PRESS RELEASE

Can automobile traffic on the highways be directed and aided by aerial observation? Even though we now have helicopters that hover over large cities and broadcast traffic conditions to radio listeners, history reveals that the first traffic monitors in the skies were bi-wing airplanes.

 In 1937, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in Los Angeles teamed up to develop a system to divert Southern California traffic around delays spotted from aircraft.

Mr. Fox Case, of CBS, actually came up with the idea. Over several Sunday afternoons that summer, the CHP and CBS had people observe and direct Los Angeles traffic from open-cockpit airplanes.

 The 50,000-watt Hollywood Pacific Network key station KNX was involved along with a fictitious “Traffic Officer” named “Vic” Wallen. He would broadcast traffic conditions to car radio listeners using a short-wave radio inside his plane.

The experiments were run for eight or more weekends using a plane supplied by the California National Guard’s 40th Division. ^“Officer Vic Wallen” was actually CNG Lieut. Harry Gilmore, an experienced pilot who broadcast his “show” at 4:15 Pacific Standard Time each weekend. His words were sent to cars equipped with radio receivers via the KNX radio transmitter.

The plane was flown over different parts of Los Angeles County so Gilmore could check various highways. Using one of the finest and most powerful two-way radios available at the time, Gilmore gave out information on road conditions, detours, vehicle flows and traffic patterns. When he spotted trouble, Gilmore would suggest alternate routes to help motorists avoid congestion.

Drivers — at least the relatively small number with car radios at that time — liked the idea of traffic being monitored from the air. They sent many positive comments to the radio station and complimented “Officer Vic Wallen.” More than a few said they had followed the same highways for 10 years and never knew that there were alternate routes that could save them time or trouble.

CHP officials like Chief E. Raymond Cato, Supervising Inspector W.F. Cannon and District Inspector W.P. Greer took turns keeping in touch with the plane from the ground. When asked if such a system could have value during a critical emergency, Cato said, “It is a little too early to come to any general conclusion. We know that many drivers have receiving sets in their cars, but how many actually listen to them is something we have to learn. In cases of great emergency, direction from the air should be of tremendous importance.”

Cato said that bottlenecks and traffic tie-ups were easily discernible from the air. “We feel that aircraft can do a world of good in minimizing these problems,” he explained. “It is an idea which, when more fully developed, may prove very useful and valuable.” Cato added, “From my present knowledge of the matter, I am inclined to believe that a plane equipped with an auto-gyro or a dirigible might be even better.”

Little did Cato know, in 1937, that the helicopter would come along to play the “spy-in-the-sky” role much better. For that matter, he also had no idea that “arterial antics” like freeway chases and low-speed getaways would someday take place on Los Angeles roadways and be filmed from aircraft for national television viewers.