necessary luxury
Discussion
Was heading to Swindon from Bristol today, M4 was flowing along nicely, then loads of brake lights three lanes thick and traffic slows to 60mph in the third lane. Thought there might be an accident ahead but turns out to be a police car doing 45 in lane one, causing a bottle neck by forcing all the hgv's into lane two to pass him. Can only guess he was finishing his shift and didnt want to get back to plod station too early?
Also , it was a new Lexus saloon (marked), very nice but really necessary? Got to Swindon and the first plod i saw was driving a marked Lexus 4x4 .
Maybe im wrong but it says to me "look how we're spending your money".
Also , it was a new Lexus saloon (marked), very nice but really necessary? Got to Swindon and the first plod i saw was driving a marked Lexus 4x4 .
Maybe im wrong but it says to me "look how we're spending your money".
They use quite a lot of vehicles "under evaluation" ie the manufacturers supply them foc for them to use for a while, maybe Lexus are having such a promotion at the moment. Also prestige marques tend to depreciate less than fleet fodder, so a Lexus or Merc may be cheaper to run per mile than say an Omega.
With the slowness issue, I suspect someone driving at 45 on a motorway has a fairly high chance of being pulled for driving too slowly, so should they not practice what they preach ? Possibly there is an operational reason for driving at this speed, but hard to see one.
With the slowness issue, I suspect someone driving at 45 on a motorway has a fairly high chance of being pulled for driving too slowly, so should they not practice what they preach ? Possibly there is an operational reason for driving at this speed, but hard to see one.
Not meaning to slate any bib but I think the same about "necessary luxury" and where the money is going when I see the big marked Merc estates in london and the very nice marked BMW 3 series estates in hampshire (with lovely alloys too!).
I would have thought V6 Mondeo estates (or similar) were good enough. Then again I dont know if they have the load capacity.
I would have thought V6 Mondeo estates (or similar) were good enough. Then again I dont know if they have the load capacity.
Plotloss said:
Erm regardless of residuals and image the British Police should be FORCED to used British cars.
Nowt wrong with an MG-ZT police car...
British??
Maybe TVR, but most of the time they would be broken!
Maybe they should stretch to a trial of Aston Martin but there again it is now just and expensive Ford
Patrol speeds on Motorways are recommended to be between 45mph and 55mph.
Reasons
1. If you drive everywhere at 60-70mph, you rack up miles very quickly and use lots of fuel.
2. If you drive at 60-70mph and you are looking for something in particular at the side of the road, it is not easy to see it. Also, you do not get the volume of All classes of traffic passing your beady eyes
3. If you drive at 60-70mph, traffic builds up behind because some are not willing to pass and others just take the P
s
If drivers had better planning and observation, then they would not be inconvenienced by a patrol car travelling at 45mph.
My dad drives at 45-50 mph on the motorways and he always has done (too tight to put his foot down
). I can't ever remember that problem arising from his speed in lane 1. (Is not and never has been anything to do with the Police either)
Reasons
1. If you drive everywhere at 60-70mph, you rack up miles very quickly and use lots of fuel.
2. If you drive at 60-70mph and you are looking for something in particular at the side of the road, it is not easy to see it. Also, you do not get the volume of All classes of traffic passing your beady eyes
3. If you drive at 60-70mph, traffic builds up behind because some are not willing to pass and others just take the P
s If drivers had better planning and observation, then they would not be inconvenienced by a patrol car travelling at 45mph.
My dad drives at 45-50 mph on the motorways and he always has done (too tight to put his foot down
). I can't ever remember that problem arising from his speed in lane 1. (Is not and never has been anything to do with the Police either) Liszt said:
And if you were plod choosing a motor to aprehend a criminal, and you had to carry all the kit, which would you choose: mondeo V6 estate or E55 estate?
Well thats a bit of a silly question really.
Thats like saying if you were gonna be given a car what would you rather have, a crap one or a good one!
Its the cost involved which is coming out of our pockets!
Im not in ranting mode as Im sure there is a logical explanation like the cars are subsidisied by the manufacturer or similar.
