Six new SAPOL patrol vehicles will operate across metropolitan and regional roads with markings designed to be harder to spot
South Australia Police has rolled out six new shadow patrol cars aimed at discouraging dangerous driving across the state.
The new vehicles carry reflective, colour-matched subdued police markings matched to the body colour of each vehicle. In daylight, those markings are harder to notice, though police say they will still reflect at night when caught in headlights. Unlike fully unmarked police cars, these vehicles still display police markings, though they are intended to be less obvious from a distance and harder for motorists to identify quickly than regular patrol cars.
South Australia Police say they will be sent to both metropolitan and regional locations and used to target motorists involved in offences such as alcohol and drug driving, speeding, inattentive driving, and dangerous driving.
Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens said the added vehicles would boost SAPOL’s road policing capability and back its continuing work to cut road trauma.
“These vehicles are about road safety and giving police another capability to detect dangerous driving before it results in tragedy,” Commissioner Stevens said.
“With 61 lives already lost on South Australian roads this year, we cannot afford complacency. Every fatality represents a person who did not make it home and families whose lives have been changed forever.”
He said the cars would also serve as a warning to drivers.
“They will also have a deterrence effect. If people know police may be on the road in vehicles that are not immediately obvious from a distance, they may think twice before speeding, driving affected by alcohol or drugs, using their phone, or taking risks behind the wheel.”
The six vehicles consist of two Subaru Outbacks, two Toyota Klugers, and two Toyota Landcruiser 300 Series vehicles.
They will be deployed in routine road policing duties as well as targeted enforcement operations throughout South Australia, including Operation Safe Speed and Operation High Impact.
Each one will carry standard Highway Patrol and Road Policing gear, including speed detection equipment, alcohol and drug testing equipment, and safety equipment.
SAPOL said the new shadow patrol fleet will complement, rather than replace, its existing high-visibility road policing presence.
“If you do the right thing on the road, these new shadow patrol cars should not concern you – instead you should be encouraged knowing we are taking every opportunity to hold dangerous road users to account,’’ Commissioner Stevens said.
