What is the thinking behind X5s as traffic cars

[knitware]

http://www.bmw.com/com/en/general/corporate_direct...


BMW are one of a few companies which have in place a dedicated branch of their business to offer authority vehicles. They offer a business which is cost efficient to the customer. I don't think many, if any, other manufacturer have a foothold in the market or the facilities to offer this service.

So to the original post, I hope this helps.

[Moaningroadie]

X5's and Landcruisers in Derbyshire - https://twitter.com/DerbyshireRPU/status/799635983...

[caelite]

Very commanding road position makes it easier to make progress on windy b-roads, its also far easier to peak in on vans using phones

[HantsRat]

We use X5's. We prefer the other vehicles but they are useful for towing vehicles off the motorway, going into rural locations and tracks (We have a few in the new forest) and they hold all the kit we need. It's easier to get the kit out and pack away again quickly in an X5. Not to mention we still need to attend crashes when it's snowing even though it snows rarely we still need to tools for the job.

[Bigends]

Hugo a Gogo said:

they used to use Range Rovers in the old days, same thing, surely?

Range Rovers were deployed a s accident tenders back in the day - carried much more kit than the saloons.
Police get ridiculously cheap deals on BMW's at the moment

[grumpy52]

surveyor_101 said:

Some off road potential
Use in bad weather
Holds alot of kit
Towing capacity- moving damaged and broken down cars
Good visibility for seeing if drivers are on phone or no seatbelt etc

HATOS/HETOS run 4X4 so they can tow primarily

The only thing that I have ever seen HATOS tow is a trailer loaded with privacy fencing for crash scenes .
Never seen them towing MOP cars .

[CoolHands]

It's mainly so they can look big and intimidating, just like every other X5 owner.

[Marvtec]

The police have spacious but slow cars nowadays.

How can they hope to track criminals in anything focus ST and above? Even the helicopters have been cut back.

Gone are the days where a plod fettled v6 senator was quick

[anonymous-user]

[surveyor_101]

grumpy52 said:

The only thing that I have ever seen HATOS tow is a trailer loaded with privacy fencing for crash scenes .
Never seen them towing MOP cars .

They do if need saw them tow a crashed car from lane 3 to the hard shoulder

[FurryExocet]

Marvtec said:

The police have spacious but slow cars nowadays.

How can they hope to track criminals in anything focus ST and above? Even the helicopters have been cut back.

Gone are the days where a plod fettled v6 senator was quick

We've still got a few, I was out in one of the S3's today and we are due a 335 tourer very soon ...... But yes, most are family estate cars and not particularly quick

[david mcc]

The x5's are dual purpose so can do both general traffic work (towns and rural patrols) but can also be used as motorway patrol (towing breakdowns to safe place, removing debris, greater visibility to protect stranded motorists).

Cheaper than having dedicated cars for each role

[Devil2575]

Elroy Blue said:

Range Rovers were dispensed with a long time ago. They were far too expensive too maintain.

On account of them being unreliable pieces of st?

[BossHogg]

surveyor_101 said:

grumpy52 said:

The only thing that I have ever seen HATOS tow is a trailer loaded with privacy fencing for crash scenes .
Never seen them towing MOP cars .

They do if need saw them tow a crashed car from lane 3 to the hard shoulder

I've lost count of the amount of times I've cleared a car/wagon from the carriageway to the hard shoulder. We also use them to upright overturned vehicles up to 3.5 ton. Our Discos are being phased out as the model we use is being discontinued. We have an X5 on trial as well as a VW Touareg. Typical Clarkson jumping in before he knows the circumstances of the incident, as a rule that car would be cleared to the hard shoulder, something must be wrong, it may be a single crewer, waiting for a second crew to arrive and clear it.

[gruffalo]

BossHogg said:

surveyor_101 said:

grumpy52 said:

The only thing that I have ever seen HATOS tow is a trailer loaded with privacy fencing for crash scenes .
Never seen them towing MOP cars .

They do if need saw them tow a crashed car from lane 3 to the hard shoulder

I've lost count of the amount of times I've cleared a car/wagon from the carriageway to the hard shoulder. We also use them to upright overturned vehicles up to 3.5 ton. Our Discos are being phased out as the model we use is being discontinued. We have an X5 on trial as well as a VW Touareg. Typical Clarkson jumping in before he knows the circumstances of the incident, as a rule that car would be cleared to the hard shoulder, something must be wrong, it may be a single crewer, waiting for a second crew to arrive and clear it.

That looks like a highways traffic womble car not a police car.

I have never seen a traffic womble move a broken down car from a live road, not allowed to was I think the explanation given on here once.

I have seen the police be very helpful.

[BossHogg]

That is one of our cars, we shift everything now if it can be moved. I move them all the time in Cumbria, as the county is rural, I haven't got the luxury of waiting for a second crew, police are thin on the ground and recovery can take up to an hour, the only time I will leave something in situ is when it is too badly damaged and it will damage the carriageway, or it is leaking oil/fuel, it easier having to keep a lane shut for the clear up, than it is dragging it to the hard shoulder and having to clean all 3 lanes which means a full closure.

[4rephill]

X5's are big, so stand out on the roads to other motorists, they can easily carry all of the emergency equipment required when dealing with an incident, they can easily tow/drag vehicles out of the way when required, the Police forces get an incredible deal on them from BMW, and they still fetch decent money for the forces when it comes time to sell them on because they tend to be more popular these days than estate cars.

It's hardly rocket science!

[Norfolkandchance]

4rephill said:

X5's are big, so stand out on the roads to other motorists, they can easily carry all of the emergency equipment required when dealing with an incident, they can easily tow/drag vehicles out of the way when required, the Police forces get an incredible deal on them from BMW, and they still fetch decent money for the forces when it comes time to sell them on because they tend to be more popular these days than estate cars.

It's hardly rocket science!

Read all the answers from a two page thread, summarise it as if it was something you've known for years, sit around feeling smug as if you have somehow scored some points.

It's hardly rocket science!

[GCH]

BossHogg said:

I've lost count of the amount of times I've cleared a car/wagon from the carriageway to the hard shoulder. We also use them to upright overturned vehicles up to 3.5 ton. Our Discos are being phased out as the model we use is being discontinued. We have an X5 on trial as well as a VW Touareg. Typical Clarkson jumping in before he knows the circumstances of the incident, as a rule that car would be cleared to the hard shoulder, something must be wrong, it may be a single crewer, waiting for a second crew to arrive and clear it.

I am pretty sure that photo is on the 2 lane elevated bit right as the M4 starts/ends (you can see the GlaxoSmithKline building in the background) so there isn't actually a hard shoulder there to shift it to.

[BossHogg]

If there is no hard shoulder and it is a single crewer, they'll be protecting the scene till a second crew can clear it to a safe location. Our single crewers have limitations on what they can do on their own.