I guess I don’t understand “most” of the high speed chases that occur because we already have a perfectly good and safe way to stop the suspect and usually without risking lives. If in the situation where someone will not stop for the police, the police should back-off and slow down not pursue the suspects car and use their radios to call ahead and other unit could join in and just watch until he stops somewhere, usually the person will slow down to safer speeds and will arrive at their destination sometime their own home, thinking they got away with the crime. Although in the event that someone who is driving at a high rate of speed regardless if they are being pursued or not, the police could have on their front bumper a “high pursuit claw” that would react similar like the system used on trains, tripping a claw that would quickly, upon “bumping” the car, release and catch under the back bumper of the suspects car “grabbing it”. Then while applying the brakes on the police cruiser to slow down and stop the car kind of like throwing out an anchor. Also this “claw” could have an electronic activated system to kill the engine of the pursued car. I think this could be used effectively and in a safe manor. What do you think?
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I think there are too many variables in design & height of the bumpers for a "one size fits all" claw to be a viable way of stopping another car.
I think that the weight of the claw system on the front of the police car would change the cornering dynamics and make it less efficient as a chase vehicle.
I think a taser-like apparatus that could be fired into the vehicle being chased to shut off the electronics would be good though.
You don't get the train stopper. The way it works is that as a stop signal is engaged, a lever pops up along the track. On the train, a device will catch the lever, and trigger emergency brakes (not to mention with somewhat standardisation of trains, and the general principal of the track-train relationship it will always hit), not to mention criminals would defeat those measures anyway, if fitted to a private automobile.
Maybe a more practical way is to place a sensor within each car in such a way that it can't be removed or tampered with (or a federal offense to remove), then all the police need to do is to choose from a make and model or license plate (I would say a general remote, but you don't want to slow down/immobilize OTHER people).
Offence or not, criminals will remove them.
How about..
a.) The ability to shoot a GPS tag onto the fleeing car- then just back off and wait while you track it relatively inexpensively.
Or, longer range...
b.) Mandate GPS trackers in all new cars wired similarly to OnStar- but instead of unlocking the car, it would slowly reduce the gas flow- letting the driver stay in control until they can stop.
All good ideas. I like the one about the sensor. RFID (radio frequency identification) tags are already in use in stores. Make it part of the car or license plate & whenever the car passed a sensor, it could be tracked. Wouldn't just work for "bad" guys. Could also use to catch speeders...5 seconds between sensor A and sensor B means you're speeding & you get a ticket in the mail. BEEG BROTHER EES WATCHING YOU!!!
There is a system already in development which shoots GPS trackers coated in strong adhesive at a fleeing suspect's car.
If I am not mistaken California was developing a device which would bake the car's computer using microwaves fired from a helicopter (at frequencies which don't cook the suspect).
Car makers already make an optional remote kill switch for the engines that police can activate.
But if you wanted to do something with the claw idea, that is very dangerous for the pursuing car to intentionally hit the car in front or behind because the pursued car may weigh more, have more power, have more traction, and is far more desparate than the pursuing police car. A pursued car may slam on the brakes to initiate the air bags of the police car.
The claw may be useful for broadsiding a pursued vehicle. Crushing whatever it can clamp onto and lock the vehicles together. The weight of the police car at 90 degrees to the pursued car would make it extremely unlikely the pursued car could slip away.
Try this solution!
<http://youtube.com/watch?v=-y9UkqFOM94>
Oops try it without the formats
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-y9UkqFOM94
Can you imagine being the first auto company that tries to install anything on the vehicle that will aid the police in stopping you? How would they market this? This would be a good way to reduce sales if your problem is sales are too good!