On April 27 of this year, Iowa State Patrol decided to crack down on speeders in the Hawkeye State -- via airplane.

On that day two weeks ago, the patrol issued 78 speeding tickets (all drivers were going 10 or more miles per hour over the speed limit) and 93 warnings from the sky.

Sergeant Alex Dinkla told KCRG about how the operation works:

They can call it down [from the plane] to the law enforcement on the ground and we are able to do a quick traffic stop on those.

The recent uptick in enforcement isn't out of nowhere, though. According to the Iowa State Patrol (ISP), traffic fatalities are up 22 percent so far in 2022 (94 total deaths). Speed is usually a contributing factor in accidents.

Dinkla added this when speaking with the news station:

When we see what we call those 'egregious speeds' they really turn our heads, literally turn our heads. And our troopers are going to turn around and we're going to go catch those violators. ... When we see problem areas we're going out and we're going to go enforce speed violations and traffic laws here in the state of Iowa.

In an attempt to keep the traffic deaths down and enforce those laws, Iowans can expect our government overlords to literally be over us, watching for violators for the remainder of 2022.

This isn't the first time ISP has taken to the skies to enforce traffic laws:

According to a story from KMEG in Sioux City, IA in 2017, officers in the area used a plane to issue tickets in their area of northwest Iowa. The story added how the patrolman in the sky operated the task, too: "(Using their) eyes, a stopwatch, careful notes and pre-measured marks on the road. When (an officer measures) time against the pre-set distance of the marks (on the road), he or she can figure out speed."

The pre-set distance marks are the lines painted on highways and interstates.

Also, If you happen to get one of those tickets... (you didn't get this from us):

 

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