A lot of people know exactly how fast they’re going when they’re exceeding the speed limit, but they don’t know there’s a cop clocking them…until the person in the cruiser flashes their red and blue lights. Those colors might burst out from a side street or a few cars behind. Either way, the element of surprise is useful to police officers trying to enforce speed limits.
The factory-installed low-profile interior visor light bar that police departments can now order on the 2017 Ford Police Interceptor Utility will make the vehicles a little harder to make out as cruisers at first glance, particularly at night. Keeping the roof devoid of the light bar takes away what most people associate with cop cars. At the same time, the slim dimensions of the lights mounted at the top of the windshield will allow officers to see what’s in front of them without getting an eyeful of light casing.
Depending on the situation, law enforcement officials can make the lights flash red and blue, red and red, or blue and blue at full intensity or as low as 20 percent brightness.
Keep your eyes open for them the next time you’re in a hurry – as hard as that may be now.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
