Yes, Colorado State Patrol Really Does Give Tickets Based on Aircraft Speed Monitoring

Though most people have seen “speed monitored by aircraft” signs dotting highways across Colorado, few know that the Colorado State Patrol actually issues hundreds of tickets each year based on aircraft speed monitoring.

The Colorado State Patrol Aircraft Unit uses four state-owned aircraft to monitor speeds from above, then works with officers on the ground to dole out tickets based on measurements from the sky.

Any Colorado government agency can call upon the CSP aircraft at any time for “transportation for state business and traffic enforcement operations,” according to the CSP website. Services include transporting people and cargo and helping observe or take photos and video during law enforcement missions.

And when the aircraft aren’t in engaged in such missions, they’re prowling the skies above Colorado highways.

“Once a violation has been observed, the trooper pilot will radio down to troopers on the ground to report the violation,” explains Sergeant Patrick Rice of CSP public affairs. “The troopers on the ground will then pull over the vehicle and issue a warning or ticket as they deem appropriate.”

From above, troopers can calculate the average speed of drivers rather than relying on the traditional radar gun method.

“The troopers use a stopwatch and painted marks to calculate how quickly a vehicle gets from one set of marks to the next,” Rice says. “This gives the trooper pilot the average speed it took to go from point A to point B.”

Troopers use a specialized stopwatch to perform the operation that automatically calculates the speed. According to Rice, the stopwatch is calibrated and checked before each traffic enforcement mission takes to the sky to ensure accuracy.

As of November 19, CSP aircraft spotters have observed 354 speeding violations so far this year; 237 tickets were issued by ground units. The numbers are slightly up from 2023, when CSP aircraft observed 281 speeding violations and issued 197 tickets over the entire year.

“With regards to aircraft, it has more to do with the availability and assignments of the aircraft rather than with motorists,” Rice says of the increased number of aircraft tickets this year, noting that speeding citations are similar to last year overall when factoring in other speed detection methods.

According to the CSP, airborne speed enforcement is extremely effective — mainly because aircraft troopers can monitor vehicle speed before vehicle navigation systems notify drivers that speed monitoring is taking place.

“The pilots are actually able to observe exactly when they get those alerts because the brake lights all start to come on at around the same time,” Rice notes. “When typical, ground-based speed enforcement is being conducted, many vehicles have had an opportunity to slow down before the trooper is ever able to check their speed. However, with airborne traffic enforcement, speed has already been observed by the time the driver gets the alert, and the trooper is just waiting for the speeder to pass so they can pull them over.”

So next time you see a sign telling you that your speed is being monitored by an aircraft, believe it.