Right: a WA policeman demonstrates the deployment of a "stingers" device meant to pierce the tyres of pursued vehicles.
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Background information
High-speed Police Chases
(The following information is an edited version of the Wikipedia entry 'car chase'. The full text of this entry can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_chase)
Car chases occur when a suspect attempts to use a vehicle to escape from police officers attempting to detain or arrest them. The assumed offence committed may range from misdemeanours such as traffic infractions to crimes as serious as murder.
When the suspect realises that he or she has been detected and hailed by police, he or she attempts to lose the pursuers by driving away, sometimes at high speed. In 2002, 700 pursuits were reported in the city of Los Angeles. Police use a number of techniques to end chases. These include waiting for the driver's vehicle to run out of petrol to more forceful methods such as boxing in the vehicle with other police cars or the use of spike strips. When available, a helicopter may be employed, which in some cases, may follow the vehicle from above while ground units may or may not be involved.
The February 2005 Macquarie Fields riots occurred in Sydney, New South Wales, after a local driver crashed a stolen vehicle into a tree, killing his two passengers following a high-speed police pursuit. In the same year, the death of university student Clea Rose following a police chase in Canberra sparked major recriminations over police pursuit policies.
Reality television has combined with the car chase genre in a number of television shows and specials featuring real footage, mostly taken from police cruisers and law enforcement or media helicopters of actual criminals fleeing from police.
High-speed car chases are recognised as a road safety problem, as vehicles not involved in the pursuit may be hit by the elusive driver, who will often violate a number of traffic laws, often repeatedly, in their attempt to escape, or by the pursuing police cars. In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that 40 people a year are killed in road traffic incidents involving police, most as a result of a police pursuit.