# Police car "Cruise Lights"

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [February 16, 2020, 10:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627 "2020-02-16T10:50:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 13\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 10:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/1 "2020-02-16T10:50:07Z")

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I’ve not seen any here in Manatee County, but Hillsborough County to my north, is trying them out.

The cruise lights are a feature which illuminate small parts of the regular emergency lights and they operate at reduced brightness and do not flash. They are always on, day and night.

The purpose of cruise lights is to make the police more visible in order to help reduce criminal activity. Our local police do things to increase police presence, like parking unused cars in different places and setting up those LED signs that indicate the speed limit and let drivers see their speed as they approach them.

I know it won’t be long until our local law enforcement gets them since they are all in when it comes to “visibility”.

> **[Hillsborough Sheriff Testing Cruise Lights On Patrol Cars](https://patch.com/florida/bloomingdale/hillsborough-sheriff-testing-cruise-lights-patrol-cars)**
>
> The sheriff's office is testing cruise lights, which are always on, because studies show they reduce crime and accidents.

  
**At the link above is a video that shows the lights in use and talks about a study done on “cruise lights”.**

**Have you seen them in use anywhere?**

**Do you think they are (or would be) a good idea?**  
_ **CSA** _  
🌴 🕶 🌴

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**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 10:58am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/2 "2020-02-16T10:58:50Z")

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I like the idea, now I can tell if it is a cop vs a car with a roof rack!  
Haven’t seen them in Brevard, many are “slick tops” meaning no outside light bars.

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**Author:** ![tom418](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/da6949/32.png) [@tom418](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tom418)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/3 "2020-02-16T13:33:16Z")

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Connecticut State police have been using these for a while now. In the middle of the light bar is an illuminated “State Police” sign.

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**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/4 "2020-02-16T19:24:17Z")

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I don’t know what county it is but saw an empty Sheriffs car parked in the center on 41 south of Ft. Myers somewhere. It was there for at least several days and never moved. All dark though, no lights. Only works for a day or two then people catch on and common sense driving speed takes over.

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**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/5 "2020-02-17T00:07:07Z")

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I hated it when Volusia County was doing that on I95, cars would slow to 55 MPH in a 70 zone.

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**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/6 "2020-02-17T01:42:36Z")

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> [@Purebred](#):
>
> cars would slow to 55 MPH in a 70 zone.

We slow down to 78, and in IL you could get rear ended going 78 in a 55mph zone.

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**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/7 "2020-02-17T01:48:51Z")

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> [@tom418](#):
>
> In the middle of the light bar is an illuminated “State Police” sign.

When that’s on, there’s room for someone in the back.  
😁

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**Author:** ![tom418](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/da6949/32.png) [@tom418](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tom418)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 1:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/8 "2020-02-17T13:06:25Z")

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I’ll be sure and behave myself, then. 😄

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 2:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/9 "2020-02-17T14:13:47Z")

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> [@bing](#):
>
> I don’t know what county it is but saw an empty Sheriffs car parked in the center on 41 south of Ft. Myers somewhere. It was there for at least several days and never moved. All dark though, no lights. Only works for a day or two then people catch on and common sense driving speed takes over.

Several years ago, the Police Chief in my town began parking an old patrol car–complete with a mannekin of some sort in the driver’s seat–near a particularly busy intersection. It probably worked to some extent for the first couple of days, but once people figured it out, it was only a source of ridicule for the Chief. Not long ago, our Mayor finally got rid of that guy.

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**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/10 "2020-02-17T21:11:05Z")

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> [@VDCdriver](#):
>
> Several years ago, the Police Chief in my town began parking an old patrol car–complete with a mannekin of some sort in the driver’s seat–near a particularly busy intersection. It probably worked to some extent for the first couple of days,

A small town close to where I live does that every summer, 1 on each end of town.

16 - 32 hours a week, it’s a real live officer in the car, the days and hours of the real officer are always changing.

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/11 "2020-02-19T04:00:10Z")

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Here in my area of Calif it seems like the objective is to make the police cars to appear to not look like one. The light bars on the roof are nearly invisible from both the front or the rear, unless of course the lights are turned on. The only way to tell its a police car is from the side, where there’s an insignia painted on the door.

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**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/12 "2020-02-19T17:08:12Z")

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You must live in a nice neighborhood if police are trying to be seen. Most of the police I see are trying to hide.

[https://www.google.com/search?q=stealth+police+car&rlz=1C1GCEA\_enUS821US821&tbm=isch&sxsrf=ACYBGNSEx6hVrMF3l18w\_o00iBi7bva3\_Q:1582132046632&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk-4GVjd7nAhUD7qwKHS5lAtgQ\_AUI9gMoAQ&biw=1680&bih=898](https://www.google.com/search?q=stealth+police+car&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS821US821&tbm=isch&sxsrf=ACYBGNSEx6hVrMF3l18w_o00iBi7bva3_Q:1582132046632&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk-4GVjd7nAhUD7qwKHS5lAtgQ_AUI9gMoAQ&biw=1680&bih=898)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 9:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/police-car-cruise-lights/158627/13 "2020-02-19T21:35:04Z")

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Washington D.C. police have been using cruise lights for years.
