at.

“We feel that signs warning of the likelihood of detection by air will be an extra incentive for all motorists, but particularly motorcyclists, to drive safely.”

Roads targeted include the B1057 from Great Dunmow to Finchingfield and the B184 north of Ongar.