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Would any of the Police traffic drivers we chat with (and occaisionally harrass), care to tell us what work cars they drive, (realise you may only want to talk about the marked ones). Do you prefer front or rear wheel drive, what is more useful, speed or acceleration, which ones handle a load best, or inspire confidence at speed, petrol or diesel, even which ones are still comfortable at the end of a shift?
Edited by Old Navy on 12/07/2009 at 10:26
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Yes indeed that would be interesting. I could be led to believe that V70s are good if you need to spend a lot of time in the car and have to lug heavy/bulky kit around too as I do.
I would very interested in the factors of comfort, ride, handling, ability to cope with large/heavy loads, reliability, fuel ecomomy, driving pleasure etc.
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 12/07/2009 at 11:28
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i'm not traffic, but willing to post a partial response
1, diesel/versus petrol...diesel cars are noisy, so they are a real pain if you're trying to poke around quietly. You'd be amazed at how many people don't notice a marked vehicle at night, particularly with the newer very thin blue lamps (no doubt due to the inebriation), but do hear a diesel engine
modern diesels have got their act together re usable performance haven't they, so other than quietness i'd be happy with a performance diesel. The other thing is frequency of petrol stn visits. Much better with diesel..and in extreme cases like lengthy pursuits can make a real difference.
2, handling...there's a compromise needed. Out and out handling is very useful in some respects i.e. the obvious going round corners quickly etc...but is a real nuisance re speed humps and similar
3, size....not to big and not too small. A 6'6" width restriction, at speed, is no joy in a big wide vehicle, but there again with body armour, utility belts, and all the other extras, you do need a bit of room...and you need a good sized boot etc for all the equipment
4, reliability is a big, big problem....police cars get extremely heavy usage, so in my view this is a major factor..if you've broken it you're going nowhere
Edited by Westpig on 12/07/2009 at 13:58
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Can't say anything about today, in my time the only front wheel drives we had were the Mini Cooper 1275S, and did they perform !
Posability was an essential in the 60s. Nothing more guaranteed to get a flock of mini-skirted girls round you than to sit in St Anne's Suare, Manchester, near all the boutiques in a white Triumph TR4A with a surrey top, ( off, of course ) shirt sleeve order, sleeves rolled up, black leather gloves and sunglasses...mind the Inspector didn't catch you, tho'
Once had a race (naughty, naughty ) evening shift inspector on way home in his own car, me in a 1275s, blue light on. Long straight empty road. He beat me compehensively......in his Wolseley 6/110 with overdrive.......the shame !
Ted
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Keeping it to the current cars I drive, I have a choice of:
BMW 530d: My current favourite on the fleet. However, some others absolutely hate it. But then I like rear wheel drive. We've got both saloons and estates. Saloons are a bit of a pain fitting in the kit. Very reliable and very, very good on fuel.
Volvo V70 T5: Turning circle of an aircraft carrier. Have been very unreliable and when they break, they disappear for a long time. Air-con, exhaust manifolds, heater matrix, electrical problems. Fast, but I find them very skittish at speed and very thirsty (the ones that hate the BMW, like the Volvo). They are being replaced in the fleet because of constant breakdowns and running expense. (And the seats cive me terrible back ache)
Jaguar XF 3.0d: Had one on long term trial. Amazing car. Superior in every way to the BMW. Permanent ones are on order. Super stable at speed and amazingly refined. Overall performance is fantastic.
Range Rover V8: Fast in a straight line. Err..that's about all I can say because I hate using the 4x4's and avoid them like the plague. Good for pulling artics off the carriageway.
Toyota Landcruiser V8: See above (but not as good at pulling things)
(I'd swap them all for a Vx Senator!!)
Edited by midlifecrisis on 12/07/2009 at 21:09
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Did the Surrey have a Fringe on Top?
Working in Co. Durham late 60's/early 70's, our only fwd's were Austin 1800/2200s. Personally, I liked them. A favourite way of passing time with them during the long boring middle of the night hours was to get out and walk alongside, chugging away in 1st gear with the occasional touch on the steering wheel through the open window. Only car I've known that could do that. They were enormously spacious with a big boot for all the equipment. They had a habit of running on when switched off after a fast run. A colleague had been involved in a chase, jumped out in a hurry, switched off the engine and left it in gear. It set off, driverless, hit a wall, tried to climb it and even them didn't stall! Another 'endearing' tendency was to go straight on at bends. They didn't 'tuck in' when easing the throttle like your Minis would have done.
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Humberside have recently acquired a very quick Lexus tinyurl.com/humbplod
tinyurl.com/humbplod2
Edited by martint123 on 12/07/2009 at 22:44
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Humberside have recently acquired a very quick Lexus
2nd link not loading for me - does it explain why they chose the Lexus in particular?
