Understand the “ghost” fleet that Australian police copied from the US to pick up drivers

The South Australian Police put on the streets a fleet of six “shadow” vehicles: cars that disguise themselves as ordinary vehicles during the day and only reveal their police identification after dark. Still in the test phase, the strategy was imported from the United States and targets drivers who only respect traffic rules when they notice the presence of the police.

The proposal is to occupy a middle ground between characterized vehicles (easily recognizable) and totally uncharacterized cars, which go unnoticed. It is in this gray zone that the corporation bets to take the driver by surprise. The fleet consists of two Subaru Outbacks, two Toyota Klugers — sold as Highlanders in other markets — and two 300 Series Land Cruisers. Each one receives a vinyl plot in the same tone as the bodywork, which makes the police graphics practically invisible in the sunlight. The disguise is reinforced by the absence of the traditional light bar on the roof, replaced by discreet strobes installed in the front grille and behind the windows.

The trick is only revealed when night falls. When hit by any light source, the reflective paint lights up and denounces the true nature of the car. In an interview, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens admitted that the concept was copied from U.S. counterparts, where “ghost” patrol cars and camouflaged interceptors have been used for years by state and local corporations — from California’s de-characterized Dodge Durango to Michigan’s silent Mustang Mach-E. According to him, the experience of the United States shows that discrete plotting helps to inhibit evasive maneuvers and to curb repeat offenders.

Despite the discreet look, the cars carry the same arsenal as conventional vehicles: radars, mobile kits for alcohol and drug testing, and accident forensics equipment. The six vehicles will start operating immediately, divided between regional highways and congested urban centers. The offensive responds to numbers that worry local authorities and works, for now, as a pilot program: if the results confirm the effectiveness of the tactic, the discreet fleet tends to gain reinforcements.

According to the corporation, drunk driving, driving under the influence of drugs and aggressive behavior appear as determining factors in, respectively, 10%, 21% and 36% of the 61 deaths recorded on the state’s roads this year. By betting on the shadow fleet, the police want to hit the driver who only slows down – or abandons the risky maneuver – the moment he recognizes a car in the rearview mirror.