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LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio (WEWS) — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is using an airplane to catch speeders on Northeast Ohio interstates, keeping troopers out of dangerous high-speed situations.
Pilot Milan Milosevic has been with the Ohio State Highway Patrol for 25 years. For 15 of those years, he has piloted one of several highway patrol airplanes, assisting fellow troopers with operations such as pursuits, missing-person cases, and speeding enforcement.
“It’s a lot safer. It’s like you have big brother up there watching to make sure, ‘Hey! Slow down. Be careful. I can watch what they’re doing,'” Milosevic said.
Milosevic said OSHP planes are mostly used for speed operations.
“The bread and butter of the airplane is to catch violators for speeding,” he said.
The Ohio Department of Transportation helped establish one-mile air zones along Northeast Ohio interstates. From the air, pilots like Milosevic use white lines painted on the roadway as a timing tool to calculate vehicle speeds.
“If the vehicle is traveling and the front bumper hits that line, I start a watch,” he said. “I maintain visual on the vehicle that is going through the zone, and when the front bumper hits the next line, I lap my watch. On my watch, it tells me how fast the vehicle is going and how long it took that vehicle to go from point A to point B.”
Once a speeding vehicle is identified, Milosevic relays information to troopers stationed at entrance ramps below. His role does not end when a trooper makes a stop.
“I hover over the violator and the officer to make sure that the violator doesn’t take off or they get out of their car and run into the woods,” Milosevic said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol says the program is producing results. On Aug. 18, the patrol used the aircraft in a speeding enforcement operation in the construction zone along Interstate 90 in Lorain County. According to the agency, 28 citations were issued to drivers traveling 21 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
Milosevic flies up to five hours each day when weather permits. He says every part of the job has been fulfilling — from supporting fellow troopers to helping the public.
“It’s safety from above that these officers can count on,” he said. “When you can help other people… the missing kids that we find… then the thanks is more than enough pay than what we receive.”
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is currently recruiting pilots and state troopers.
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