NCJ Number
96258
Date Published
1984
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Removing roof-mounted lights from police vehicles that patrol rural areas appears to reduce fuel and accident costs and improve productivity, according to this study.
Abstract
A total of 208 Illinois State police cars with and without roof-mounted lights were compared from April 1982 through January 1984; 80 vehicles had the lights and 128 did not. The officers drove these vehicles more than 5.5 million miles. Before the study, all officers had similar driving records. Officers driving vehicles without roof-mounted lights obtained 7 percent better fuel mileage, had 25 percent better productivity in speed enforcement -- but not in enforcement overall -- and were involved in 65 percent fewer accidents per million vehicle miles. All results are statistically significant. The findings on operating costs and accidents indicate an opportunity for significant savings. Cars without the light bars are safer, apparently because the drivers are more cautious. The State Department of Law Enforcement now issues, as standard, vehicles without roof-mounted lights. Tables and endnotes are included. (Author abstract modified)