EMP device would end car chases for police

A newly developed system is currently undergoing test that will safely end car chases. It is an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) weapon mounted within a police car; designed to interfere with the vehicles engine control computer, its estimated range is 50 meters. The obvious downside is circumstances where other vehicles are in the area and could be affected.

The fast, the furious, the busted.

Its easier not to chase. If cops wouldnt try to be freakin dragnet, you can get the person other ways than chasing.....

I dont think the cops need more power of any kind.

Seems like the academic world sees some need.

University of Waterloo engineering design project.

i remember years ago, well over ten years ago when they developed this new toy for cops to use during chases. it mounted on the front of their cars and has wheels, when launched it would go under the suspects vehicle and disable the ignition by shorting the electrical system.

apparntly it never took off as i have never seen it used.

using an EMP is about the dumbest idea on the planet. the police would be getting complaints and angry citizens....many more than they do now.

i think this would only serve to put cops in an even worse light than they're in now.

It is very possible for a car or motorcycle to run without a computer. They all used to. If someones car was old enough, it would be ineffective.

Also, car computers are not very large, and I imagine it would not be that difficult to put it in a vacuumed envelope.

The cops would be pulling the trigger on the thing and blowing up everyones car that is going down the freeway trying to catch the guy as they drive 100 mph down the road. Then the unfortunate old ladies car that got blasted would quit in the middle lane and get rear ended causing a ten car pile up as the 35 cop cars pass by caught up in the thrill of the chase.

A emp device to stop police chases could cause problems thats true .But theres a better way just about every car has a electronic egnichion now so all we need to to is place a global possional device in the wire harness and have a cut off swich that can be shut down by a satlight singial or raido.
This has already been made and would only shut down the offending car wile still alowing said car to stear and coast to a stop .
this device could easly be mass produced and with minumal fuss installed into any car . for less then 100$ and better yet the goverment could wave the TAG and TAX FEE for transifering a car if it the car has one of these in it .Wich would encurgie people to install them.
A good enough push could see every car on the road with this system within five years.
Even better you as the owner of the car could have a control device on your key chain to disconect your car .
You come out to a parking lot see your car goin right now all you could do is hope to get it back in one pice in less then a month. But with this device you press a button no matter where the car is it just cuts off now the thief has no choice but to leave the car and walk .with any luck you would have your car back in one pice the same day .

Good god, man! Do you realize what you just suggested on a conspiracy site? A GPS that can be used to track you down and bring in the black helicopters? All the paranoids on this site are about to have heart attacks!

***Magnetism87 stands off to the side, and watches the bloodbath commence***

Now that's a good idea and the insurance companies would most likely pay for the install by offering discounts.

As far as the men in black go they're already tuned into OnStar.

Originally posted by magnetism87
Good god, man! Do you realize what you just suggested on a conspiracy site? A GPS that can be used to track you down and bring in the black helicopters? All the paranoids on this site are about to have heart attacks!

***Magnetism87 stands off to the side, and watches the bloodbath commence***

Maybe a coded non-directional satellite signal to disable the car? XM and Sirius cover North America and most car manufacturers either are or soon will incorporate satellite radio receivers into their vehicles (as an aside, I think that satellite radio has saved the sanity of today's commuter but that's another thread) so the installed equipment is there, there is a strong after market, and it's unobtrusive to the tin foil hat wearing crowd. The drawbacks are of simple enough: thieves could cut the antenna cable and thereby nullify the "incapacitate signal", or in the case of professional car theft (where the vehicle is disassembled for parts, a.k.a. "chop shop") it would be irrelevant whether the vehicle would operate for very long. Not to mention once the vehicle was inside a building the chance of receiving a signal is remote... back to square one...

There may be some rule against the shutting off of an engine as it travels down the road too.

Imagine a car thief pulling out in front of a truck while entering the freeway and the engine shutting down causing a big smash up, something like that. There would have to be a built in safety factor involved to not allow for that to happen.

I thought of this same thing a long time back and approached a police friend of mine that was looking to find some kind of invention/software he could market to the police here in Florida. I first suggested something along the lines of a tazer that would disable the cars electric system by firing a probe from the front of the vehicle into the fleeing suspect�s car. The problem with this is they are liable if they miss and hit the wrong thing. SO I suggested sending the same pulse through the push bars on the front of the car. All this would require was to insulate the push bar from the rest of the vehicle (so it would not fry the police car as well), and then bumping the subject on the rear bumper. Well after doing some research we found out that when you fry a fleeing suspect�s car (which is most likely traveling at a high rate of speed) you also fry the power steering and breaks. Now you have a fast moving out of control vehicle that is going to run into something, most likely an innocent car on the road.

Originally posted by Simcity4Rushour
A emp device to stop police chases could cause problems thats true .But theres a better way just about every car has a electronic egnichion now so all we need to to is place a global possional device in the wire harness and have a cut off swich that can be shut down by a satlight singial or raido.

I believe Onstar already offers this as a feature.

The point is someone may make this, but no police department is going to accept the liablity for using it, and will most likely never purchase one.




[edit on 7/12/2004 by defcon5]

They definetly need methods of taking out criminals without doing harm to them or citizens around them.. but it seems to be established that we don't have anything currently viable from a safety standpoint.

I could have sworn that in some states... chasing is illegal??

My cousin was hit by a car fleeing the police and had his life pretty much turned upside down

THe only thing I could think of would be total remote control... but I doubt americans would allow for those systems to be built into their cars.

Chasing was illegal here in Florida for awhile after two teenage girls got killed at an intersection due to a police chase over a DMV infraction. For quite a long time after that the procedure was to take the license and arrest the person later. The only time a chase was acceptable was for a felony offence, like someone fleeing after a murder, or bank robbery.

[edit on 7/12/2004 by defcon5]

Actually the Onstar thing is the best, it only disables the motor and not the rest of the car. Some of the newer cars don�t loose steering/break power if the motor goes out, but there are still too many old cars on the road here.

Either way though I would not get or pay for Onstar.

Originally posted by defcon5
Actually the Onstar thing is the best, it only disables the motor and not the rest of the car. Some of the newer cars don�t loose steering/break power if the motor goes out, but there are still too many old cars on the road here.

Either way though I would not get or pay for Onstar.

You said it all D5, the average consumer will not pay for extravagant (one that will work) anti-theft/recovery devices and they sure aren't going to pay a monthly fee. Onstar is $16.95 to $34.95 a month! No wonder GM is trying to ram this down everyone's throat! So back to the drawing board.

Its really strange- in the fast and the furious they used them- i asked my b/f whether or not they were real and he didnt know- and now i know they are!

I think it is such a good idea- it will help alot anway!

Used them, which? Onstar the mobile tracking device that lets the world know where you are every second of your life, or EMP that turns cars into unmanned battering rams.

Originally posted by defcon5
Used them, which? Onstar the mobile tracking device that lets the world know where you are every second of your life, or EMP that turns cars into unmanned battering rams.

That's the ticket, an uncontrollable traceable battering ram. I think it's something we can all live with, provided the subscription price isn't to high.

Eh. Clinton shot a few million dollars worth of those into Afghanistan during his administration, didn�t work too well on Bin laden though�

Heard they sold the parts to China.