Toward a manifesto on unmarked carsWASHINGTON STATE PATROL, use unmarked vehicle with smaller Larsen Antennas and concealed Lights. the WSP has some that are even dented up looking but fully legal...
In an incident a couple of years ago where I didn't stop for an unmarked car, both the officer, and later, my so-called defense attorney said that I had no valid reason to doubt that it was police car. After all, they said, it was broad daylight on a well-traveled road (the Dulles Toll Road in Virginia at 10 AM). And never mind that I had been going 70, the average speed on that road (people slow down to 65, 10 over the limit, only when a visible radar trap is in place).
ITEM: On Feb. 11, in the afternoon, on the Washington Beltway, a police impersonator in an unmarked car stopped and robbed a motorist. See the third item in
In today's world, authentication works both ways. If your grandmother has to show a photo ID to board an airliner, you, a mostly law-abiding but sometimes daydreaming driver, have a right to see widely-accepted tokens of authentication before you stop your car for anybody. A car marked with no more than pretty blue flashing lights in the dashboard is not acceptable.
I have no problem with unmarked cars doing surveillance, but sensible police departments will ban their use in actual traffic stops.
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