Police vehicles

[bruceb]

This link will show you most of the vehicles in use by the Police / Sheriff / other law in your area

http://www.policecarwebsite.net/city3.html

And in my view and probably others, it should be illegal for a police dept to use totally unmarked cars
for normal traffic violation enforcement. Those type of units should be used by detectives and surveillance teams and not to generate traffic ticket revenue. This would include vehicles with side markings, but no roof bar as well as vehicles that have no markings what so ever.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I expect cops to be sneaky so I keep an eye out for vehicles with spotlights mounted above the driver's door mirror and especially license plates that say CA EXEMPT in big red letters across the top of the plate.

I know what kind of vehicles they use.

 

[BurnItDwn]

They look like this around here ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues...obile_at_House_of_Blues_Dallas_-_3-4_view.jpg

 

[BurnItDwn]

Here is a very low quality photograph of a police car like not even a mile from my house

http://www.dailyherald.com/storyima...dated=201609090945&MaxW=800&maxH=800&noborder

 

[JulesMaximus]

What? No helicopters?

 

[bruceb]

My gripe is with them using plain jane cars for traffic tickets. We know some area have helicopter or airplanes trying to catch speeders. But aircraft use is more typically used to watch traffic flow, identify accidents or aid in a felony chase.

 

[BurnItDwn]

If they don't have a big speaker on the top, then they are probably fake police cars.

 

[Sheep221]

I strictly disagree with the OP, I drive everyday and I would like to see unmarked police more often, I would also ban traffic broadcasting on radio dedicated to reporting their mobile radar locations. When people know where they are or spot them easily than they will slow, behave ok and once they are gone they start speeding again. This does not help bring traffic violations down, they go up. Everyone bitching about unmarked police does it only for one reason, they want to do shit on the road all the time, but ofc don't want to live in doubt when they do it. Isn't this arrogance just fascinating?

I expect cops to be sneaky so I keep an eye out for vehicles with spotlights mounted above the driver's door mirror and especially license plates that say CA EXEMPT in big red letters across the top of the plate.

I know what kind of vehicles they use.

I was wondering what is that thing mounted on the frame at driver's side? What's the purpose? Some stop order when they want to pull you over? Not all police cars have it tho.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I just wish they would crack down on texting drivers. Marked? Unmarked? Who cares...

If I'm speeding and I get caught so be it.

I was wondering what is that thing mounted on the frame at driver's side? What's the purpose? Some stop order when they want to pull you over? Not all police cars have it tho.

It is a spot light. They can aim it from inside the car like if they are patrolling an area slowly looking for a suspect at night, they can use it to shine a light in places their headlights don't.

 

[Ns1]

on a related note, anyone have a site to buy used police vehicles? I'm looking for a used k9 unit.

 

[Sheep221]

on a related note, anyone have a site to buy used police vehicles? I'm looking for a used k9 unit.

It's trash, don't buy it, all the pursuits, potholes and road abuse these cars endure is severe, they have hundreds of thousands of miles driven, you will just not get car that is in good condition.

 

[Ns1]

It's trash, don't buy it, all the pursuits, potholes and road abuse these cars endure is severe, they have hundreds of thousands of miles driven, you will just not get car that is in good condition.

which is exactly what I need.

 

[lxskllr]

they have hundreds of thousands of miles driven, you will just not get car that is in good condition.

and hundreds of thousands of miles sitting there doing nothing. I'd guess a police car is the best that kind of car can be due to diligent maintenance, but they're worn the hell out.

 

[Ns1]

While true, here was some sage advice given by reddit:

Maintenance varies wildly based on the department/city that used it - some follow things by the book and they make great purchases, others don't even have a book so it could have just been fed oil when they had a chance, obviously not so great of a purchase.

Check the engine idle time. This combined with the mileage gives you an idea of how it was used - low miles plus lower idle time means a detective or higher ranking officer who probably didn't drive the shit out of it. High miles and lowish/medium idle was a highway patroller, in this case check (if possible) to see if it was involved in any chases (possibility of crash damage). Low miles and high idle means a city beat car, probably the worst scenario: many different drivers with different habits, sitting in parking lots idling or slowly rolling around in stop and go most of the day, with spurts of gotta go fast response speeds thrown in.

 

[agent00f]

This link will show you most of the vehicles in use by the Police / Sheriff / other law in your area

http://www.policecarwebsite.net/city3.html

And in my view and probably others, it should be illegal for a police dept to use totally unmarked cars
for normal traffic violation enforcement. Those type of units should be used by detectives and surveillance teams and not to generate traffic ticket revenue. This would include vehicles with side markings, but no roof bar as well as vehicles that have no markings what so ever.

That site is way out of date, esp as of late since many dept are upgrading to various models from the crown vic.

The easiest way to spot police is remember what the models in your area look like from the front and back, and these helpful tips: special plates, cow catcher, antenna, and light bars of course, but also: steel wheels, no fog lights, and with few exceptions (new explorer models) they use halogen not HID lighting.

While true, here was some sage advice given by reddit:

If you're set on buying a cop mobile, try for a detective type car instead of patrol. It's frankly kind of a shit deal even if you get a decent one since you'll be stuck driving the speed limit even in the fast lane.

 

[Ns1]

I'm really in it for the k9 cage as a dedicated dog transport vehicle.

 

[agent00f]

Is the typical cage in the back of patrol cars too stigmatizing?

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

What? No helicopters?

I got tagged by a chopper once for going 70 in a 60 (outskirts of Des Moines, forgot that it was a short stretch of 60, THEN 70).
Not a single, solitary peep out of the Valentine One :|

 

[XavierMace]

The easiest way to spot police is remember what the models in your area look like from the front and back, and these helpful tips: special plates, cow catcher, antenna, and light bars of course, but also: steel wheels, no fog lights, and with few exceptions (new explorer models) they use halogen not HID lighting.

Unless the unmarked cars in your area don't have any of that save for I'd assume government plates but if you're doing something where you care if there's a police car, you're probably not going to see the plates regardless.

 

[lxskllr]

If it were me, I'd get some kind of mini van, then outfit it with cages myself. They're cheap and easily available. They also have more comfortable room for critters.

 

[boomerang]

My question would be, exactly when does a traffic violation occur? Prior to being pulled over or at the moment you're pulled over?

A legal question for sure.

 

[jlee]

I got tagged by a chopper once for going 70 in a 60 (outskirts of Des Moines, forgot that it was a short stretch of 60, THEN 70).
Not a single, solitary peep out of the Valentine One :|

Almost like helicopters aren't using radar or laser to determine your speed.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

A good mix of marked and unmarked patrol units is a good thing. It's self evident that people straighten up and fly right when a marked unit is highly visible. For catching the folks who pose a hazard when they think cops are not around is what the unmarked cars are for.

 

[bruceb]

Helicopters or airplanes usually time how long it takes to get between a certain point. There are usually markings on the road that easily visible from the air. It is done with a highly accurate timer. They then notify the cruiser or motorcycle cop to pull you over for the ticket.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Almost like helicopters aren't using radar or laser to determine your speed.