RideLust

TruTouch's current fingertip BAC detector.

Imagine having to scan your fingerprint before you can start your car, to determine if your blood-alcohol content (BAC) is within legal limits. Automotive suppliers Takata and TruTouch have just received a $2.25 million grant from the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) to further development of a system that would do just that. In the not-too-distant future, the technology could be voluntarily implemented on new cars, or mandated for use by those previously convicted of drunk driving. Read More…

That's a cop car? Damn... Image: Ford Motor Company

With the recent death of the Crown Victoria, Ford is looking to remind police agencies from coast to coast that it still builds police cars. Coincidentally, the Michigan State Police have just certified both the Sedan and Utility versions of the Ford Police Interceptor as “pursuit certified.” We don’t know exactly what that means, other than both vehicles have passed tests for acceleration, handling and braking, but we’re sure of this: we’re not going to try and outrun either version. Read More…

Image: Leo-setä

Good news, squeegee operators: the squeegee man, once the symbols of a collapsed economy and moral decay in New York City, is back. It’s time to break out those filthy jeans and your best lice-covered hoodie and hit the streets, because the good old days (and by that I mean bad old days) are here again. Talking Points Memo reports that the once endangered species is back with a vengeance, here to spread grime on your windshield and key your car if you don’t tip generously enough. Read More…

Image: Yuri Long

If, for some unknown reason, you really want to get into a car accident, the best place in the country to live is Washington, DC. In DC, your chance of having an accident goes up by 107 percent compared to the national average, which probably explains why so many law firms call DC home. Read More…

Chevy Impala’s, Dodge Charger’s, and of course the iconic Ford Crown Victoria, all cars that have been known to strike fear into those who have seen them in their rear view mirrors. These three giants are the main rides for law enforcement fleets here in the United States and are key components when it comes to crime prevention. The Ford Crown Victoria for example, is probably one of the toughest vehicles on the planet Earth. It’s big and reliable and at days end has the ability to dish out some serious pain when called upon to do so. But what about when their service lives are over, what then? Some of course are sold at auctions to taxi fleets around the country, while a few others manage to find their way into private hands. I had an acquaintance who used to own an ex-state police Chevrolet Impala back in the early 90′s. It was turd brown with poverty caps over steel wheels and a spotlight on the drivers door. Was it pretty? Um… no. But I’d be lying if I said that we didn’t feel like rock stars when we cruised around in that thing.
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The National Insurance Crime Bureau keeps tab on things like car theft by state without regard to a vehicles insured status. That’s significant, because it looks at ALL car thefts, not just those that were reported to an insurance company. Each year, the NICB publishes a list of the most stolen vehicles in the United States, and the top 10 may come as a surprise.

There aren’t any exotics or luxury cars on the list, and the most valuable car in the top 10 probably doesn’t crack the $10,000 barrier. These aren’t cars stolen to order by gangs who specialize in shipping containers of hot cars to South America; instead, they’re cars that get snatched because they’re easy to steal, or have parts common to a wide range of other vehicles. Read More…

I’ve always said that motorcycle cops are some of the best riders on the planet. Their training course, in virtually any department, is among the most challenging things you can do in law enforcement. These guys throw around 700 pound Harleys like they were scooters, and their low-speed bike handling skills are second to none.

This video comes from a recent “rodeo” event in Grand Prairie, TX. I’ve been riding for a lot of years, and I’ll say this flat out: I doubt I could run the course without hitting a cone on a 250cc bike, let alone a full size Harley. I know for certain that I couldn’t match this guy’s time, no matter what I was riding. Despite the comments at the end of the video, a single training course won’t have you riding like this: what you see here takes years of practice, and a lot of low speed crashing. Read More…

Image: Lotus

Police departments in Italy have used some impressive rides throughout the years. The Italian State Police (Polizia di Stato) had a pair of Lamborghini Gallardos until one was totaled in a wreck with a Seat Ibiza. Now comes word from Lotus that the Italian Military Police, the Arma dei Carabinieri, have taken delivery of two specially equipped Lotus Evora S police cars. Read More…

Image: Fábio Pozzebom, Agência Brasil

Mike and I are just back from One Lap of America. In case you’re not familiar with the event, it involves driving ten or so events at about eight different tracks over an eight day period. Race tracks in the United States are not conveniently located next to one another, and part of the One Lap Challenge is the transit legs. One leg in this year’s event involved driving nearly 700 miles after racing two events; in other words, you don’t even start the drive until mid-afternoon. Technically, you can go from event to event driving the posted speed limit (as some teams do), but you forgo a significant amount of sleep. It comes down to this: you need to push hard enough to get as much rest as possible, without jeopardizing your license or becoming a temporary resident of some backwater county jail. Read More…

I’ll warn you in advance: turn the sound off on this video. The commentator sounds as if he were dropped on his head repeatedly as a child, or perhaps oxygen-starved during his developmental years. The beauty of the video has nothing to do with the commentary, but instead it’s all about the actions of the New Jersey State Trooper. I spent a lot of years driving in the Garden State, and I don’t think I ever saw a driver stopped for less than 15 MPH over the limit on an interstate highway, the NJ Turnpike or the Parkway. Still, some drivers get paralyzed by fear when they see a state trooper in their rearview mirror, and yielding the lane never occurs to them. In fact, their reptilian hind-brain takes over, commanding their right foot to maintain a speed of no more than 54 miles per hour. Read More…