Ted Murphy Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 The other day I was going down the highway in my truck and I heard a siren whoop. Looked in all the mirrors, couldn't see a cop car. Kept going. Figured it was on a side road or the opposite lane. After 5-10 seconds I heard it again, and I looked again. Didn't see anything. Apparently the people in the other lanes didn't either, cause they didn't pull over or slow down either. Little while later the car behind me started to swerve some and I saw this little lightbar in the inside roof of his car. It was about three feet or so wide , and only a few inches thick. Real hard to see through the side mirrors of the truck, especially when the guy is right on your bumper as this fella was. ( 1 ton utility truck, no back window) So the cars to my side I yielded and the fellow passed. He looked kind of pissed. I certainly don't want to impede a legimitate emergency vehicle but for goodness sakes, LOOK LIKE ONE. Or don't get pissed I cannot tell where the noise is coming from. Probably wouldn't hurt not tailgaiting a big wide truck either. Starsky and Hutch might not have had a vehicle that looked like a cop car, but by god they had that light on the roof when they needed it. This was brought to the front of my mind today as coming home, the towns new police car passed by with all its lights going. This car has a similar light bar, but it also has flashers on the side mirrors and grille, which is an improvement. Still, it is not as in your face as the old cop car was. I suppose the idea is to sneak up on people in traffic, but it seems that it would be safer to have something on the roof that was easier to see from a greater distance when the car is on the side of a road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I agree Ted. Used to be police cars "showed the colors" so to speak . They were a deterrent just by being on the road. But I'm afraid you are right about "sneaking up" on you now. I don't like unmarked or minimally marked cars at all. FWIW dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 It is the new stealth/low drag look. They are smaller to create less drag in high speed pursuit in underpowered cars. Just noticed them on the Police cars at the Air Force base where an emergency or high speed pursuit might be 40MPH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 It is the new stealth/low drag look. They are smaller to create less drag in high speed pursuit in underpowered cars. Just noticed them on the Police cars at the Air Force base where an emergency or high speed pursuit might be 40MPH. Sadly enough they are marketed as "Fuel Saving Low Profile" warning lights. The bureaucrats love it when they can be environmentally friendly. It is funny, one of the Whelen reps tried this angle for our Fire engines/trucks.......it was hard not to laugh out loud at an idiot trying to use fuel economy in relation to a 60,000 pound loaf of bread that gets 5-6mpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganShootist Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Agreed Ted The "fad" up here is to mount all the lights behind the grill. The problem is they can't be seen from the side or the rear... or if they are on my butt when I'm in my truck... they are too low to see in the mirror. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz-0 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Well i'm sure the stealthy lights help increase revenue. Either it's the cops around here, or the fact that it looks like they are hopping into a normal car from the outside that puts them in a different mindset, but last i checked, you can use the lights as well as the siren to get someone's attention. We've had WAY too many accidents with emergency vehicles unsuccessfully trying to blow thoruhg an intersection with just a few blips of the siren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xdrocker Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 (edited) Don't wont to get sneaked up on? Don't come to S.C., they have EVERYTHING down here from BMW's to Tahoes, blacked out and unmarked. You never who you are passing. I almost sucked the doors off one once on my bike, needless to say he was to happy with me. Edited December 12, 2007 by xdrocker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 LOOK LIKE ONE. Or don't get pissed As a former LEO and a member of the fire service for over 25 years, let me say I finally found an Internet gripe that I can agree with 100%. I like big fire trucks lit up like a Christmas tree and cop cars you can see from a mile away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I certainly don't want to impede a legimitate emergency vehicle but for goodness sakes, LOOK LIKE ONE. Or don't get pissed I cannot tell where the noise is coming from. Probably wouldn't hurt not tailgaiting a big wide truck either. I'm not a fan of small light setups either. The problem is that they are commonly used on cars that aren't intended for traffic patrol work like detective's cars. I can see using the lower profile units to save a little gas (they're quieter too), but they should still be easy to see. With that said, there have been a number of times when I've really had to get somewhere and been bogged down by people in the left lane that didn't see the small lights in the windshield and grill and somehow couldn't seem to hear the siren. There are also times when you don't want to use the lights/siren because you're following someone not far ahead of you and