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red vehicles and LoJack

(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: MARepublicanGal

Hello, everyone:

I hoping someone out there, with REAL knowledge, can give me advice. I'm in the market for a new vehicle, and I will probably be purchasing in January. I'm leaning toward a red car, but EVERY TIME I mention this, I get the same response from the general public (family and friends, none of whom are in law enforcement)-- "The cops pull over red cars more so than any other color, and red cars get stolen more so than any other color!"

True on both counts? False on both counts? True on one count but not the other count?

Also, do any of you have an experiences with LoJack? Is it worth the one-time fee of $995?


Posted by: Minion

I am not a LEO but I think I can offer some advice...

Cops don't pull cars over because of their color. They pull them over because a law has been/is being broken. I would say the most popular color of sports cars is red, which is why people think there's that association. There is indeed an association, but not the way you're thinking about it. In other words, since most sports cars are red and people tend to speed in those cars, they are pulled over more often for speeding. Not for being red.

Lojack... depends on where you live and what car you bought. I say yea, go for it. It can't hurt and will reduce your insurance premium by a nice chunk. In a few years it will pay for itself anyway.

Hope that helps.


Posted by: Crvtte65

I agree, the only thing maybe, is a bright bright red is more eye catching. But then again, you have to be speeding etc to get pulled over

I had a red mustang and was never pulled over. First time for me was a forest green Volovo


Posted by: Andy0921

Good advice Minion


Posted by: MARepublicanGal

What I'm looking for is a more substantiated opinion. Are there any officers on this board who have any real stories about recovering LoJack cars? And are there any officers on this board who know of any stats/case studies on red cars being stolen or being stopped more often than other colors?

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the advice from the nonlawenforcement members, but you can't tell me anything I can't think of myself. I'm looking for someone in the biz who has rountine experiences with this kind of thing... Anyone?


Posted by: jasonbr

Quote:
Originally Posted by MARepublicanGal
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the advice from the nonlawenforcement members, but you can't tell me anything I can't think of myself.
Sounds like a few girls i've dated........ and a few girls i'm sure i have yet to date.....

Red cars getting stolen: Cars get stolen by what make/model they are and perhaps more important the amount of opportunity plays a large part of a theft. I can't help but imagine a gang of hoodlums out driving around searching for a red car to steal.... HA...

As for LoJack - perhaps someone can corroborate, but i heard that unless the car is near the metro area you are out of luck. For instance lojack doesn't work in the whole mid- U.S. In other words i think it only works around citys i think. You'd think it'd
cover the whole U.S. being satelite based, but idon't think it works that way.

Seriously though.. while you don't have to worry about red cars getting stolen, i heard that red cars of a higher probability of getting flat tires.... perhaps we could find a study on that.... anyone?


Posted by: 94c

Just the facts, Ma'am

Forget about the color. doesn't matter.

Lojack will get you a good discount on your insurance.

Depending on where you live, you may want to check with your local PD to see how many cars they have on the road equipped with Lo-Jack.

It varies between department and department. Not all cruisers are capable of locating a Lo-jack vehicle.

Stop asking stupid questions about colors of cars.


Posted by: USMCMP5811

Quote:
Originally Posted by Crvtte65
I had a red mustang and was never pulled over. First time for me was a forest green Volovo
Let me guess, you got stopped for a 90/7 violation....


Posted by: Sniper

Red cars get pulled over very frequently because they tend to crash the amber more often.


Posted by: Gil

Quote:
Originally Posted by MARepublicanGal
What I'm looking for is a more substantiated opinion. Are there any officers on this board who have any real stories about recovering LoJack cars? And are there any officers on this board who know of any stats/case studies on red cars being stolen or being stopped more often than other colors?

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the advice from the nonlawenforcement members, but you can't tell me anything I can't think of myself. I'm looking for someone in the biz who has rountine experiences with this kind of thing... Anyone?

