Thunder Bay Police had their eye in the sky assist them in executing a traffic enforcement blitz on Dawson Road this week.

Placing markers on the road, spaced 60-metres apart, members of the Traffic Unit deployed a drone to get a better view in spotting motorists in commercial vehicles that were a little too close to the vehicles ahead of them.

Other officers used LIDARs (Laser Imaging, Detection, and Ranging) for speed enforcement in the same stretch of roadway.

This isn’t a new way of performing traffic enforcement, but police say it is a unique way of tackling the ongoing traffic issues on Dawson Road.

Some of the results of this blitz include:

• 10 Commercial Motor Vehicle – Follow Too Closely
• Commercial Motor Vehicle with no Valid Operator’s Registration (CVOR)
• Stunt Driving (passenger vehicle travelling 117 km/h in a 70 km/h zone)
• Speeding (Passenger vehicle travelling 109 km/h in a 70 km/h, which is one km/h away from being considered a Stunt Driving offence)
• Commercial Motor Vehicle with Obstructed View
• Numerous speeding tickets

In addition to this section of roadway the police are also conducting enforcement in other problem areas in the city.

They are also offering this piece of information to assist drivers:

Headway for commercial motor vehicles
158(2) The driver of a commercial motor vehicle when driving on a highway at a speed exceeding 60 kilometres per hour shall not follow within 60 metres of another motor vehicle, but this shall not be construed to prevent a commercial motor vehicle overtaking and passing another motor vehicle. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 158 (2).