Virginia: 'Enforced by Aircraft' Speed Limit Signs Bogus
The Virginia General Assembly approved aerial speed enforcement under former Governor Jim Gilmore in 2000, but lack of funding and staff forced the state police to stop using the program years ago.
From the Bristol Herald Courier:
The program used Cessna planes, which cost more than $150 an hour to operate, according to Geller. Factor in other costs, including pilots, training, computer software and at least three to four cars and troopers on the ground, and the program became too costly, she said.
The signs are legally required to stay up because the VSP’s aerial enforcement program is still on the books and could possibly be reinstated if funding became available, Geller said.
It would take more money to remove the signs and put them back up, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. It costs the state agency next to nothing to properly maintain a sign for at least the next 25 years.
