OPP track speeding motorcycle from the sky

New footage released by Ontario Provincial Police shows a speeding motorcycle being tracked from the sky.

OPP spent 45 minutes following the driver as he weaved in and out of traffic last month. Acting Staff Sgt. Derek McLenaghan was part of the ground team that arrested the driver.

“Within the City of Ottawa and on the 417, there's been numerous complaints about motorcycles,” says McLenaghan. “One of our officers was traveling on the the 417 by St. Laurent and observed a motorcycle performing a stunt. A wheelie.”

When the motorcycle driver saw the police lights, he sped off. That prompted the officer on the ground to alert the OPP plane, which locked its camera onto the motorbike to keep track of it from a safe distance.

“At the end destination the individual was arrested,” says McLenaghan. “We were able to criminally charge him with flight from police.”

The motorcyclist was also charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and numerous stunt-driving charges.

Despite multiple warnings, especially during holiday weekends, speeding is the number one traffic infraction on our highways.

In 2022, OPP issued more than 20,000 speeding tickets. There have also been 44 fatal collisions killing 53 people this year.

OPP say using an airplane to track speeders is safer than a ground pursuit. It helps minimize the chance of injury or even possible death.

“Aviation is a fantastic tool because we can we can stay back,” says McLenaghan. “We've got the eyes in the sky that can follow this vehicle right to their end destination and then at that point we can safely effect an arrest.”

Over the Thanksgiving long weekend, OPP laid more than 1,300 charges including speeding, stunt driving and impaired driving.

Speeding is also a problem on Ottawa’s city roads.

“Year to date, we've issued approximately 4,900 speeding tickets,” says Ottawa Police Traffic Constable Josh Callaghan. “To this date we've also issued approximately 400 stunt driving charges. If you add those two numbers together, approximately one in 13 people that have been stopped under those numbers, was charged with stunt driving.”

From the highways to city neighbourhoods, police forces continue to plead with drivers to slow down.

“If we can get members of the public to drive safely and obey the laws of the road,” says McLenaghan. “We want people to make it to their end destination safely and to enjoy their traveling around Eastern Ontario.”