The OPP are flying over snowmobilers. This week is Snowmobile Safety Week and the OPP is raising its game. OPP Sergeant Kerry Schmidt says they’ve improved the way to patrol snowmobile trails using aerial and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) technology, otherwise known as drones.
Schmidt says they’ve also improved their helicopter camera system, which can track and monitor speed. The information is then relayed to officers on the ground.
He says OPP officers are already using these systems and adds they won’t announce when or where they’ll be.
Schmidt says six snowmobilers have already died this season and half of them were ice-related incidents. He says they’ll be able to use the new sky patrol technology for rescues as well.
At the end of the day “we just want to make the trails safer” Schmidt says. To report an incident, he encourages everyone to call 9-1-1.
Written by Devon Jolander