Legal
How to spot an unmarked police car
Unmarked police cars have been utilised for decades on Aussie roads to patrol people speeding and breaking the rules.
Many motorists have been caught red-handed by unmarked police cars, copping fines when they least suspect it.
Thankfully, drive.com.au has shared some helpful tips to spot an unmarked cop car amongst a sea of other vehicles.
Unmarked police cars differ from 'undercover' police vehicles, in that they are often equipped with more traffic enforcement equipment such as number plate scanners, speed detection, large antennas for communication, and more lights.
Australian Highway Patrol has long used these vehicles, with a spokesperson for the NSW Police Force telling Drive it's part of its "anytime, anywhere" campaign.
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"The thing is, I don't believe unmarked cop cars do anything to increase road safety. Whereas a marked police car on the road definitely does," said one Reddit user.
Unmarked police cars come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but there are a few key differences that make them stand out.
The main thing to look out for is the type of car used, as Highway Patrol vehicles need to be capable of engaging in a pursuit and handling well. For this reason, state police services will often opt for performance-based vehicles.
The most common vehicles found in and around cities are the Chrysler 300 SRT, BMW 5 Series (wagon and sedan), BMW X5 M Sport, Kia Stinger, BMW M3 and, in some cases, Subaru WRX.
Licence plates can also be a dead giveaway for unmarked cars, as they will use standard-issue plates rather than slim-line or special-edition sets.
Another way to spot unmarked police cars is where they have extra lights placed in their vehicles.
If you have particularly good eyesight, you will be able to see the small rectangles in the vehicle's grille; these are the emergency lights.
Victorian police are known to place the emergency lights on either side of the rear licence plate.
Most other states will also have emergency lights placed in the front and rear windows.
Antennas are another obvious giveaway for police vehicles, as Highway Patrol vehicles need to be constantly connected to the network, even in low/no service zones to access the registry and police database.
You will frequently see one or more large antennas either on the front or the rear of the vehicles.
Image credits: Shutterstock
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