Color vs. Cops
 

Conventional wisdom is that bright colors...i.e. red or yellow...cars get more speeding tickets. Is that really true? Or is this just that guys who have those color cars drive faster. I wonder if these colors really 'attract' tickets. Love to hear from some law enforcement types on this.

Bought a metallic red IROC in my younger days.

Pull up to my fathers house one day and a buddy of his who is on highway patrol is sitting there.

Get out of the car and he says, "nice color, we're gonna see that coming for miles"

I'd say it makes a difference.

Scott

I recall reading somewhere that
 

Red = Most Tickets
White = Least Tickets

Had several cars of each color and my empirical experience was that this is true.

Re: Color vs. Cops
 

My Audi S4 Avant (wagon) is BRIGHT yellow. You'd think it would draw additional attention, but I've not found that to be the case at all. No additional attention on the road in my experience from cops or the public at large really over the color.

I think it's more HOW you drive than what color your car is.

I have had my guards red p-car for almost 2 years and no tickets (knocking on wood). I think that its possible to think that driving a red car might reduce the amount of tickets you get because you know subconsciously it is very visible and that the officers will see you. However, you also look like an easy target so they in fact avoid you. Just my opinion.

If i have to paint my car it'll be satin black.

It would be easy to check this by analyzing ticket info and comparing that to the relative proportions of those colors in the car popn. Anectdotes are not gonna show anything.

But I suspect it's true - I always have nice soothing blue colors for my 911s. My Gulf Blue one never got me a ticket, and I am going to get my red '73 painted Gemini Blue.

It is known that red cars are more likely to be involved in accidents than are other colors. That doesn't tell us why. Ins. Co.s - who did this study - suspected that more agressive drivers chose red.... AFAIK they don't charge more for a red color.

From Traffic School several years ago - White cars = more tickets. Mostly because there are more white cars on the road - law of averages.

I think once the cops see the gray hair they seem to leave you alone.

red or yellow =more tickets
silver, black or grey=mor accidents

Okay, since I've been using all of you for your Pcar knowledge, finally a topic I can lend some experience to...

Having been a cop for the last 13 years, I can tell you that colors don't make any difference when picking out potential stops.

There are tons of other factors which peak the interest of uniform officers. There is not one sole indicator which would cause the average officer to stop a particular vehicle. (This can be argued in the odd instance however, as cases have shown that 'some' officers have been guilty of racial profiling etc...)

But, as I was saying, there are all types of people in all types of vehicles. A number of criteria come into play though. Fancy cars will get a second look. But a fancy car with flourescents, and a thumping pair of subs, driven by the owner's 17 year old kid is far more likely to get stopped than the mature owner driving his nice car, whether slightly exceeding the limit or not.

I've engaged in many duties. From static radar operation, to mobile selective enforcement, to interdiction. For static radar operations, you are basically picking up the cars based on speed, not what they look like or who's driving. You generally have your readings before you even can tell the color of the car or anything else about it.

For selective enforcement, numerous criteria are used. The types of vehicle, the time of day, the location, modifications, signs of mechanical safety issues, seat belts, tags, to name a few.

And for interdiction, well we would need a whole lot more time that anybody's gonna take reading this to explain how this works.

So to sum it up.

NO, color has no bearing on tickets, or being stopped by the police.

Jim

hmmm, i wonder if radar absorbing paint comes in spary paint cans? :p

I believe the Area 51 gift shop probably has some radar absorbing paint...:D

Ditto on Copper's answer... although when I performed traffic duties the general appearance of a car could sometimes earn them a second look. Often a crappy/rusty hulk = dangerous/unroadworthy.

Working on the water it's the same, it's not the boat itself but rather the manner in which it's being operated.

I wanna police in a boat too!!!

Let's trade for a day.

Watersports for Narcotics.

Jim
:D

Copper - Good to know I have some company here. Just rode my m/c thru Ont. in July. Anyhow, I was a m/c cop for 10 yrs, a Pursuit driving instuctor for 20 and a radar instuctor before I got promoted to Commander of Detectives. The only bearing color MIGHT have is that an Officer on traffic patrol would see a brightly painted vehcile sooner than an pale colored object. Many car buffs seem to think the police are out to get them. From my 30+ yrs of police experience - the biggest problem is police officers that are lazy and don't want to stop anyone. This may surprise some, but as a police supervisor and later an administrator, you are far more likely to not be pulled over by an officer that "just doesn't care" than by an over-zealous young officer trying to meet a "quota"....I'm like the rest of you - I occassionally speed in my P-car or one of my many motorcycles. I don't get stopped for even 1% of the violations I commit. The few times I do get stopped, I have to just say - Hey, If I have it coming, write me up...That's the game we all play...If you wanna dance, you have to pay the band....

Next time you're in Ontario, if you're near london (midway between Toronto and Windsor/Detroit) let me know.

I have been riding sport bikes for the last 18 years. Sold mine to a friend at the beginning of the season. (CBR 1000)

Must say though, with the Pcar, I really didn't miss it. It's much easier to stop for groceries in the Pcar.

Stay Safe

Jim

Fishcop, since we're both in Law Enforcement, and both have 69 911T's, it only makes sense that we arrange a work exchange program. I'll go live/work in Australia for a year and you come here.

:D

Jim - Rode thur London on that trip. Have 2 or 3 friends in the Loundon area. I was going to the Blue Knight Convention just east of Montreal; campaining to be the International Secretary. I'll give you a shout the next ride thru....Let me know if ur ever in Washington State...

FISHCOPY: I'll be back in Queensland in Nov '05, visiting a good friend that a retired NSW M/c cop. Send me a PM and we'll get together of a beer....A XXXX or Foster's - they're all good....


.Bob S.

If you can't tell the "color of the car or anything else about it," how do you know you've stopped the right vehicle? If the vehicle is so far away you can't tell the color, and you're using radar with say, a 3 degree wide beam, how do you know you're getting a return from the vehicle that you can't see?

Dan

Jim - Rode thur London on that trip. Have 2 or 3 friends in the Loundon area. I was going to the Blue Knight Convention just east of Montreal; campaining to be the International Secretary. I'll give you a shout the next ride thru....Let me know if ur ever in Washington State....

FISHCOP: I'll be back in Queensland next November to see an old m/c cop friend of my that just moved from Sydney to the area of Frazier Island. PM me and I'll buy you a beer - either a XXXX or Fosters, their all good...Bob S.

I think the game has progressed to long distance speed detection. This must take some of the subjectiveness out of it, if not most.

Dan

There are basically two types of radar in use. One is the older Muniquip handheld type K band I think (been out of uniform for a few years) and the other is the laser.

The laser has a scope and small red dot like a sniper's scope. You put the dot on the grille of the car and get the reading. No mistaking what car it was. You get your reading, and watch it approach. Once it gets closer, you'll be able to make out what it is, the color etc...

The older type relies more on officer determination of which vehicle it is targetting, although the beam is fairly narrow within a reasonable distance. However, this is why people used to say, if you speed, travel behind someone else so they get picked up first, as this radar generally returns the reading on the first moving target. (A little more complicated than this, but a decent generalization.). That is why you will often find them used on hills, curves, etc, as you can pick off a car as it is on it's own, before the others crest the hill or round the corner. But as always, the officers experience is a large part of it. The radar readings are not the only evidence, you need the qualifications of the officer, the calibrations, the experience, visual observations of excessive speed etc...

Here, it is not allowed to "fish", where you leave the radar running and stop whoever triggers it. You need a visual confirmation of an excessive speed and then a confirmation of this observation with the radar.

So, next time you're on the road, look up ahead, you'll see cars, you won't know what color they are, or who's in them. If you know your cars, you may be able to distinguish make from familiarity, but then watch it as it approaches and you will be able to make out it's features. That's how cops do it. Observation. They maintain an eye on the vehicle they obtained the reading on.

Hope this helps...

Jim

Zeke

It's always a "one up" game.

Before radar detectors, the radar units were always live, with no trigger. They sent a constant signal and obtained continuous readings.

However, with the development of radar detectors, any car running a detector within a reasonable range of an operating radar unit would pick it up constantly.

Thus, why they went to triggered units. Now a radar detector won't sound until the radar is activated, but by then the beam has already been triggered and is reading the target.

Due to the longer ranges they've built into detectors, they've come up with laser, which operates differently and can't be detected by older detectors and sends a very tight beam to a specific point. This point is targetted through a sniper scope and up to a kilometer away. So you can be tagged by laser and not come up to the spot where the officer is for about a minute.

These games have been played forever... and always will be.

Radar --> Radar Detector --> Radar Detector Detector --> Radar Detector Detector Detector... You get it.

Jim

I'll chime in as well. Color makes no difference. It is the way the person is driving the car. Quick lane changes combined with speed usually grabs anyone's attention, including cops.

Interestingly when I made move to water work we also used the Custom Falcon radars before moving to current Lidar (laser) technology. It is illegal to operate a vessel on certain waterways at excessive speeds because of damaging wash and rare marine fauna ergo the speed detection work...

The one thing I noticed is just how difficult it is to get a "fix" on a boat due to it's shape and the wash that they throw. I eventually worked out that it was better to hit the stern of the vessel as it travelled away as this is a larger flatter profile.

This brings me to one small "colour" issue. It is conceivable that a "brighter" colour such as yellow or white might make it easier to get a reflective fix with a laser over a greater distance. In that case the brighter colours might be at a disadvantage, however we would only be talking a few feet/meters difference.