they might get tipped off if you blip the lights. It's those kinds of situations that most people never think of, for obvious reasons...they've never had to deal with them. Friendly suggestion I give to everyone...If you're in the left lane and someone is tailgaiting you, make life easy on everyone and move over They'll be gone and you'll both be happier and safer. That's honestly what I do regardless of what I'm driving. In lots of states it's even a law unless you're in the process of passing another car...with no mention of the speeds involved, under, over or at the limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Murphy Posted December 12, 2007 Author Share Posted December 12, 2007 FWIW, this fella was in the right lane. My work truck might get up to 55mph in about 20 minutes, I never venture into the hammer lane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 FWIW, this fella was in the right lane. My work truck might get up to 55mph in about 20 minutes, I never venture into the hammer lane. Wow, then he was double dumb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Even though our local police cruisers are low-key looking overall (navy blue), they still wear the full-blown light bar atop. You can sure as hell tell it's a cop car and you can sure as hell see 'em coming. This is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce282 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 The newer Fairfax County (VA) police crusiers still have light bars on the roof but the new ones are only about 2-3" tall, but they are bright blue, read and white (ask me how I know ). Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Never liked unmarked police cars. Seem like a great MO for a rapist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Payne Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 All Black and Whites on our department except one plain top. Since switching over to the black and whites I get comments all the time about how many squads the city has. They can't believe there are the same number of squads, just a different color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 I removed a few posts that, while probably well-intended, didn't fit the Hate forum rules: The Hate forum is for rants only - please, no discussions or debates. Hate threads that turn into discussions or debates will be automatically locked without notice. General or supportive-related comments are not prohibited; however - rebuttals are specifically prohibited. If you don't agree with someone's rant - keep it to yourself. Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerwas Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 (edited) It takes a village... Edited December 15, 2007 by Zerwas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Santiago Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Never liked unmarked police cars. Seem like a great MO for a rapist. I blew past a lime green '70' challenger when I had my 442 in high school. His lights were in the grill. NOT FAIR!! He let me off with a warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Anderson Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Never liked unmarked police cars. Seem like a great MO for a rapist. We had a knucklehead pulling people over in his "undercover police car". Had the flashing headlights, red and amber strobes and blue led lights in the vehicle. I know of at least a couple people that pulled over and stopped for him. We found out about him when he was running "code" up the side of the freeway and passed one of our deputies on the way to work. So word of advice to everyone out there. If some knucklehead in a purple Geo Metro Sedan (yep 4d sedan) tries to pull you over, just keep going. As far as the lights, I don't have a huge problem with the if they are used properly. A properly outfitted vehicle can be very bright and effective with inside lighting. I've also seen boneheads with every light in the catalog strapped to the outside of the car driving like idiots or not using them. My biggest gripe is the ones who run code without siren for no reason. They just give it a little whoop or leave it completely off for no reason. I'm not saying that there aren't good reasons to do it but I've seen lots doing it going to traffic crashes etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Anderson Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Oh, and my first ticket came in 1991 (the first year of the turtle Caprices) to an unmarked unit with two 2" square Halogen flashers by the rearview mirror. Apparently he was behind me for a mile before I saw him and stopped. I didn't think it wise to comment on his poor lighting or the fact that this was only 45 seconds. I may have been exceeding the posted limit a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Murphy Posted December 15, 2007 Author Share Posted December 15, 2007 (edited) Never liked unmarked police cars. Seem like a great MO for a rapist. Wanna be's with lights are very bad indeed. Someone I know who did his car up that way got in a bit of trouble with the law and when the cops came to take him away for what he had done they noticed all the stuff (cage, lights, siren, etc) in his car. Now I wasn't there but rumor has it when he was bailed out and went to get his car from impound, some unknown person removed all the stuff with some rather large blunt object, which I consider a public service. Edited December 15, 2007 by Ted Murphy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now