OHTA.ca

I have seen some neat OPP vehicles lately. It's usually on sundays for some reason.

The OPP's website here says they like to use the black and white marked crown vic to make a visable presence on the road.

Lately though i saw a F250 2 times. One was the new black and white paint job. Another was the old blue and white paint job.

May i add if someone can confirm today around 300 km i saw a black unmarked charger with someone pulled over. I got a good look it looked like a police charger. Tinted windows. Black steel wheels. Had the unmarked flashing lights in his rear glass. Had someone pulled over on shoulder.Mind you this charger looked brand new it was shiny and didn't have a mark on it so maybee they are buying new vehicles.

Interesting i heard the OPP did not have any chargers. Mind you he was way out of range for a highway safety division.

Here is a neat question. Our local police forces such as Guelph police or Toronto Police service allowed to patrol 400 series highways??? Could that charger have been another police force that pulled someone over? Mind you this vehicle had no marking what so ever that it was police except for his flashing lights on the inside. It didnt even have a reflective bumper. If he was on way to emergency there is no way anyone would have known he was a LEO.

I can understand police forces needing pickup trucks and SUV's. But why the heck would you use a F250/F350 for speed enforcement on a 3 lane section of the 401. To me that makes no sense its slow bulky and hard to maneuver. Some might even think they can run from it. Wouldn't it be dangerous to other drivers on the road to chase someone down in a vehicle like that?

Besides i think the marked crown vics look the nicest. I think the charger would be an excellent vehicle for highway patrol iw as surprised i never saw any till today.

Just some random questions.

It is my guess every detachment has a bunch of vehicles. Depending on the day and how many officers are out they're is a choice of vehicles. Meaning that they're is not a unlimited amount of vehicles to drive and one officer gets stuck with a shitty vehicle

I always wondered what most cops seem to love the most. I am also guessing you guys have limited budgets so they would not want to buy any vehicles that are not reliable and break down easily.

I heard the chargers broke down to much and the transmissions were bad. Some officers in other forums seem to say they didnt think it had as much room.

I'm 6'0" and I never have any trouble fitting into any larger vehicle. Japanese subcompacts (Corolla, Civic), do not have enough headroom for me, and legroom is too small. But Chevys like Malibu or Impala, Pontiacs G6, Grand AM, Grand Prix, Bonneville all provide an ample room for my persona. Even Camry and Accord do a great job.

Mazda3 fits me and I'm 6 foot.....zoomzoom

tdrive2 wrote:Our local police forces such as Guelph police or Toronto Police service allowed to patrol 400 series highways???

If they want to, yes. Toronto usually just uses the 400-Series to get from point A to point B, but unless they're Traffic Services, they don't pull people over unless the person is really driving like a sociopath. York Regional Police do traffic enforcement on the 407 and 404 a lot. Peel Police set up, every now and then, on the 409 with radar/lidar. The Ottawa Police stop people all the time on the Queensway (417 through Ottawa). Cornwall Police used to be told "don't do any enforcement on the 401, that's OPP territory," even though they could.

As far as the F250 goes... can't say how the police would react, but if someone tries to run, methinks that a less bulky vehicle would be one radio call away...

I wonder what they seem to have against imports.

I think the vics are still the vehicle of choice for the OPP. I think they received the highest crash rating for a rear end collision at 75 mph.

It is my guess if your an officer and you patrol these things day and night the most important is how comfortable and how safe they are.

Around the GTA the vehicle of choice definitely seems to be the marked vic's. In the GTA the only OPP are highway safety divisions anyways. Wouldn't seem to make alot of sense to have SUV's and trucks.....

On a second though are they V6 chargers or V8 chargers?

Main thing to consider is comfort for the officer. We spend a vast majority of 12hrs inside a vehicle, once in awhile due to calls for service it could be even longer. It has to be have enough room for officers of all heights, plus have the room to handle the equipment.

- Crown Vic is the choice, but we have been told that production ends in 2011.

- Impala is ok without a cage, the front wheel drive just does not take the heavy pounding of braking, curbs, ditches and the brakes on them wear out very quickly as compared to a Crown Vic. It does handle very well.

- Charger - V6/V8 pending on what was ordered. Both are faster than a crown vic. Visibility is poor in the charger, to the front the headliner is low, to the right, left rear "C" pillar area is too bulky and blocks vision, even worse with the cage installed. It handles very well.

- Tahoe - Big, lots of room, factory lowered 4" from a civilian Tahoe for stability. Handling is good. Ride is rough/bouncy compared to any car.

- F250 these are specialty vehicles (for truck enforcement and traffic accident reconstruction) they often have radar (dual antenna) specifically for those vehicles blasting up from the rear

Each office has their allotted cruisers. We have 12. 9 marked crown vic, , 1 Tahoe marked, 1 unmarked Impala for detective, Ford Excursion for marine. Us senior officers generally drive the same cruiser every shift, rookies then can pick from the left overs.