News
McGuinty set to unveil new OPP plane to catch dangerous drivers

May 5, 2008, Toronto – Premier Dalton McGuinty is expected to unveil a new
plane this afternoon that the Ontario Provincial Police says will
help catch speeders and dangerous drivers.

The province approved $2 million last August to fund a new OPP
plane with high-tech surveillance equipment to watch roads from
overhead.

The money was part of a government package targeting extreme
speeding and aggressive driving that also included putting more
provincial police officers on the roads.

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino has been trumpeting the idea of a
police plane to monitor traffic since visiting Ohio last summer to
see how planes are used to catch dangerous drivers.

The OPP had planes watching motorists from the skies between 1965 and 1981, but the program was discounted for a number of reasons,
including cost.

The force has been conducting traffic air surveillance in the
Greater Toronto Area with a rented plane since the end of August.