How to spot an unmarked police car
Discussion
About 40 years ago my BIL was the warden at a bird rescue sanctuary.
They had an Escort van and mini van. Both had blue lights on the roof. So going to rescue an oiled bird from the coast was always good. Didn't need to put the light on, just follow a car fairly close did the trick. Oh, their faces when they read "Bird Rescue Ambulance" on the back doors!
They had an Escort van and mini van. Both had blue lights on the roof. So going to rescue an oiled bird from the coast was always good. Didn't need to put the light on, just follow a car fairly close did the trick. Oh, their faces when they read "Bird Rescue Ambulance" on the back doors!
Manner in which its being driven is usually a giveaway.
When in eye shot you may notice hidden strobes, mostly debadged, no advertising on the number plates (not permitted under crown rules) and rear tinted glass.
The big one however is all cop cars have the same radio equipment these days so are fitted with a very distinct stubby aerial with a boxy base. Its obvious when you see them.
Of course in the dark youve got little chance other than spotting the eratic driving habits in good time!
When in eye shot you may notice hidden strobes, mostly debadged, no advertising on the number plates (not permitted under crown rules) and rear tinted glass.
The big one however is all cop cars have the same radio equipment these days so are fitted with a very distinct stubby aerial with a boxy base. Its obvious when you see them.
Of course in the dark youve got little chance other than spotting the eratic driving habits in good time!
slipstream 1985 said:
It's just not cricket nowadays. You used to see a vauxhall omega in your rear view mirror and 101% of the time you knew.
Brings back good memories, friend picked up a white ex-plod Omega V6. It had been barry'd a bit by a previous owner with some stickers, wheels, bumpers etc & most importantly oodles of cash spent under the bonnet. He un-barry'd the exterior, popped a thuule roof rack on it for comedic effect. I had what must've been one of the most hilarious drives I've ever had with him, from Glasgow up the M80 through Stirling and on to Dunfermline. Triple digits the whole way watching traffic vacate L2 the moment we popped into line of sight 2 late teens/early 20s in the front both wearing black. Must've struck the fear into many an older motorist with that car 
.Sadly he managed to wrap it around a tree in a big way not long after, single party incident but he had fairly serious injuries he is only now fully recovering from (4-5 years later)
Tunnel of Love, Spanish City...mmm.HantsRat said:
ez64 said:
OU on the reg for Thames Valley for quite a number of years, bulk buying plain cars along with the marked ones probably not a brilliant idea....
Along with every other oxford registered OU car in that area! Hardly makes them stand out. There are thousands of OU cars in the Thames Valley area.
battered said:
Good luck. There are thousands of unmarked plod cars driving about with few distinguishing marks and people in normal clothes. I saw Leeds CID a few years ago when a stolen car of mine was recovered, the police looked like a slightly chavvy darts team out for a night and 3 of them got in a very plain Astra. If you are goi8ng to slow down every time you see a grubby Astra with 3 blokes in it wearing hoody tops then you may as well give up and drive at something approximating to the speed limit. I've also seen Leeds Homicide Investigation Dept out in a plain car, or at least I'm told on good authority that I have, suffice it to say that I didn't notice them. Mind you a few seconds later I went through a Toyota Starlet's windscreen, so I had better things to worry about than a few coppers, especially since I've never killed anyone.
I was really talking about unmarked Police cars that are used to patrol motorways primarily to catch speeders. Of course the Old Bill have an array of cars for a variety of reasons but the ones that are used to patrol up and down motorways catching speeders are the ones I was originally talking about.Here in Northern Ireland these are the things I watch out for:
Estate car usually, sometimes saloon
Vauxhall Insignia, Audi A4/A6, Skoda Octavia
Usually grey, sometimes silver, black, blue. But, again, mainly grey.
No dealer sticker on rear window
NI Plate - no English regs
No/small writing at the bottom centre of the plate
Sometimes have extra aerials on the top or on the side of the car
Beefed up looking suspension, stronger stance and wider tyres
Tinted windows
Front windscreen has a strange rainbow/oil effect reflection
Busy dash, few extra lights in and around the cockpit
2 adult occupants in the front
That's the list I go through, if I spot a saloon/estate of that markee on an NI reg I usually slow down, er I mean continue at the speed limit, and look to see if there any other things on my list.
So far, I have never been stopped by the police. Touch wood...
Estate car usually, sometimes saloon
Vauxhall Insignia, Audi A4/A6, Skoda Octavia
Usually grey, sometimes silver, black, blue. But, again, mainly grey.
No dealer sticker on rear window
NI Plate - no English regs
No/small writing at the bottom centre of the plate
Sometimes have extra aerials on the top or on the side of the car
Beefed up looking suspension, stronger stance and wider tyres
Tinted windows
Front windscreen has a strange rainbow/oil effect reflection
Busy dash, few extra lights in and around the cockpit
2 adult occupants in the front
That's the list I go through, if I spot a saloon/estate of that markee on an NI reg I usually slow down, er I mean continue at the speed limit, and look to see if there any other things on my list.
So far, I have never been stopped by the police. Touch wood...
Looking for clean cars definitely doesn't work around london, I had a silver seat cupra thing come past me yesterday with clean me written in the dirt on the back of it 
Th traffic cars are normally clean though and have enough crap inside them to make you notice. There's a white 3 series estate around here with the towing eye cover missing on the back of it, makes it stand out to everyone who knows
Th traffic cars are normally clean though and have enough crap inside them to make you notice. There's a white 3 series estate around here with the towing eye cover missing on the back of it, makes it stand out to everyone who knows
HantsRat said:
yonex said:
Great use of tax money right there 
What do you think unmarked motorway patrols actually do? Their job is to patrol motorways and deal with offenders which is exactly what they're doing.Motoring offence: waste of money, I should be able to ignore the limits because I have an MX5 and I dominate the roads.
Any other offence: what do I pay my taxes for, police didnt solve a protracted enquiry within 5 minutes...#angryface
HantsRat said:
yonex said:
Great use of tax money right there
What do you think unmarked motorway patrols actually do? Their job is to patrol motorways and deal with offenders which is exactly what they're doing.Greendubber said:
HantsRat said:
yonex said:
Great use of tax money right there
What do you think unmarked motorway patrols actually do? Their job is to patrol motorways and deal with offenders which is exactly what they're doing.Motoring offence: waste of money, I should be able to ignore the limits because I have an MX5 and I dominate the roads.
Any other offence: what do I pay my taxes for, police didnt solve a protracted enquiry within 5 minutes...#angryface
It's all about the safety.
yonex said:
A womble with a Police car in tow, of course there's nothing else they could be doing. It's ok, I know how fundamentally useless the force is at actually doing anything useful, but I can count on them for speed enforcement.
It's all about the safety.
If there are no crashes to go to then traffic cops will patrol the motorways looking for offences including speeding which again is that they would be doing in this scenario. Likewise if wombles have no crashes to go to, they will patrol as well.It's all about the safety.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff