Unmarked police vans?

[JackMan]

Someone told me they saw a white panel van on route 128 near Waltham with police lights blinking under the rear view mirror and inside the rear glass. Other than that, it looked like any other contractor's van, even had a ladder strapped to the roof.

Anyone know if that's legit? I don't think the police should be encouraging people to pull over for unmarked panel vans, especially women. I hope that wasn't in fact an imposter with bad intentions...

[MissTwisties]

I have seen a van before pulling over a car on the highway. But you're right, I would be scared myself to "obey" and pull over if an unmarked van was after me...

On another note, yesterday on my way back from Boston, I have seen 2 pick-ups trucks on the Masspike, unmarked. They looked like ordinary pick ups trucks, with a "Leer" top on the pickup box. One was dark blue, the other one white. I could have been stoped by the white one, I was going about 130km/h (about what...80-85 milses an hour?) and I noticed his license plate with "state" and then 4 digits next to it...so I pull behind him and followed him... When he took an exit, you could see the small logo of the police on his side door.

Just shows that you cannot trust that only big ole Crown Vics are cops....they are being sneaky these days and using any type of vehicles to catch people speeding...

[Hamburgler]

Wouldn't be suprised about the vans, i've seen people pulled over by a black tahoe/suburban or something like that on 95 before. They're taking the fun out of it, too many different police cars to keep track of.

[SSearchVT]

Vermont has an all black Avalanche with tint they use on I-89... What's next, a blue minivan?

[bump909]

although it makes me look twice, i still think it's fairly easy to spot most unmarked vehicles.

things to look for in most cases:

- solid colored, clean looking new(er) american vehicles
- tinted windows (hides lights, equipment, and cops in uniform)
- extra antenna
- black steelies with chrome center caps (normally it's not hubcaps or alloy wheels)


i'm always careful around vehicles that look like this or are driving suspiciously. obvious cars to look out for are CV's, impalas, tauruses, explorers, expeditions, and the gm varieties as well.


my rational is if you haul ass by one of these unmarked LEOs then you deserve to get busted.

[benVFR]

Yep.. they still stick out a bit just on appearance and they generally drive in an extremely assertive & semi-agressive manner that helps spot them.

[bump909]

speaking of LEO's driving semi-aggressive.. you ever witness a driver in the left lane that either doesn't notice the statey right behind them or is just too stupid to pull over? it's fun to watch just how close the trooper gets up on their ass. i'm always hoping to see a PIT maneuver.

[slaps76]

They do have those vans. Buddy of mine has seen them pull people over.

[Pearldog]

saw that van last night with lights (and ladder) on...Rt 3 headed N around 4:30

[BigShel]

Well, in my line of work all I can say is stealth will bring the Commonwealth a hole bunch of wealth this summer so please watch yourself out there.

[TIMMYDUCK]

Originally posted by SSearchVT
Vermont has an all black Avalanche with tint they use on I-89... What's next, a blue minivan?

I have seen that bad boy out there myself.

[rjh200]

So far this month I have seen 3 different Impalla's, an intrepid, an explorer and a couple random 'marked' vehicles on 495 over a 10 mile stretch. The impalla's and Intrepid COULD NOT be identified if the blues were not on. The tint was factory and the lights were hidden very very well.

[ultraTwist]

It's my understanding that the MA State Police are going after road rage very strongly and that in the last two years have only bought unmarked cars to help deal with it. I've seen several very different unmarked cars in the last year. They may even slightly provoke you by tailgaiting to see how you react.

[bump909]

i remember seeing on the news that they were going after people who might be provoking road rage.. like people traveling too slowly in the left lane.. or maybe i was just imagining that.

[benVFR]

Still haven't seen much above 0 police presence on 128 even though they put up some electronic messages about road rage.

They must be going after 495 first? (Higher speed? Safer areas to pull people over?)

[bump909]

i also see little to no police presence as well on 128. i travel from lynn to waltham everyday.. normally cruising around 85-90mph when possible.

[Tabby]

Road Rage be damned. If I am on the road and an officer starts to tailgate me, I will slow that sucker down right to a crawl if I have to. If I am on my bike, he is seriously threatening my life by getting that close. I wouldn't have a problem going to court on that one. The laws of physics don't give a damn who is behind the wheel.

[sanfelice]

Originally posted by Tabby
Road Rage be damned. If I am on the road and an officer starts to tailgate me, I will slow that sucker down right to a crawl if I have to. If I am on my bike, he is seriously threatening my life by getting that close. I wouldn't have a problem going to court on that one. The laws of physics don't give a damn who is behind the wheel.

yeah, my same thought. how does the law of no tailgating apply here?

oh, yeah, that's right! laws don't apply to cops! how stupid of me.

[ancosta]

Originally posted by bump909
i also see little to no police presence as well on 128. i travel from lynn to waltham everyday.. normally cruising around 85-90mph when possible.

+1

95S btwn Canton & RI is also generally empty.