We have had lo-jack in several cruisers for the past few years, to date we have only received at the tops 5 hits on stolen vehicles, two of them were already recovered and sitting in a tow yard in Rhode Island. The other three I am guessing were traversing Rt. 95 because of how fast we lost the signal.

It's prob worth it just for the insurance break.

As for the color of cars, it's a fallacy. It's not the car that gets pulled over it's the operator. As long as you obey the law and don't have NWA's "Fuck the Police" blasting out of your speakers you should be all set.


Posted by: copcar65

I've only recovered 1 car with Lojack. The signal took me right to the car. I would say it is worth it because most cars even if stolen in suburbia wind up in the city where Lojack cars are usually recovered pretty quickly. More importantly than if your PD has Lojack, you want to find out if your neighboring city area has Lojack. (If you live in Sherborn it doesn't matter if they have Lojack so long as Framingham does because that's probablly where your car is going.)

As reported earlier Lojack doesn't cover the whole US. It does a lot on both coasts and some inbetween. (BTW it is radio transmission off towers and doesn't use sattelite.)

I think the insurance break is reason enough to get it.

As far as colors, as said before if people buy red sports cars because they like to drive fast, then yes they probably get stopped more often than others.


Posted by: Wolfman

I am familiar with officers who have had lojack for many years, assuming the car isn't making a dash for the border they are usually recovered within about an hour of transmitter activation. Most heavily populated areas have lojack receivers in at least one of their cruisers, also many state cruisers have them as well as the MSP helicopters. When you're driving around, look for 4 antennas about a foot tall each on the roof of the patrol car arranged in a square pattern. This indicates a lojack receiver on board.

Many people decide not to get a lojack becasue their car has OnStar or some other GPS syatem. Any thief with a half a clue of what he's doing will pull the fuse for the OnStar before he even starts it. Also a GPS can be blocked by parking in a garage or under cover. The lojack transmitter is next to impossible to find or disable, especially if the thief has no idea that it's installed. It only activates once the vehicle has been entered as stolen in the police computer system, and uses a radio signal for homing which isn't blocked (but the signal strength is reduced) by hiding the vehicle in a garage.

You get a substantial insurance discount as well (obviously); the insurance companies wouldn't offer this unless the technology was worth their while.


Posted by: SOT

Question is do you REALLY want a car back after it has been stolen?

As for the color, maybe more dumb people drive red cars...or maybe more people inclined to speed drive red cars...or maybe people that compensate for something lacking drive red cars....

Asking to prove or disprove what would essentially be an R1 correlation with such a small sample seems to be about the silliest thing I have ever heard.


Posted by: MARepublicanGal

Hey, Gil:
Long time no chat. And thanks for the info. I contacted my insurance company and I was informed there's a 35% discount on comprehensive for cars equipped with LoJack. That would be in addition to the 10% I get for a AAA discount.

Do you guys know LoJack talks up their relationship with local police departments? I called LoJack on Friday (they're local), and all they kept saying was how the police recover 85% of the LoJack vehicles, but what I'm hearing here is that LoJack isn't so great.

Oh, 94c, this is for you: You told me to stop asking "stupid" questions. Now here's some advice for you-- what I clearly stated in my original post is that the general public has a perception that police stop red cars more often than any other color, and that red cars are stolen more than any other color. It was a statement about the public's perception. What saddens me, 94c, is that Plymouth or New Braintree or Quincy or Reading (did I leave any of them out) failed to educated you that how the public perceives law enforcement (and the misconceptions they may have about law enforcement) really SHOULD matter to you when you're out there interacting with the people who have these [misconceptions]. Your job is ALL ABOUT the public, so listen to what the public is saying. Otherwise, thanks for the advice

Charlie: I hear ya. And you know, I'm patriotic in all aspects of my life except when it comes to my cars. Toyota, baby! All the way!

SOT II, what is an R1?


