For the better part of a decade, my daily commute included a stretch on the 64-mile ring of paved terror around Washington, D.C., called the Capital Beltway. For those who are unfamiliar, this is a demolition derby track masquerading as a freeway.

It yields a prodigious and nearly daily dose of automotive carnage. Much like recent Congresses, Beltway drivers are combative past all sense of rationality. The motorized maxim on it seems to be: Get the other guy before he gets you.

Not surprisingly, at least once a year I would be stuck in traffic at a dead stop behind a Maryland State Police (MSP) helicopter summoned to collect an unfortunate victim of this curious car culture.

Maryland is one of the few jurisdictions with a widespread fleet of state police helicopters dedicated to this sort of work. When I lived in D.C., they had 11 Eurocopter AS365 Dauphins — similar to the HH65s flown by the U.S. Coast Guard — scattered at bases from the Delmarva Peninsula to the mountains near Pennsylvania. They were IFR-capable, well-equipped and staffed, and ready to dispatch on a moment's notice. Like the Coast Guard ships, they had hoists, rescue baskets and a full EMS suit.

Providing this kind of equipment and service is not cheap. Maryland funds it with a special surcharge on state license plates and, for the most part, the citizenry is happy to pay it. Since 1970, MSP helicopters have completed over 180,000 missions and have transported more than 120,000 patients. Last year, MSP flew 7,500 missions. Of that total, 2,300 were scene medevac lifts.

Because of the Dauphin's large cabin, MSP also is called on to provide neonatal transport. Additionally, its helicopters provide aerial law enforcement, search and rescue, homeland security, and disaster assessment.

However, the Dauphins were getting a little long in the tooth, and a few years ago MSP contracted to replace them with faster, larger and more expensive AgustaWestland AW139s. The move drew criticism from some members of the state House of Delegates, but in the end MSP prevailed.

Over the next 24 months, MSP will integrate 10 new AW139s into its fleet and retire the Eurocopters. The AW139s will dispatch with four-man crews: two pilots and two paramedics and be operated to FAA Part 135 standards. MSP had operated the Dauphins single-pilot.

The increased costs are being defrayed in part by a modest $3.50-a-year bump in the license plate fees. In addition to a state-of-the-art medical suite that can accommodate up to two patients, the MSP AW139s are being equipped with a full law enforcement suite, fast-roping bars for tactical insertions and a quick-change cabin floor.

In an era when state and local governments are grounding helicopters to cut costs, MSP stands in stark contrast. It has done so by providing a needed and superior public service the taxpayers understand and want at a price they are willing to shoulder. It's an interesting concept called value.