DustyC said:
And if you were plod choosing a motor to aprehend a criminal, and you had to carry all the kit, which would you choose: mondeo V6 estate or E55 estate?
Well thats a bit of a silly question really.
Thats like saying if you were gonna be given a car what would you rather have, a crap one or a good one!
Its the cost involved which is coming out of our pockets!
Im not in ranting mode as Im sure there is a logical explanation like the cars are subsidisied by the manufacturer or similar.
True.
It should be about choosing the most appropriate tool for the job.
Liszt said:
And if you were plod choosing a motor to aprehend a criminal, and you had to carry all the kit, which would you choose: mondeo V6 estate or E55 estate?
This is right. There is no ideal car available for Roads Policing use. Police Transport departments and Roads Policing Managers have to compromise from what is available from the mass car production lines and adapt the best they can find for the use they want to put it.
dustyC said:
Well thats a bit of a silly question really.
Thats like saying if you were gonna be given a car what would you rather have, a crap one or a good one!
Budget is the determining factor.
They buy the best they can afford within the budget they are given. Once its gone its gone and any shortfalls have to be taken from other budgets to compensate overspend.
dustyC said:
Its the cost involved which is coming out of our pockets!
Im not in ranting mode as Im sure there is a logical explanation like the cars are subsidisied by the manufacturer or similar.
For sure it comes out of our pockets but Police Forces and Transport managers do not pay list price for the cars they buy from manufacturers. Most forces now stick to one basic product and become almost main agents for servicing etc. It is cheaper to do that because all the mechanics are qualified by the manufacturer to do warranty work and the costs of the vehicles because they are bought in bulk are considerably reduced.
Resale is important too.
A 3 year old silver Lexus with 100,000 on the clock will retain a much higher residual value than a white Omega with the same mileage. That is in relation to the comparative depreciation values of both. They also tend not to butcher them about so much these days to fit the equipment in and on them that they need.
That is why although you may think Police forces are being flash with your cash, they are actually being very prudent!
DustyC said:
Erm regardless of residuals and image the British Police should be FORCED to used British cars.
Nowt wrong with an MG-ZT police car...
Thats a good point. Im sure its enforced in other countries. USA, Australia and France are very likely ones to enforce this.
Yep the coppers in the states mainly use Ford Police Interceptors (same as the grand marquis/crown vic/town car) and Chevy Impala's.
Just seems like the proper thing to do. We have a car industry, the police need lots of cars, surely its best to keep that money in the UK?
Aussies use Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons (both Aussie built cars).
I would bet the French use only Citreon, Renault or Peugeot. But thats their way.
It should be our way too. We need to be proud to be British and support our industry, not just mope around whinging.
I have travelled a lot (been out of the country more in the last 7 years than I have been in it) and it seems that we are such a disloyal country when it comes to things like this.
What happened?
I would bet the French use only Citreon, Renault or Peugeot. But thats their way.
It should be our way too. We need to be proud to be British and support our industry, not just mope around whinging.
I have travelled a lot (been out of the country more in the last 7 years than I have been in it) and it seems that we are such a disloyal country when it comes to things like this.
What happened?
To give some idea of prices the Polcie pay for cars, a Volvo V70 T5 costs around £17K. Not sure what the retail is? Best part of £30K
Strangely, we pay more for our BMW 330d area cars than we do for our T5s, yet I believe the T5 has the higher list price.
Things like the Ford Focus TDCi we pay very little for, something like £7-8K.
Police vehilces have to be "approved" and be on a certain list before they can be used routinely as patrol cars. A Police force can't just decide to buy a certain car on a whim, hence their being a lot of demo vehicles around. Our traffic dept. recently had a Mercedes C class estate. Verdict - good car, not enough space.
Strangely, we pay more for our BMW 330d area cars than we do for our T5s, yet I believe the T5 has the higher list price.
Things like the Ford Focus TDCi we pay very little for, something like £7-8K.
Police vehilces have to be "approved" and be on a certain list before they can be used routinely as patrol cars. A Police force can't just decide to buy a certain car on a whim, hence their being a lot of demo vehicles around. Our traffic dept. recently had a Mercedes C class estate. Verdict - good car, not enough space.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff