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According to USA Today, 1 in 3 deaths caused by high speed chases are the deaths of innocent bystanders – a shocking figure that US authorities are now seeking to change with new police car GPS cannons.
GPS cannons fire a GPS tracker onto the car being pursued, allowing the police to track its location without a car chase. Preventing any need for dangerous driving and allowing criminals to be caught safely.
High speed car chases look exciting on the big screen but in reality, they’re very dangerous and put lives at risk every year. They risk the lives of police, the suspects and innocent bystanders and can cause expensive vehicle damage.
So is it time to stop the chase and implement GPS cannons?
How do police car GPS cannons work?
In Florida and Iowa in the USA, a new cannon called Starchase is being tested. During a car chase, police fire a ‘bullet’ containing a GPS tracker at their target.
Once the tracker has been fired from the police car and is connected to the vehicle in pursuit, police can back off and track the vehicle from a distance – without the need for high speed.
In fact, it’s already been a success in the US. Police can track the car’s whereabouts and arrest them shortly after – allowing them to catch criminals without any damage to police cars and without any bodily harm to the people involved.
The reality of implementing GPS cannons
Unfortunately, the reality is that these GPS cannons are expensive. Very expensive in fact, but far less costly than a human life.
Each cannon costs around $5,000 to install on a police car and each round or ‘bullet’ costs $500.
However, this is less expensive than the damage that would be caused to vehicles in the event of a crash.
And while they’re currently being tried and tested in several American states, it could be a while before they’re rolled out throughout the whole of the US – and even the UK.
Do you think they’d be worth the money? Would you like to see police car GPS cannons used in the UK? Let us know what you think below!
Unicom Insurance are UK based regulated specialists of Motor Trade Insurance. You can connect with Unicom Insurance on Google+ to keep up to date with all the latest news and stories from the Motoring Industry.
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