An article from an Australian Newspaper.

A fine mess: police not up to speed By Philip Cornford Thousands of speeding penalties will have to be overturned because the speedometers on the fastest police cars on the road - the highway patrol's Subaru Impreza WRXs - were out by up to 18km/h. Fines, some exceeding more than $1,000, will have to be repaid. But the real legal quagmire ahead for the NSW Police Service and the Attorney-General concerns driving licences cancelled because of speed infringements. The major concern of the Police Service is the prospect of litigation for damages from drivers who suffered financial loss, hardship or lost a job because they incurred enough penalty points to lose their licences. Some speeding infringements carry automatic licence suspensions for up to three months. The three Imprezas in the highway patrol - capable of 180km/h and accelerating to 100km/h within six seconds - were taken off the road four months ago. Since then, a police internal investigation at the traffic services branch in Parramatta has been trying to estimate the damage - and how to best handle it. This involves checking every speeding ticket issued by police driving Imprezas during their 18 months on service in three metropolitan commands. Another headache is that highway patrol commanders learnt of the speedometer errors - and instructed patrol officers in Imprezas not to "breach" drivers for speeding offences. But some Impreza patrols continued to issue tickets despite this instruction. They could face disciplinary action. The problem arose because the Impreza - known as the Rex - is an all-wheel-drive vehicle, with computers on each wheel feeding information to the speedometer. But national standards for all police pursuit vehicles are based on two-wheel-drive Commodores and Falcons. It is on these standards and information - different from that coming from the wheel computers on Imprezas - that police car speedometers are tested for accuracy. Inspector Bob Norval, acting commander of traffic services, told the Herald: "An internal investigation is under way in relation to a number of trial vehicles used on highway patrols which have since been withdrawn from service. "Tests have shown that radar speed instruments and laser guns used in police vehicles are completely accurate. "These is no evidence to suggest that the speedometers on police Commodores and Falcons are inaccurate."

Interesting stuff huh....

Dave

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Dave P:
<B>The problem arose because the Impreza - known as the Rex - is an all-wheel-drive vehicle, with computers on each wheel feeding information to the speedometer. But national standards for all police pursuit vehicles are based on two-wheel-drive Commodores and Falcons. It is on these standards and information - different from that coming from the wheel computers on Imprezas - that police car speedometers are tested for accuracy.[/quote]
Eh? I'd love to know the technical reason for this discrepancy.

 

......for info - an indicated 80mph on my MY97 Wagon with 33psi up front and 28 at the back is 74mph according to Magellan Gps........just thought I'd mention it....