Spot an Unmarked/Undercover Police Car
Steps
- Look at the vehicles lighting setup. An unmarked police cruiser will normally still have tons of lights, they're just hidden away. Try looking for matte grey areas on the car if you can. They will normally be housings for lights. If you see these housings in the grille, on the sun visors or on the wing mirrors, there's a good chance that car is a police cruiser.
- Take a look at the inside of the car. There are two things to look for: A. Look for a computer, radar lasers, citation makers. All of these will indicate a disguised police patrol car. and B. Most undercover officers will travel with a partner. That means when you look at the car, there may be two occupants. Don't just go off this though, as it is way too easy to mistake a regular family in a GMC Terrain as a cop.
- Observe the vehicle's registration plates; Police will have some type of special insignia on the plate regular civilian plates don't have. For Example, in Colorado, "GVT", which stands for government, will be located on the far left of the license plate before the letters/numbers. In California, police vehicles will have a "CA EXEMPT" or "California Exempt" plate. This means the vehicle is exempt from emissions and license plate stickers. I won't go through all of the plates, but just search your states police plates and you'll be good.
- Analyze the vehicle body overall. A. Police like a very clean police car, to make themselves look professional. B. Police vehicles have a lot of telecommunications on-board, and need a lot of antennas. Look for any abnormally placed or abnormally large number of antennas. Stock vehicles usually only need one, especially modern vehicles. So if you see a Dodge Durango with 7 antennas on it, step off the throttle to avoid a ticket.
- Analyze the vehicle brand. Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge all work closely with the police forces. However, sometimes Audi and Infiniti may lend some vehicles. Overall, most departments will use these vehicles as undercover cop cars: Chevrolet Caprice PPV 2010-present, Ford Crown Victoria, Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, Ford Excursion, Ford F-150-F-350, Dodge Charger, Dodge Durango, Dodge Dart and Dodge Challenger.
- Finally, analyze the officer. Most officers, even undercover officers, will probably have police insiginias on their uniform. They may also have an over-the-shoulder handy radio. Also, most officers will have a clean cut or buzzcut hairdo, with a clean or stubble mustache.
Tips
- Just drive the law and you won't need this list.
- Only analyze the supposed police car if you have time. Keeping your eyes on the road and not totaling your car is more important than getting a ticket because you bended the law.
- Use this acronym to remember the list. LIGHTbulb, INTERIOR finish, Dinner PLATES, BODY care, bread BRAND, HAIR of the face.
- You can also use the first letter of the last acronym to create another one. Lincoln Irritates Papa By Beating up his Pet Hare
Warnings
- Due to factors beyond my control, DO NOT hate on me if you analyze a car for nothing. I am only here to try to help.
