They're big, bright and bold! You won't miss them - and that's the point
South Australia Police (SAPOL) today unveiled a prototype of its new high-visibility Patrol Car.
The Blue Holden SV6 Commodore Sedans, complete with stylised body kit and eye catching graphics, have been designed to stand out from the traffic crowd.
SAPOL will introduce up to 30 of the cars over the next 18 months.
Officer in charge of SAPOL traffic, Superintendent Bob Fauser, said research shows a highly visible police presence has a positive impact on driver behaviour.
''You'll see these cars predominantly in rural areas, but particularly with in radios of 100 kilometres of Adelaide. Our data shows this is where we are seeing many fatalities and serious injury crashes,'' he said.
''Less then one third of our population live in regional areas, yet each year more than 60 percent of fatalities and 46 percent of serious injuries are on rural roads. But we know when there is greater police visibility on the roads, drivers are more conscious and cautious about driving with in the speed limit, obeying the road rules, wearing a seatbelt and not using their mobile phones.''
The effectiveness of High-visibility policing has long been established in areas other than road safety.