Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[STUDY: UK police officers confuse diesel and gas pumps four times a day, cost taxpayers £1 million]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/09/study-uk-police-officers-confuse-diesel-and-gas-pumps-four-time/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/09/study-uk-police-officers-confuse-diesel-and-gas-pumps-four-time/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/09/study-uk-police-officers-confuse-diesel-and-gas-pumps-four-time/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,



British police have an expensive problem. It's not crime and it isn't corruption, it's much worse. The £1 million problem is stupidity. Over the course of three years, UK cops have on 4,709 occasions put the wrong fuel in their police cruisers. That's an average of four cars damaged per day, with damages of £6,500 a week. That's more than $1.6 million USD. Blimey.

Each time the wrong fuel is added, the very expensive fuel has to be drained, and in many cases engines have to be repaired. According to the Mirror, one force, The Met, had four times as expensive a problem as any other group, with £194,212 in damage ($316k USD) over three years. In one year alone, the pump-challenged bunch had 287 erroneous re-fuels from its 6,500 unit fleet at a taxpayer cost of £84,992 ($138k USD). That's a mis-fuel rate of .09%.

A group called TaxPayers' Alliance demanded fueling info under the Freedom of Information act from 52 forces in the UK. Eight forces rejected the request, and four more didn't respond. The public action group poured over data over a four month period to come up with the staggering sum of bungled fill-ups.

TaxPayers' Alliance chief Matthew Elliott doesn't mince words when talking about the size and scope of the fuel problem. "Every car damaged is thousands of pounds diverted away from the fight against crime. One would hope our police were more on the ball." One would hope.

To combat the expensive fuel mix-up issue, North Wales placed yellow stickers labeled 'DIESEL' back in 2006, but that didn't stop officers from pumping petrol on 39 different occasions. Many forces have stated that they've tried many things to combat the problem, but apparently only one solution has worked. Humberside has had only one mis-fuel, at a cost of £51. They have an all-gas fleet, which they say saves £250,000 a year. Hmmm....

[Source: U.K. Mirror]

STUDY: UK police officers confuse diesel and gas pumps four times a day, cost taxpayers £1 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>british policeBritishPolicedieselmis-fuelingpetrolpolicepolice carpolice carsPoliceCarPoliceCarsukUK policeUkPoliceTue, 09 Jun 2009 14:40:00 EST<![CDATA[Prodrive sets up Essex police with 270hp Impreza interceptors]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/01/prodrive-sets-up-essex-police-with-270hp-impreza-interceptors/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/01/prodrive-sets-up-essex-police-with-270hp-impreza-interceptors/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/01/prodrive-sets-up-essex-police-with-270hp-impreza-interceptors/#commentsFiled under: , ,

If you watched the first episode of Top Gear's season 11, you likely smirked at the lackluster Vauxhalls that the British bobbies have to drive in pursuit of "the baddies". But once in a while the constables in the UK gets something special in their motor-pools, like the Caparo T1, Lotus Exige, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 and Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. While few officers have actually had the chance to drive any of these epic exotics since they're used purely for demonstration purposes, the latest addition is here to stay: Prodrive has prepared a fleet of Subaru Impreza GB270s especially for the Automatic Number Plate Recognition Team at the Essex Police department.

Not only did Prodrive set up the vehicle for the team, commonly known as "The Intereptors", but the 21 officers that make up their ranks received a day of special instruction on how to get the most out of their new 270hp all-wheel-drive speed machines. As you can see in the press release after the jump, however, "The day was not about driving these cars fast, but understanding how and when to use their capability in a safe way." Way to make something exciting very boring, guv'na.

[Source: Prodrive]

Continue reading Prodrive sets up Essex police with 270hp Impreza interceptors

Prodrive sets up Essex police with 270hp Impreza interceptors originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>automatic number plate recognition teamAutomaticNumberPlateRecognitionTeambritish policeBritishPoliceessex policeEssexPoliceimprezaimpreza gb270impreza stiimpreza wrxImprezaGb270ImprezaStiImprezaWrxinterceptorlaw enforcementLawEnforcementpoliceprodriveprodrive gb270prodrive imprezaprodrive policeProdriveGb270ProdriveImprezaProdrivePolicestisubarusubaru impreza gb270SubaruImprezaGb270the interceptorsTheInterceptorsuk policeUkPolicewrxTue, 01 Jul 2008 08:57:00 EST<![CDATA[Wham! George Michael seen plowing into parked cars with Range Rover]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/19/wham-george-michael-seen-plowing-into-parked-cars-with-range-ro/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/19/wham-george-michael-seen-plowing-into-parked-cars-with-range-ro/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/19/wham-george-michael-seen-plowing-into-parked-cars-with-range-ro/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Singer Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (better known as 'George Michael') is in a bit of a pickle with some British bobbies after allegedly rearranging the sheetmetal on his Range Rover Vogue (and that of three parked cars) near his North London home before 8 am earlier this week.

Problem is, he of "Careless Whisper" fame neglected to call for help, stick around to wait for the authorities, or even leave his insurance information. Michael apparently drove off, leaving his damaged navy SUV on a neighboring street.

After being interrogated by police who visited his home, word is that Mr. 'Too Funky' fessed up, and is now making arrangements to compensate owners of the vehicles he damaged.

No word what legal fate might befall the singer, but according to Wham! George Michael seen plowing into parked cars with Range Rover originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Apr 2006 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bobbiesBritish policeBritishPoliceGeorge MichaelGeorgeMichaelRange RoverRangeRoverRover VogueRoverVogueWham!Wed, 19 Apr 2006 10:04:00 EST