Bob, definitely let me know as you get closer. I'll drink with anybody :D I love Fraser Island, used to be part of my old stomping ground.

Copper, I am seriously interested in working in Canada on exchange in the future. I now work in natural resource investigations (I kinda like animals and plants more than people now if you know what I mean ;) ) and obviously the two countries are different, but many resource and environment issues are the same.

Fish

Just to clarify, having the color assist you in being better able to target, means the craft has already peaked your interest and has become a target right? So we're still on the same page as far as the color not having any weight on whether it becomes a target or not...

Jim

Fish

You want wildlife? We got lots...

But I'd love to see Koalas and Kangaroos.

I get tired of geese, deer, moose and bear.

Jim

Fish

I'll live in your house and drive your 69 and you can live and drive in mine...

It'll be just like home... But different.

:D

Yep, the "target" has already piqued my interest, so you are right.

Man do I have kangaroos, wombats koalas, emus and echidnas (spikey ant eaters) for you!

Wanna drive my wife too? (man I'm in trouble now :rolleyes: )

I think I count 5 officers, all saying color does not affect whom they stop or ticket. But 1 person did say he might see (or pay more attention) to a bright car.

But how do you know you aren't more likely? If it is an unconsious effect, you will not be aware of it. That's why I say look at the actual stop (or ticket) data. That's the only way to reallly tell. OK, so now who wants to get their Master's degree?

Randy

I bet if you pulled a months worth of tickets from 5 different jurisdictions and charted the tickets by vehicle color, you would get very different results from each.

There is no unconcious color effect. There is a "gut instinct" that all cops have that attract you to a person or a vehicle for unknown reasons, but these are usually figured out afterwards. ie// the non-lookers, the pull offs, the won't pass me's... Through experience, these peak your interest subconciously. I would argue that vehicles are stopped more or less frequently for reasons only of color.

Fish

Drive... hmmmm. You may have opened up a can of worms there.
But if you want, you can send me pictures.
Oh, and we don't have Vegemite here. You'd have to bring your own.

Jim

Randy,

The comment earlier was not that a cop would pay more attention to a brightly colored car, but that they would notice it sooner than a pale one. This was in the discussion re static radar and distance.

Think of an approaching vehicle, shiny red or yellow would stand out more than dull grey or primer... But I'd stop the primered car before the shiny one. More chance of equipment/safety violations.

Jim

White.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1096873225.jpg

It depends on how fast I'm going, but no tickets yet in the Pcar. However, I got a speeding ticket in my white Grand Caravan.

BTW, avoid the "comedy" traffic schools. They aren't funny in the least. It's actually more painful with a joker class instructor who thinks he is but isn't. 8 hrs. is cruel and unusual punishment.

Sherwood

White cars don't get ticketed - that would be 4 points to the other player for a 'foul'

I'm one of those guys that follow behind the fastest car about 1/4 mile. Sometimes the "bait" gets tagged 2-4 times a day. I like following a left lane SUV 'cause it seems they are of the greatest number getting tagged. The "kids car" look is another car I like to follow. I guess I can be observed doing the bait's speed and have been lucky?

I also will go somewhat fast if a very long line of big trucks is in the right lane and I have a clear left lane. I figure they are making it difficult to pick me?

Ronin

In regards to the trucks, you are correct when it comes to the older radar units. However, the laser can pick you out of a group of half a dozen vehicles, as long as there is a sight line to some portion of your car. This is easy for the highway guys who sit up on bridges and radio to the cars ahead...

The sneakiest tactic I ever saw was a highway guy here, hiding on foot under a bridge, behind a pillar. He had a handheld connected to a belt worn battery pack. Picked the cars off as nobody could see him, and he radioed ahead to the 4 chase cars about a mile up...

Jim

What about newer radar units?

yeah.. laser is a PIA. I remove my front plate when I leave NY state. Don't know if it helps.

The sneakest tactic I ever saw was one HP picking off cars by waving the speeders off the road while he was on foot. About 2 miles down the road was another HP in a shopping mall area getting the radar detector speeders who figured the coast was clear and the detector beeping was the shopping center radar signals.. scary

I'm usually very careful driving the Porsche or the (red) Ferrari. I know they stand out. What gets me is my complacency with a much slower vehicle, like my Pathfinder truck. I often don't realize if I'm speeding in the truck because it takes so long to get up to speed.

On the other hand, my wife's 5-Series is a dangerous car. I was going 110 the other day, and it felt like I was doing 35 in the truck. That car is so smooth, you don't realize how fast you're going. At least the 911 and the 308 give you the feeling of going fast...

-Wayne

Yes that happens whit the new premium sedans you don't feel the speed until some cop pull you over.