The National Driver BLOG

Cars are not only becoming more faster, they are becoming more sophisticated in manoeuvre. The rise of innovation lead to prosperity but in the wrong hands, leads to danger.

In a police pursuit, whereby catching up to a vehicle and attempting to stop it from causing more havoc and danger the police have to resort to many tactical measures.

Nearly 40% of high-speed police pursuits result in crashes. Police are finding more ways to safely end high speed chases using new technologies and classic methods in order to minimize risk to the general public.

1. Tyre-Deflation Devices

Police use tyre-deflation devices called ‘stingers’ or ‘spike strips’. These are one of the most effective tools police have at their disposal when attempting to neutralise a high-speed pursuit.

Stingers consist of 3 or 4 feet of interlinked tubes that contain quills or hollow spikes. When thrown in the path of a fleeing vehicle, the tyres will begin to deflate but aren’t destroyed completely, thus reducing the risk of a crash or other accident.

2. Tagging and Tracking Devices

In situations when a vehicle flees at a rate of speed too high to chase, a tracking device can be used instead to minimize risk of killing innocent people in the chase. An air launcher with a laser scope is used to fire a tracking projectile which can then be tracked on a digital roadmap so patrol units who can meet the fleeing vehicle at its destination.

3. Pursuit Immobilization Technique

The pursuit immobilization technique allows officers to stop a fleeing vehicle by tapping into the back of it with the front of their cruiser with just enough force to force it into a spin. Though the maneuver can be risky, it can come in handy when traffic is sparse.

4. Deadly Force

If the pursuit has been ongoing for a while and poses increasingly greater risk to innocent bystanders, police may fire their weapons at the driver of the fleeing vehicle if given the chance, or at least their tyres, however this is likely to be avoided if possible since gunfire increases the risk of accidental death to bystanders as well.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that potentially deadly force may be used to end a high speed chase when it poses a risk to the public, as demonstrated in the 2007 case of Timothy Scott vs. Victor Harris.

Longest Car Chase

History’s longest-running car chase was from Germany and lasted for 620 miles. Three armed men were arrested by Ukranian police after a 2-day chase through Germany and Poland. The 1,000km (620 mile) pursuit began after a bank robbery in Wrestedt, Germany.

Most Famous Car Chase

Ah, good ole’ OJ Simpson. Up to 20 Police cruisers and helicopters followed the now famous white Ford Bronco down I-405 in California at 56 km/h (35 miles per hour) for nearly an hour and a half. With news helicopters following, the chase was viewed live by 95 million people!

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sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OJ_Simpson_car_chase#Ford_Bronco_chase

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_chase

http://www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/Unsorted/POLICE%20PURSUITS.pdf

http://www.ehow.com/info_8595322_tools-stop-high-speed-chase.html

http://people.howstuffworks.com/police-chase2.htm

http://www.ehow.com/info_8477764_police-techniques-fleeing-vehicles.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081227192017AACSppC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1908767.stm