I’m in MD.
A neighbor of mine is always buying cars. I guess he fixes them up and sells them.
The latest is an unmarked ex police Crown Vic. It still has all the antennas and the light bars in the front and rear windows (nothing on top since it is unmarked). It is gray and absolutely looks like an unmarked cruiser.
This joker drives the thing around. Is that allowed?
BTW, he definitely is not in the police force. I know this because he recently did a stint in prison lol.
Unless he’s packing forbidden (usually depends on state law) police hardware like certain flashing lights &/or sirens etc., he can drive it around all day long.
I remember a black (unmarked) Crown Vic police interceptor last year on Maryland RT 50 driving 55 and slowing traffic to a crawl around it until people got close enough to see the driver was some old geezer around 80, and then they blew past him. The laughable thing in that scenario was that it was all the more savvy drivers who recognized it as an unmarked police car and slowed way down. People who were oblivious just blew past. Kind of a pisser.
I thought they always took off the lights and sirens (and certainly the “shield” from the doors). Otherwise, sure, they can drive them. I knew a gal who drove one…the police have to sell off the old ones when they get new. I hope she got a good deal on it because I’m sure they punish the vehicles.
It’s perfectly legal as long as he doesn’t use police-type emergency lights or siren. If driving something that looked like an unmarked car was illegal, many people would be in trouble.
–
Fix the cigarette lighter.
You might find this interesting.
This reminded me of this thread that I started a few years ago, which had the above as one of the major reasons that I despise Crown Vics.
Shouldn’t he be required to remove the rather obvious light bars in the front and back windows? And the antennas (numbering at least 4).
Frankly the only reason to keep this stuff on/in the car is so he can be a wannabee cop and intimidate other road users.
I owned a Crown Vic. It was nice for night cruises when I wanted to haul ass and for people to get out of my way, I suppose, but I ended up giving it to my mother-in-law. The car was a 1996 LX with only 19,000 miles on it when I inherited it from my Grandpa in 2002. When I gave it to “Mom” in 2005, it still only had 65,000 miles on it…not bad for a 10 year old car.
Let’s dispell some notions about this car first…even police interceptors are not “fast” cars. This whole “well, it has a V-8” (meaning it must be fast) notion is complete bullshit.
The car weighs almost 2 tons. Civilian versions like the one I had, despite dual exhausts only ran about 220 HP, which is less than my 2006 4200lb Grand Caravan has right now.
Secondly, they handle like shit. Terrible in wet or snow conditions. The only reason cops use them is because their rear-wheel drive understeer is very predictable, AND because police departments get a very good deal on them from Ford, their police mods included.
Police Interceptors are indeed faster than stock Crown Vics, but not alarmingly so. They run about 15 seconds in the quarter mile, and have beefed up trannys and suspensions. That’s pretty much the sum of the upgrades, besides the markings and computers/antennas that make them an actual police car.
Police cars by and large don’t have to be “really fast”, they just have to be “fast enough”. You may outrun a cruiser, but you usually cannot outrun the radio, and/or helicopters if the department cares enough to catch you.
And FYI, as of 1996, civilian Crown Vics have a fuel shut-off governor at exactly 101 mph…I checked…one has to assume that police versions do not have this feature.
Point being, Crown Vics, even in police mode, aren’t really that fast.
But as to the OP, yeah, when you see 'em, you slow down. And it sucks when it’s Grandpa going 50mph in the slow lane when you thought he was a cop.
They do punish the vehicles, but they also maintain the things excellently well - and they get rid of them young. I’d rather drive an ex-cruiser than an ex-taxi.
They also tend to have beefier brakes and other components than the equivalent civilian models - around here they do, at least.
The applicable North Caroline statute says this:
"§ 20‑137.2. Operation of vehicles resembling law‑enforcement vehicles unlawful; punishment.
(a) It is unlawful for any person other than a law‑enforcement officer of the State or of any county, municipality, or other political subdivision thereof, with the intent to impersonate a law‑enforcement officer, to operate any vehicle, which by its coloration, insignia, lettering, and blue or red light resembles a vehicle owned, possessed, or operated by any law‑enforcement agency.
(b) Violation of subsection (a) of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. (1979, c. 567, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 362; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14©.)"
So, the driver of such a marked/red or blue lightbarred car in NC would have to be proven to have had the intent of impersonating a LEO. What else would s/he be doing? Duh.
I wonder if the OPs window light bars are blue or red and if they are operable.
Speaking of taxis, why the hell are all the taxi cars Crown Vics too?
I asked a cabbie this one once. His answer was that they allow more legroom for people to sit in the back seat, and more trunk room for their baggage.
First, the Crown Vic is an awesome car. It’s not a sports car, but it’s probably the most comfortable thing on the road today – body on frame construction and all that. It gets decent mileage for its size, and the power is reasonable for its size. The amount of space as a driver, passenger, and rear seat passenger is amazing (being 6’2", I think about these things!). And the trunk space leaves nothing to be desired. On the other hand, it’s not sporty.
There’s a police-looking Crown Vic that I see once or twice a week. It’s got the antennas and all the gear. It also has a sticker on the back proclaiming “privately owned” and personalized plates that read “NOTSWAT” – must have had some run-ins in the past!
A lot of taxis here are ex-police cars. I’ve been in taxis that still had the dents in the inside door coverings where the bars were removed from the rear windows.
Police cars are not the only vehicles on the road with multiple antennas. Many amateur radio operators drive mobile antenna farms. Just because you don’t see a need for it doesn’t mean that it should be illegal.
I’ve seen ex-cop cars for sale at dealerships & auto auctions on many occasions. They always have had 100% of the cop gear removed. I’m wondering how the OP’s car came to be sold with all teh lights & antennas intact. Usually that stuff is pulled & reused by the department.
The SDPD and various other law enforcement agencies around San Diego County have been updating their lights in the last year or two. Some cruisers have the lights that are completely inside the vehicle (my cop neighbor tells me that, in SDPD, those are only for traffic cops right now–apparently they cut down on the risk of drunk drivers driving into the light and smashing the cruisers up, among other benefits), and I think the rest have a new kind of light bar too–it’s in a V shape. Since police-style lights are generally not illegal to own, the local fuzz probably just bought all-new ones and left the old ones attached to the old cruisers.
Some people around here keep the spotlight on their post-police Crown Vics. I think that’s just to confuse people.