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posted by takyon on Thursday October 04 2018, @05:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the no-more-chase-scenes dept.

Bold new plan for police pursuits:

Constable Peter McAulay, 24, was hit early [on the morning of Sept. 27] after setting up road spikes to try and stop two teenagers in an allegedly stolen vehicle. A 16-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl have been charged with attempted murder after Constable McAulay was rushed to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital with serious head injuries and broken bones and fractures.

After the horrific crash, Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers is calling for remote vehicle immobilisers to become mandatory in new cars.

"I started in 2012. I have written to three successive prime ministers but it is now time for action, bipartisan support. With remote engine immobilisers there will never be a need for a police pursuit," Mr Leavers told Today. "The primary situation is to protect lives and property. It can improve safety. It is a great thing. It is a no-brainer. We need to change the Australian design regulation. Within five to 10 years there will never be another police pursuit. We will be able to disable any stolen car at any point in time and ensure safety. It is commonsense."

The proposed engine immobilisers wouldn't just be able to stop a car in its tracks, police would also be able to track vehicles through GPS.


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @06:13AM (8 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @06:13AM (#743881)

    Word to the wise: Never buy any motor vehicle produced in the USA during the 1970's. Citation: K cars! jmorris's K cars! Maladaptive! Disfunctional! Prone to degradation and incidents of dis-repair! A Republican dream era in Detroit!

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @07:18AM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @07:18AM (#743902)

    Used to own 2 early 70's Detroit cars. Not the greatest on fuel economy (nothing was), but maintenance was super cheap. There were something like 16 bolts in the whole engine compartment and you could fit 1-2 people in all the open space.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @07:49AM (6 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @07:49AM (#743915)

      And why would you need to stuff a couple people into your engine compartment, unless you were trafficking? "ICE Officer! Pullover that K-car! Stat!"

      • (Score: 2) by Nuke on Thursday October 04 2018, @09:49AM (5 children)

        by Nuke (3162) on Thursday October 04 2018, @09:49AM (#743965)

        I used to do work on the engine while sitting on a front mudguard (US = fender) facing inwards with my legs inside. I also kept a spare 5l can of oil in there, toolboxes, tow rope etc.

        • (Score: 3, Informative) by fyngyrz on Thursday October 04 2018, @02:07PM (4 children)

          by fyngyrz (6567) on Thursday October 04 2018, @02:07PM (#744076) Journal

          We call them fenders because they are there to fend off damage to the main car structure, and also, because they don't do a single thing to guard against mud, so calling them mudguards would be... silly. Same reason we call the storage area in the rear of the vehicle a trunk; because it's a box with a lid, not something you stick your foot into (a "boot")

          We also call where you park a car a driveway, and where you drive your car a parkway, so there's that. Our sanity is not very uniform... ;)

          • (Score: 2) by insanumingenium on Thursday October 04 2018, @03:40PM (3 children)

            by insanumingenium (4824) on Thursday October 04 2018, @03:40PM (#744144) Journal
            I will start by acknowledging my pedantry.
            We call it a trunk not because they are a box with a lid, but because they initially were literally trunks strapped to the back of vehicles, such a useful idea it became standard to simply built into the bodywork.
            Here is an example you can still buy new for the purpose [snydersantiqueauto.com]
            • (Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Thursday October 04 2018, @10:09PM (2 children)

              by fyngyrz (6567) on Thursday October 04 2018, @10:09PM (#744350) Journal

              Yep. It's like a trunk, and it's used like a trunk, and we used to carry trunks around just as you describe (and well before motor vehicles did it, too... check out stagecoaches, personal coaches, etc.) Perfectly apt description.

              Then there's shipment (sent by truck) and cargo (sent by ship.)

              Slim chance... fat chance... same.

              Vegetarians eat vegetables. Humanitarians eat... humans?

              I love English. It's such a mess. :)

              • (Score: 4, Funny) by Reziac on Friday October 05 2018, @06:51AM

                by Reziac (2489) on Friday October 05 2018, @06:51AM (#744535) Homepage

                "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."

                --James D. Nicoll

                --
                And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
              • (Score: 2) by insanumingenium on Friday October 05 2018, @03:14PM

                by insanumingenium (4824) on Friday October 05 2018, @03:14PM (#744640) Journal

                Which always makes me think of the perhaps cliched quote (I believe it is attributed to James Nicoll, but frankly I am not certain of its parentage at this point).

                "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."