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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Government/Legal , Audi , Police/Emergency Switzerland, the same country whimsical enough to bring us yodeling and cuckoo clocks, takes a decidedly draconian approach when it comes to speeding. Speeding that would get you a stern talking to and a big ticket in the U.S. will get you three days in jail , a 1,000 Swiss franc fine (about $850 USD), and a fine of 20% to 35% of your net monthly salary. To watch over the potentially speeding populace, the Swiss police have added a raft of Audi S4s with laser radar to their arsenals. The black Audis with the tinted windows can detect your speed while they are driving behind you, in the opposing direction, or parked by the side of the road. If you're going to take a spin in the canton, save your wild abandon for the chocolate, restrain yourselves on the roads. Hat tip to Jerome! Gallery: Swiss unmarked Audi S4 radar cars [Source: Car Platform ] Switzerland using fleet of undercover Audi S4s with high-tech...
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Filed under: Etc. , Government/Legal , Porsche , Police/Emergency Click above for a high-res gallery of the Hoover P.D. Porsche In a twist on the great circle of life, a motorist has his Porsche 911 searched during a traffic stop by Hoover, Alabama police, and they find 10 kilos of cocaine in two hidden compartments. The case traipses through the court system for over a year, the bad guy goes away, and the car is handed over to the police department. The police then take their new 911 to the paint shop, have it dressed in department colors, throw on a wing, light bar, and rear window lights. Voila. A car donated by a criminal now meant to deter - and perhaps catch - other criminals. Beyond the blue and silver paint job, the car's other decals read "Seized" and "911 Never Forget." The police chief said the car is planned for publicity rounds, to help kids understand what can happen to them if they go for fast money. But if you're an adult, you might want to scratch...
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Filed under: Etc. , Government/Legal , Japan , Humor In Japan's Kanagawa prefecture, it looks like you can add 'police sketch artist' the list of occupations being killed by technology. The authorities there evidently skipped the pad and pencil and went straight to the Nintendo Wii when they had to come up with an image of the perpetrator, using the Mii digital avatar tool. It would almost be more believable if the police were actually looking for an avatar that had escaped its console and gone on a joyride, rather than looking for a human being who looks like an avatar that looks a little surprised and a little high. Oh, and the sign says "This man is wanted for a hit and run - if you see him please report him to Kanagawa police immediately." You might start your search in Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2 . As comical as this is now, mark our words: We haven't seen the last of this. [Source: Kotaku ] Mii sought in Japanese hit-and-run originally appeared...
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Filed under: Etc. , Humor There aren't enough police in some areas of Nigeria, so vigilante groups have formed to take up the slack. When vigilantes in Kwara State saw two men trying to carjack a Mazda 323, they went after the baddies. One of the men escaped, but the other man, cornered... um, how do we say this... turned himself into a goat. (That's the actual goat/suspect pictured.) Even as a goat, "he" was apparently just as easy to catch, and the vigilantes took the goat to the police station. According to Reuters, a police spokesman said "We cannot confirm the story, but the goat is in our custody. We cannot base our information on something mystical. It is something that has to be proved scientifically, that a human being turned into a goat." Yet according to Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper, which first reported the story, a police spokesman "said the goat 'armed robbery suspect' will not be left off the hook until investigations into the...
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Filed under: Gadgets , Government/Legal , Tech The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate has been working with a research firm in Arizona that has come up with the Safe Quick Undercarriage Immobilization Device (SQUID). The SQUID is designed to safely, non-lethally stop drivers trying to elude the police. Here's how it works. The SQUID disc is placed in the middle of the road, and a remote operator triggers a two-stage explosion when the getaway car gets close to it. The first explosion sends barbed straps flying out away from the disc, which get hooked on the wheels and undercarriage when the car drives over them. The second explosion occurs when the SQUID detects engine heat directly overhead and sends a burst of "sticky tendrils" that cling the straps to the axles and driveshaft. Within 500 feet, the axles can't turn any more and the car skids to a halt. The key now is to make it lighter, stronger and cheaper. Last year the...
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Filed under: Etc. , Government/Legal A man named Lonnie Ray Davis was pulled over by Michigan police. When they searched his car, they found an open alcohol container, crack, a wad of cash, a stun gun, and a .38 caliber handgun. He was, of course, arrested. But the reason they pulled him over has become a constitutional law issue: Davis had a Tweety Bird ornament dangling from his rear view mirror, and Michigan law forbids dangling things that "obstruct the vision of the driver of the vehicle." Davis' argument was that the Tweety Bird didn't obstruct his vision, so the cops had no right to pull him over, and therefore the items they found should be suppressed. The 6th Court of Appeals initially struck down the Michigan law since it does not define "to what degree the driver's vision must be obstructed or for how long." Noting that a great many cars have objects dangling from their mirrors, and so may be in unwitting violation of the law, "the statute...
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