Posted by: 94c

Quote:
Originally Posted by MARepublicanGal
Hey, Gil:
Long time no chat. And thanks for the info. I contacted my insurance company and I was informed there's a 35% discount on comprehensive for cars equipped with LoJack. That would be in addition to the 10% I get for a AAA discount.

Do you guys know LoJack talks up their relationship with local police departments? I called LoJack on Friday (they're local), and all they kept saying was how the police recover 85% of the LoJack vehicles, but what I'm hearing here is that LoJack isn't so great.

Oh, 94c, this is for you: You told me to stop asking "stupid" questions. Now here's some advice for you-- what I clearly stated in my original post is that the general public has a perception that police stop red cars more often than any other color, and that red cars are stolen more than any other color. It was a statement about the public's perception. What saddens me, 94c, is that Plymouth or New Braintree or Quincy or Reading (did I leave any of them out) failed to educated you that how the public perceives law enforcement (and the misconceptions they may have about law enforcement) really SHOULD matter to you when you're out there interacting with the people who have these [misconceptions]. Your job is ALL ABOUT the public, so listen to what the public is saying. Otherwise, thanks for the advice

Charlie: I hear ya. And you know, I'm patriotic in all aspects of my life except when it comes to my cars. Toyota, baby! All the way!

SOT II, what is an R1?
It's still one of stupidest questions I ever heard!!!

Does the color of your panties prove how fast you are?


Posted by: LA Copper

Speaking with my 18 years on the street on the west coast, red cars don't make a difference. Like many others have already said, it's not the color of the car, it's the idiocy of the way the driver is driving. If you're driving like a maniac and doing something that's gonna attract the attention of an officer, then you're gonna get stopped, regardless of what color your car is.

As for Lojack, I would recommend it. I've recovered close to 100 cars with Lojack. Many were already abandoned, but some still had the suspect in them. You can't lose having it in your car.


Posted by: OutOfManyOne

I wouldn't get it, do you want your car recovered after it is stolen. I say keep it and let me get a new one after 30 days that it is missing.


Posted by: 14298a

The only Lo Jack hit I ever got was when an adjacent agency had a training unit and their officers were practicing finding it. Well, I found it too. We had the units in our patrol cars for about 5 years and I think that was the only hit anyone had (but it was fun finding it) then they took them out . They were annoying because other radio sources would frequently make the recievers chirp.


Posted by: LA Copper

Reading these posts, I'm surprised you guys have only had a few hits with Lojack, especially since it's a locally (Braintree I believe) based company and have had them there for a long time. We've only had them out here for about 12 years or so but we get Lojack hits all the time. I agree, it is kinda fun trying to locate them, especially when an air unit is involved.
It's also kinda cool when the signal leads to a chop shop and we find a bunch of G-rides at one time!


Posted by: Crvtte65

Quote:
Originally Posted by USMCMP5811
Let me guess, you got stopped for a 90/7 violation....
Speeding... it was a turbo

I've never gotten a hit on the Lojack


Posted by: MARepublicanGal

Wow, at least some of you are giving some sound advice. One more question: Is there or is there not a ticket quota? It's been reportered there is one, but I've heard several time that, too, is a fallacy. Anyone?


Posted by: 1moreftrleo

Quote:
Originally Posted by 94c
Does the color of your panties prove how fast you are?
Typically black or red panties mean the woman is pretty quick to get out of them... does that help at all?


Posted by: nevrehc

Lo jack is the way to go. Recovered several vehicles with the jerks still in it. Works in all parts of Mass. to include the Hill towns of Western Ma.
No ticket quotas in this state.


Posted by: 94c

Quote:
Originally Posted by MARepublicanGal
Wow, at least some of you are giving some sound advice. One more question: Is there or is there not a ticket quota? It's been reportered there is one, but I've heard several time that, too, is a fallacy. Anyone?
OOOH!! OOOH!!! OOOH!!

Pick Me!! Pick ME!!




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