In 1970, Land Rover brought out the Range Rover – a sturdy 3.5 V8 4×4 vehicle – and were keen to show it off to police forces. For a few days, Hertfordshire had a demonstrator on test and I was asked, together with John (Ozzy) Thorne and a few others, to see what we thought of it. We tried it on highways, byways and motorways, but also in the mud and rough of Redlands Gravel Pits just off the A405 near London Colney. We got it thoroughly caked in mud, but having to wash it later was a cheap price to pay for the experience.
The Range Rover was adopted as a Traffic Car or, more accurately, an Accident Tender because it carried additional kit.
The first one on the fleet was in 1971 and is seen in the black and white photo, crewed by PCs Ray Maslin (left) and Colin Moderate. (Force or press photo). The last one was a 1993 model shown in the colour photo I took outside Stanborough Garage,
Range Rover Traffic Cars
Brian Homans
Time period
This page was added on 18/02/2020.
Add your comment about this page
I recall seeing the first Range Rover attending an rtc just off the London Colney roundabout on the St Albans Road exit. My aunt lived in High Street facing the roundabout so had a good view. I took some pictures as I walked over. Unfortunately these slides were lost in a move. 😢
The earlier ones were 3 door models, and the kit in the back had to be evenly loaded or the handling was all over the place, especially at speed.