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A coordinated traffic operation was held in the area under the jurisdiction of the Berettyóújfalu Police Station (eastern Hungary), Magyar Nemzet reports. Drivers were mainly checked on Main road 42 on April 5, with the help of a drone.
The officers initiated proceedings against 33 drivers, mostly for violating priority and overtaking rules, the police reported on their website. The Police Headquarters of Hajdú-Bihar County is planning similar checks throughout the county for the rest of the year.
The cyclist tragedy on Árpád Bridge last summer drew people’s attention to notorious speeders, the habitual violators of the Highway Code, Magyar Nemzet recalls. At the time, Colonel József Óberling, head of the ORFK’s traffic police department, said in an interview with website Vezess that drones could also be a tool for checking priority rules and turn restrictions.
Authorities said that the force of the accident was shown by the fact that after the car hit the guardrail, it overturned on top, sliding for another seventy meters. Police have also shared a video of the tragic incident, which clearly shows that the man, who was riding his bike in accordance with the rules, had no chance of avoiding the accident.
“There are a number of locations where a lot of crashes happen, which we can monitor perfectly with drones. We can also have a surveillance camera, sit there and watch. Then we notify the police officer who stops the offender,” the colonel said.
The police have changed their control tactics: a growing number of drones are being used by police to detect offenders, document offenses, and investigate traffic accidents. According to the head of the department,
people learn where and how to behave, so that police officers see everything as in order. But the drone is a good tool for monitoring traffic without the majority of road users being aware of it.”
Currently, the police have around forty drones. Four new drones have recently been purchased, the pilots have been trained, and the methodology has been developed. It is very likely that four county headquarters will be using drones on an experimental basis for the time being.
Via Magyar Nemzet, Featured image: Pexels