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posted by martyb on Thursday August 29 2019, @05:15PM   Printer-friendly
from the HOT-pursuit dept.

$200,000 police patrol car goes up in flame shortly after parking on long dry grass

One of the most expensive police cars used in Australia has gone up in flames following a chase in north-eastern New South Wales.

The turbo diesel BMW highway patrol car had been pursuing a sedan being driven by a teenager near Tweed Heads.

The chase ended in long grass on the edge of the Pacific Highway at Chinderah after road spikes were laid, puncturing the fleeing vehicle's tyres.

Murwillumbah resident Geoff Huxley watched the drama unfold after he pulled over when he heard the police siren.

"We were about to drive off and I said to my wife, 'Hang on, I think the police car is on fire'," he said."I looked over and a fire had developed under the police car and literally within seconds the car was in flames.

[...] The BMW-530d was valued around $200,000, taking into account the equipment inside including an in-car video system, number plate-reading technology, front- and rear-facing cameras to capture mobile offences and breathalysers.

Motoring writer Toby Hagan said modern exhaust systems could reach around 500 degrees Celsius which created a significant fire risk.

"When that goes into its burn-off mode, it actually builds up even more heat and therefore potentially increases that risk.

[...] "They aren't expected to drive over grass too often and are usually confined to bitumen areas, but in this case it has ended up off the side of the road, probably exacerbated by the drought, the dryness of the grass and more prone to catching fire," he said.


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  • (Score: 2) by legont on Friday August 30 2019, @04:25AM (1 child)

    by legont (4179) on Friday August 30 2019, @04:25AM (#887639)

    Perhaps, it's just a bad car.

    --
    "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 30 2019, @12:10PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 30 2019, @12:10PM (#887715)

    Still going to place a bet on the grass trying to kill the driver.
    Straya, ya know