I was driving from Miami to Jacksonville today for the week and came upon a shocking sight north of Fort Pierce near Stuart FL on I-95. I came upon a motorist receiving a traffic ticket from a plain wrapper gold Prius Gen II with blue and red lights flashing from inside the front and rear windows. You all be careful now, I had seen Mustangs and lots of Dodge Chargers and other plain wrappers (no insignia on the outside of the car), but this was the first Prius I have seen. I am assuming it was seized in a drug transaction of some sort and forfeited to the authorities.
While I've long suspected that Prius drivers have more than their share of devotees to recreational pharmaceuticals, usually the folks on the supply side of this market roll flashier hardware than a Prius. It's either a seized car from a drug dealer trying to stay waaaaaay down in the weeds, or FSP is buying hybrids for fleet use so that they can put the big "I care" stickers on them...kinda like AT&T is doing. You don't need a muscle car to chase down a speeder---99-percent of which will just pull over and take the paper. This is especially true in Florida and Ohio, which makes extensive use of aircraft to spot (and track) miscreants. A Prius IS capable of speeds in excess of 100-mph---or so I've been told, and you can always call in the Mustang boys (and girls) on the speeders that rabbit on you. It may make a lot of sense to use Priuses for traffic enforcement---unless you're one of those "Buy American First" kinda people.... Very Interesting either way......
The main reason I think it was a seizure is that it was not a new one. Very few agencies can afford to buy used vehicles for lots of reasons. On the other hand, if it was seized a couple of years ago, it is probably coming out of court and into service right about now.
I spotted a GenII Prius with inside police lights serving a customer along my commute just two miles from hone, a couple months ago. Unfortunately traffic conditions didn't allow a close look, and I haven't spotted it since.
I've never heard of cars seized by authorities being used as LE cars. All the cars that I've heard of that's been seized by cops on drug related busts get auction off after the case has been finalized.
I can assure you that the good ones get used by agents and police officers. They usually send them away from home, though.
Just based on personal observations while visiting South Florida has been doing this since the early 80's
OK I believe you on certain vehicles but a Prius? I can understand if they use it as a parking enforcement but as a pursuit vehicle?
Where is there any requirement that, except for parking enforcement, all police vehicles be pursuit vehicles? Especially for undercover and unmarked use, the farther they get from traditional police stereotypes, the better.
I once came upon a police car traveling at night with no lights, not even brake lights. He turned on normal lighting as I approached, but it was obvious that he had been in stealth mode. A Prius in EV mode would probably be a better candidate for stealth operation.
Here where I live, there are no unmarked LE cars that conduct traffic stops. All traffic stops are done on a clearly marked police vehicle. This includes CHP, local PD, sheriff, high school district police, CSU state police, game warden, park ranger, and probation. I guess I'm lucky that I live in an area where I don't have to worry about unmarked police cars pulling people over. I do see them all the time but they never do traffic stops. Not even if idiots pass them up 20mph above speed limit. They are LEOs in unmarks b/c the car has CA exempt plates, US flag sticker in the trunk lid, assault rifles, a laptop, some with rear cage. The drivers are often in their full on police uniforms or BDUs. A lot of them are Sargents and Lieutenants by their insignias. The closest thing we have to an unmarked cars that conduct traffic stops is the all white CHP commercial vehicle enforcements with lights on the inside. Even those have big California Highway Patrol and the star on the side door. Our local police department's policy on unmarked cars is that they are not allowed to conduct traffic stops. If they need to pull someone over, they are required to have a black and white and in uniform to assist in pulling the subject over. Edit: There's a big difference between a pursuit vehicles and undercover vehicles. common sense would suggest that if the police department want to use a vehicle to conduct traffic stops it should be pursuit ready and capable of such demand. My local CHP policy requires that the gas in their vehicles should never dip below half tank. If it gets close, they'd need to refuel to full tank before continuing their patrol due to possible pursuits. An undercover vehicles can be anything because they're not required to be pursuit capable. If they need to pursuit someone, they can radio for a real police car. Imagine a Prius trying to pull over an M5. Unmarked Cop Cars & Urban Legends Police chase reaches 115 mph | Tehachapi News
In the Next Three Days, the cops can't believe that anyone who drives a Prius would rob a meth lab. It is good to know that a Prius is thought to be a car only law-abiding people, who can break their spouses out of jail, drive.
Based upon the rate of misbehavior of CA-plated cars that travel out of their own state and into my region, I wouldn't characterize that as "lucky".
There is this 5 mile stretch of high speed road that motorcycle riders like to, ah, utilize. There are no paved access points for the full 5 miles, and only a few places where a motorcycle could head off in the bushes. So the police don't bother to pursue a speeder, they just radio ahead for the turkey shoot. It seems that a particular biker liked to bait the police, taking off at 120 mph or so from one end of the road. The cop radioed ahead, and proceeded at normal speed after the biker. The biker then proceeded to go offroad up to a bluff overlooking the road. When the biker didn't materialize at the other end of the road, there was quite a gathering of police below. The biker watched the scene for at least an hour, and eventually followed the firetrails out to a safe exit point. I don't know about the reality, but the fellow who told me the legend would be a good candidate for perpetrator.
