By Suzie Ziegler
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— To tackle aggressive and distracted driving, the Arkansas State Police have unveiled 25 new low-profile vehicles.
According to the Texarkana Gazette, the black Chevrolet Tahoes have only a subtle state police crest but are fully equipped for traffic stops.
“Putting state troopers in non-conventional patrol vehicles to blend unnoticed in traffic is nothing new; we’ve been doing it more than 20 years,” said Col. Bill Bryant, Director of the Arkansas State Police, to the Gazette. “What’s new today is the use of a taller vehicle platform like the Tahoe that will offer troopers an improved visual perspective to detect drivers violating distracted driving laws or spotting a vehicle being driven in an aggressive manner that threatens other motorist’s safety.”
In the last year, Arkansas police have seen significant increases in traffic violations, reported the Gazette. Those include a 27% increase in fatal crashes in 2020 and a more than 100% increase of motorists driving 100 miles per hour or faster in 2020. So far, the 2021 numbers tell a similar story.
According to the report, troopers assigned to the new vehicles will also be looking for drivers illegally using the left lane. The vehicles were purchased with $1.15 million in federal grant money from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration.
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