In 1978, an anonymous contributor to the Queensland Police Department’s monthly journal, titled ‘Vedette’, and whom had a very wry sense of humour, sent the following observations on police vehicles and how to recognise them:
- They travel faster in all gears, especially reverse,
- They accelerate at a phenomenal rate,
- They enjoy a much shorter braking distance,
- They have a much tighter turning circle,
- They can take ramps at twice the speed of private cars,
- Battery, water, oil and tyre pressures do not need to be checked nearly as often,
- The floor is shaped just like an ashtray or rubbish tin,
- They only burn the most expensive super grade petrol,
- They do not require to be garaged at night,
- They can be driven for up to 100 km with the oil warning light flashing,
- They need cleaning less often, especially inside,
- The suspension is reinforced to allow carriage of concrete slabs and other heavy building material,
- Police cars are adapted to allow reverse gear to be engaged while the car is still moving forwards,
- The tyre walls are designed to allow bumping into and over kerbstones,
- Unusual and alarming engine noises are easily eliminated by the adjustment of the fitted radio volume control,
- Police cars need no security, they may be left anywhere, unlocked and with the keys in the ignition.
The contributor suggested those features were rarely found in private cars; the Editor ending with the question ‘Do the above mentioned features apply to your police vehicle?’ Today, the Assistant Curator can say unequivocally that in the 40 years since, no departmental vehicles have been used to transport concrete slabs.
Cairns Police Station with police cars and motorcycle parked out front, c1975.
Image donated to the Queensland Police Museum by Denis Costello.
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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – In The Line of Duty, in 1978” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode