This is how one of the DGT drones catches a motorcyclist during an illegal overtaking manoeuvre

Yesterday we looked at the latest vehicles recognised by the Guardia Civil’s Traffic Group for carrying out the surveillance, control and penalty tasks imposed by the Directorate General of Traffic, camouflaged motorcycles. Today we bring you a video showing another of the most novel resources of the body responsible for traffic and road safety: the DGT drones.

Part of the equipment of the Air Assets Unit of the Ministry of the Interior, less feared than their ‘big brothers’, the Pegasus helicopters but even more imperceptible than them, the DGT drones fly like birds of prey over the roads, hunting for drivers who break the rules.

Relying on road surveillance, the DGT has acknowledged that its smaller vehicles have no means of directly issuing a fine, but their platform makes it possible to view activity on the road, identify rule-breaking behaviour and, consequently, have officers on the ground proceed to issue a penalty afterwards.

More than a year after the incorporation of a group of drones was announced, the DGT’s Twitter profile has published a video showing the intervention procedure against a motorcyclist committing an improper overtaking.

11 drones have joined road surveillance in #carretera during #OperacionSalida2020 to preserve #seguridadvial. They allow the offender to be stopped immediately after the infraction has been committed. #CumpleLasNormas X #SeguridadVial. pic.twitter.com/r3Uyc8O3gJ

— Dir. Gral. Tráfico (@DGTes) July 3, 2020

The footage shows one of the DGT’s 11 drones which, while surveilling roads frequented by motorcycles, spots one of them moments before it commits an infraction.

The eyes in the sky of the drone operator follow the motorcyclist before, during and after the overtaking. The moment the drone’s operator confirms the infraction, they alert the Guardia Civil patrol officers who wait a few metres further on for the rider, who is then forced to stop and is issued a penalty.

Thanks to this document, we can see how the new aerial resources make it possible to cover an area that, until a few years ago, was almost impossible for the Pegasus to monitor, given its size and the cost per flight hour.

A small drone, with a flight endurance of around 20 minutes, can climb to nearly a hundred metres above the ground and, thanks to its camera, not only see over the heads of the patrol officers but also record those behaviours that may be subject to a penalty.