EDIT: ok loaded now
Edited by Focus {P} on 12/07/2009 at 22:50
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There was a surprising winner in the category "best all round police car of all time" according to one county force: tinyurl.com/mfrtd7
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some of the essentials you need in a police car, means the end package can be a right old compromise, so it wouldn't surprise me that an unusual car could be considered positively for that role
for example, in the 80's London police had the Rover SD1 for area car/traffic work. The area car was a straight six 2.6 and the traffic one a V8 3.5, both auto. They had many plus points e.g.
-very neutral handling, an absolute dream around wet roundabouts etc, because they were heavy and predictable
- solid and well built, so good in an accident
- roomy
- looked the part
the negatives were;
- 2.6 hopelessly underpowerd 0-30mph
- both variants thirsty, V8 excessively so, so you were always filling them up with fuel
more recently Vauxhall Vectra 3.2 diesels have been used as area cars and they have not been succesful, as they've had reliability issues (auto gearbox's are common failures). Prior to that BMW 530d's weren't bad but would blow the turbo hoses off.
the most recent acquisitions have been BMW 325d's....and they are awesome...and seemingly reliable with it.
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The Met stuck with SD1's a lot longer than we Herts types did. We'd had a mixed fleet of them and Granada 2.8's. I always preferred the 3500 SD1 as a driver's car but in terms of reliability and longevity there was no comparison. A local stately home (owned by an aristocratic gentleman who ended up doing time for an insurance fraud involving Maseratis and Ferraris) hosted an international motor industry conference hosted by Austin Rover. They were horrified to learn that we had none of their vehicles to be seen cruising around the grounds during the conference so they bunged us 2 fully liveried Rover 827 SI's. Now, they were nice. Very fast, good handling, but you got soaked when you opened the doors in the rain. Water fell straight off the roof.
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Rover 827 = Backache. Did for me anyway. Otherwise quite comfortable. Reliability good. Plenty quick enough once the torque steer had been controlled.
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The most recent acquisitions have been BMW 325d's....and they are awesome...and seemingly reliable with it.
Manual or Auto West P?
Best reg's......Martin.
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Humberside have recently acquired a very quick Lexus tinyurl.com/humbplod tinyurl.com/humbplod2
Wonder if they'll convert that to LPG too?
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Been a most interesting thread, glad we haven't got into the myriad of unmarked cars that seem to infest the roads these days....most unsporting.
Thanks for the various views so far all, one particular make of possible future replacement for my ageing MB has been crossed off, and another re-confirmed as a strong contender.
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ted - what's a Surrey top?
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A Surrey was (is) a light four wheeled horse drawn carriage with a flat frilled canvas roof.
Thanks to all our police (and ex police) drivers who responded, interesting to hear your opinions of your work cars.
The fastest I have ever travelled on the road was an end of shift 15 mile return to base in the back of a traffic car, (working with the police at the time). It was a Ford Granada, shows how long ago it was.
Edited by Old Navy on 13/07/2009 at 22:07
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The TR4As , IIRC, had a normal windscreen at the front and a proper rear window in a frame which wrapped around to meet the door windows. A hardtop filled the gap which could be stored in the boot. A black vinyl roof panel could be fitted in it's place with press studs....the Surrey top.
I don't think it had any connection with the county, but more with the famous Surrey with a fringe on top.
I definately know they didn't have isinglass curtains you could roll right down, in case there's a change in the weather !
auto.howstuffworks.com/triumph-sports-cars6.htm
Ted
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No one has thought to mention the Austin Allegros that were commonly used as Panda cars...
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Allegros as Traffic cars ?
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Ford Anglia please. Saw one at a local show a year or two ago.
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Did any of you guys drive a Rover P6 either auto or Manual...views?
Reg's.............MD
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Ford Anglia please. Saw one at a local show a year or two ago.
I saw a Anglia panda car at a old transport / autojumble show a few weeks ago, the reverse angle rear window was distinctive. Brought back memories, I passed my UK car test in a Ford Anglia. There was also a Velocette motor bike as used by the police. Neither much use for traffic duties.
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I still have my old police Velocette LE Mk3. I rode it from brand new in Jan 67.
It's still in Manchester City Police trim, in black, and it still runs well, if a little battered by service. I found it for sale in a Cheshire garage about 12 yrs ago and had to have it.
Always a couple of Panda Anglias around in Goathland.
We started with Mk2 Cortia 1300s, then Moggie Minors, moving to Mini 850s.......too small, in opinion of the beat bobbies....and the floors wore through with the heels of your boots rubbing 24/7.
Ted
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Daimler Dart was used for traf'pol by the Met' in the 60's. I remember seeing one as a kid.
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I can remember my Dad (Met Pol) telling me a tale when I was a mere slip, of being on traffic duty, waving arms type, and at one point realising a car had stopped behind him and he hadn't heard it. IIRC that was a Daimler and he said that there was the Driver and a guy in the rear with a stethoscope listening for creaks and groans etc. He spoke to the guys who said that they were on a factory test. Believe it or believe it not. That's how I remember it.
North Circ' possibly??
Trust me, I'm a Builder.
Best reg's.......MD
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