Sylph
08-25-2008, 10:32 PM
Last Thursday I saw a black, unmarked police car that had pulled someone over near Santa Rosa Ave at Hearn. I was surprised, as I did not think California had them. What's up?
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mykil
08-26-2008, 09:29 PM
About ten years or more around X-mas in Rosa on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fulton</st1:City></st1:place> road I saw two police cars with a little light on top coming toward me really fast. I pulled over and saw a green and a red compact Saturn fly by. I was laughing sooo hard it really looked like a little Christmas tree flying by!! LOL!
Just a couple of weeks ago on my little vacation I was in the cascades in Washington up on hwy, 12 and I swear to god I saw a sheriff car with about a dozen two by fours ties to the top of the patrol car. They were over the lights and the rope was strung thru the back windows. I was laughing sooo hard. I tried to pull my camera but it was too late. I thought about chasing it down but thought that light just be asking for trouble. soooo yes there really are all kinds!!! LMAO!!!
Just a couple of weeks ago on my little vacation I was in the cascades in Washington up on hwy, 12 and I swear to god I saw a sheriff car with about a dozen two by fours ties to the top of the patrol car. They were over the lights and the rope was strung thru the back windows. I was laughing sooo hard. I tried to pull my camera but it was too late. I thought about chasing it down but thought that light just be asking for trouble. soooo yes there really are all kinds!!! LMAO!!!
Braggi
08-26-2008, 10:44 PM
Last Thursday I saw a black, unmarked police car that had pulled someone over near Santa Rosa Ave at Hearn. I was surprised, as I did not think California had them. What's up?
The Highway Patrol has a lot of them now. Mostly they're white but I've also seen a light blue one. Most police departments have a few unmarked cars but they seldom are used for traffic enforcement.
Now you went and made me do a search. Uh oh! A whole fleet of unmarked Dodge Chargers? What's the world coming to?
https://www.nextautos.com/governmentlegal/unmarked-dodge-chargers-to-join-california-highway-patrol
Here's a video of a white CHP car:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH315jmSXFE&feature=related
So keep an eye on that rear view mirror but watch the speed too!
-Jeff
The Highway Patrol has a lot of them now. Mostly they're white but I've also seen a light blue one. Most police departments have a few unmarked cars but they seldom are used for traffic enforcement.
Now you went and made me do a search. Uh oh! A whole fleet of unmarked Dodge Chargers? What's the world coming to?
https://www.nextautos.com/governmentlegal/unmarked-dodge-chargers-to-join-california-highway-patrol
Here's a video of a white CHP car:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH315jmSXFE&feature=related
So keep an eye on that rear view mirror but watch the speed too!
-Jeff
RichT
08-27-2008, 12:03 PM
Avoiding the unmarked cars is quite simple.
1) drive sober
2) drive licensed
3) drive a Yugo (but stay out of the way of Hummers)
1) drive sober
2) drive licensed
3) drive a Yugo (but stay out of the way of Hummers)
Braggi
08-28-2008, 07:03 AM
Avoiding the unmarked cars is quite simple.
1) drive sober
2) drive licensed
3) drive a Yugo (but stay out of the way of Hummers)
Well, I can add a couple of even more obvious points to that list:
4) Drive the speed limit. (There aren't actually many Yugos left.)
5) Fix your car. (Broken tail lights, burned out turn signals and headlights, unreadably dirty license plates, missing front license plates, overly noisy exhaust systems and other mechanical problems that attract attention are primary reasons cops bust people for other things, i.e., drug possession, parole violations, etc.)
-Jeff
1) drive sober
2) drive licensed
3) drive a Yugo (but stay out of the way of Hummers)
Well, I can add a couple of even more obvious points to that list:
4) Drive the speed limit. (There aren't actually many Yugos left.)
5) Fix your car. (Broken tail lights, burned out turn signals and headlights, unreadably dirty license plates, missing front license plates, overly noisy exhaust systems and other mechanical problems that attract attention are primary reasons cops bust people for other things, i.e., drug possession, parole violations, etc.)
-Jeff
Electric Horseman
09-20-2008, 03:38 AM
Police can use any kind of car they want, except that cars used in traffic law enforcement must be painted distinctively, in other words not "unmarked", and the officers must wear a police uniform. This is so people can't say "I didn't know it was a police officer trying to pull me over". As late as the late 1960's, Berkeley Police officers drove their own cars, with lights and sirens. In my first week in Berkeley in 1963 I was pulled over by a Berkeley cop in a white Chevy convertible with the top down, but he had a uniform, and the car had a shield on the side. The Berkeley PD was the first in the world to use radios and fingerprinting. The two (there are only two and they move around the state) special white low profile cars used by the CHP in California have the CHP emblem on the side, and are not "unmarked". The black police car without markings you saw was being used for enforcement of drug laws, not traffic laws, and although the car may have been stopped for a traffic violation, it would have been to make an arrest or investigation for violation of drug laws.
VEHICLE CODE
40800. (a) A traffic officer on duty for the exclusive or main
purpose of enforcing the provisions of Division 10 (commencing with
Section 20000) or 11 (commencing with Section 21000) shall wear a
full distinctive uniform, and if the officer while on duty uses a
motor vehicle, it must be painted a distinctive color specified by
the commissioner (of the California Highway Patrol -ED).</pre>
Last Thursday I saw a black, unmarked police car that had pulled someone over near Santa Rosa Ave at Hearn. I was surprised, as I did not think California had them. What's up?
VEHICLE CODE
40800. (a) A traffic officer on duty for the exclusive or main
purpose of enforcing the provisions of Division 10 (commencing with
Section 20000) or 11 (commencing with Section 21000) shall wear a
full distinctive uniform, and if the officer while on duty uses a
motor vehicle, it must be painted a distinctive color specified by
the commissioner (of the California Highway Patrol -ED).</pre>
Last Thursday I saw a black, unmarked police car that had pulled someone over near Santa Rosa Ave at Hearn. I was surprised, as I did not think California had them. What's up?