How are undercover cop cars legal?

[Insomniator]

I dont think you should be able to be pulled over by a car that does not have police markings on it. How do I know if its a cop or not? Anyone with a caprice and some lights in the grill can just go around pullin people over and doing whatever to them.

Even though i probably dont have the balls to do it, if an unmarked cop tries to pull me over on the highway I will drive all the way to the next rest stop or exit and pull into a crowded place before stopping.

hmm?

 

[maddogchen]

drive to the nearest police station and tell the cops help someone is stalking me!

 

[Ns1]

they're not trying to pull you over, they want to race.

 

[mugs]

Anyone with a caprice and some lights in the grill can just go around pullin people over and doing whatever to them.

Which is why that is illegal. :Q

Following your logic, anyone with a Crown Vic (what police department still uses the Caprice? They haven't made them in years), some paint and a vinyl sign maker could do the same thing.

Side note:
When I was in college, I sometimes had fun doing "creative driving" in empty parking lots after it snowed. While doing this one time, some crazy guy in a Taurus comes up and starts flashing his lights and honking his horn. I took off at the breakneck speed of 25 miles, and a several mile chase ensued until I was pulled over by a cop. Turned out my school's one campus cop car was in the shop, and I was supposed to know that a Taurus flashing its headlights could pull me over.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Unmarked cars are required to have uniformed officers in them for traffic stops. At least, that's how it works in WA.

ZV

 

[HardcoreRobot]

definitely there are some uses for them, but they should not be used to pull motorists over, especially at night

 

[BlackTigers]

When the officer comes to your window, tell him you would like a uniformed officer in a marked car on the scene.

 

[Queasy]

Because there's not a law preventing Police from using them?

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: mugs

Anyone with a caprice and some lights in the grill can just go around pullin people over and doing whatever to them.

Which is why that is illegal. :Q

Following your logic, anyone with a Crown Vic (what police department still uses the Caprice? They haven't made them in years), some paint and a vinyl sign maker could do the same thing.

Side note:
When I was in college, I sometimes had fun doing "creative driving" in empty parking lots after it snowed. While doing this one time, some crazy guy in a Taurus comes up and starts flashing his lights and honking his horn. I took off at the breakneck speed of 25 miles, and a several mile chase ensued until I was pulled over by a cop. Turned out my school's one campus cop car was in the shop, and I was supposed to know that a Taurus flashing its headlights could pull me over.

Dallas is using Chevrolet Impalas.

 

[Krazy4Real]

Because cops can do whatever they want.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers91
When the officer comes to your window, tell him you would like a uniformed officer in a marked car on the scene.

yeap. also do not stop in a dark area that is not traveled much. use the cell phone and call 911 and tell them why though.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Safeway
Dallas is using Chevrolet Impalas.

A lot of departments use a lot of cars, but the Caprice? Not so much.

I think the Dodge Charger cop car looks particularly badass.

 

[sswingle]

They cant pull you over in ohio.

What i love is a state park or motor carrier vehicle. They have the crown vics and lights, and from a distance look like a state patrol. This makes everyone slow down and stay behind him. Then a small handful of people get close enogh to read what it actually is and speed up and blow by him. Everyone else on the road is in awe thinking they have balls of steel to speed past a cop.

 

[spacejamz]

there have been a rash of people impersonating cops here in Dallas complete with fake cars and everything...one dude even tried to pull over a real pollice officer...

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
definitely there are some uses for them, but they should not be used to pull motorists over, especially at night

Because at night you can definitely tell the difference between a black and white with its lights going versus an unmarked with its lights going.

 

[Gamingphreek]

First off-- they aren't, at least in Virginia, required to have even a special police license plate denoting a police officer. We have, in my home county a few Dodge Chargers that are completely unmarked.

Second off-- It is absolutely illegal to have any lights other than standard headlight colors (And the ones with slight hues to them). Anything other than that is completely illegal while driving-- no matter what.

Third-- if you are being pulled over and you don't feel comfortable pulling over in a dark area or something because the car is completely unmarked, you can slow down to a reasonable speed and maintain a slow speed until you feel safe.

Finally-- with those points in mind, why in the world would it be illegal. So it gives police an "unfair" edge to do their job. If you don't like it- Don't break the law.

-Kevin

Edit: Also they are not TECHNICALLY Crown Victorias. The standard police cruiser is the "Police Interceptor". It does have Crown Vic styling; however, they have various upgrades to bring it to a police package (Larger Water pump for instance)

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BlackTigers91
When the officer comes to your window, tell him you would like a uniformed officer in a marked car on the scene.

yeap. also do not stop in a dark area that is not traveled much. use the cell phone and call 911 and tell them why though.

Yea they had it on tv that ifg you are afraid or don;t trust it is a real cop to turn on your hazards, take the first exit and go to a well lite and populated area (gas station, target, etc...) and if oyu have a cell phone dial 911 as soon as you turn your hazards on to tell them you are not running but don;t trust that it is a cop.

 

[OpenThirdEye]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Safeway
Dallas is using Chevrolet Impalas.

A lot of departments use a lot of cars, but the Caprice? Not so much.

I think the Dodge Charger cop car looks particularly badass.

My city uses the Charger...Rockville/Bethesda, MD does as well.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BlackTigers91
When the officer comes to your window, tell him you would like a uniformed officer in a marked car on the scene.

yeap. also do not stop in a dark area that is not traveled much. use the cell phone and call 911 and tell them why though.

and the cop will give you another ticket for using your cell phone while driving. lose lose

 

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: Aharami

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BlackTigers91
When the officer comes to your window, tell him you would like a uniformed officer in a marked car on the scene.

yeap. also do not stop in a dark area that is not traveled much. use the cell phone and call 911 and tell them why though.

and the cop will give you another ticket for using your cell phone while driving. lose lose

There is no cop out there that is a big enough douche to do that though, is there?

Erm..this is ATOT...bad place to ask that lol.

 

[aplefka]

I've known several people who had old cop cars. It was pretty cool.

One time we drove to a baseball game in one of them and we were stuck in traffic with a black and white in the lane next to us so my buddy would turn on his siren really quickly then turn it off. We then watched the cops reaction. It was pretty funny to see him get confused, then go to look up the tags right as the light turned green and we turned left into the school we were playing.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Finally-- with those points in mind, why in the world would it be illegal. So it gives police an "unfair" edge to do their job. If you don't like it- Don't break the law.

I think the gist of his post is that it's not always safe to pull over for an unmarked car that claims to be a police officer. Just about every city has the occasional rash of people pretending to be cops. Therefore, for the interest of public safety, real cops in unmarked cars shouldn't be allowed to pull people over, because that way people will never fall victim for the fraudulent people pretending to be cops.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers91

Originally posted by: Aharami

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BlackTigers91
When the officer comes to your window, tell him you would like a uniformed officer in a marked car on the scene.

yeap. also do not stop in a dark area that is not traveled much. use the cell phone and call 911 and tell them why though.

and the cop will give you another ticket for using your cell phone while driving. lose lose

There is no cop out there that is a big enough douche to do that though, is there?

Erm..this is ATOT...bad place to ask that lol.

They cannot give you a ticket for dialing 911. Just because there is a law does not mean there are exceptions to this law.

I honestly don't understand ATOT's hate for police officers. Just because you have a few threads stating misbehavior in here out of the entire WORLD (This website is world wide ) doesn't mean that all police are bad (On the contrary, a very small portion are real jerks). What goes unsaid is when police are constantly doing their job right-- never once is there a thread about that-- that is the sad part about all of this.

-Kevin

 

[bsobel]

Edit: Also they are not TECHNICALLY Crown Victorias. The standard police cruiser is the "Police Interceptor". It does have Crown Vic styling; however, they have various upgrades to bring it to a police package (Larger Water pump for instance)

Actually they are called Crown Victoria Police Interceptors....

But your right, that model had various upgrades. Had one for years (the natural gas versions of the CV used the same upgraded parts / suspension since because of the additioanl tank weight)

Bill

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Second off-- It is absolutely illegal to have any lights other than standard headlight colors (And the ones with slight hues to them). Anything other than that is completely illegal while driving-- no matter what.

Not really true.

It is illegal to display blue light in any direction from a non-emergency vehicle and it is illegal to display red light from the front of a non-emergency vehicle. Other colors, such as green or yellow or orange are not regulated and are legal to display, though you may still get pulled over and hassled for using them. (This is why mall security vehicles and whatnot tend to have yellow light bars.)

ZV