New nail barriers

Automatically stored draft

According to the Ministry of the Interior, around 1600 systems are to be purchased across Austria, with 230 "Stop Sticks" already in use.(Bild: APA/EKO COBRA)

The police are stepping up the fight against getaway drivers with so-called "stop sticks". These prism-shaped nail barriers with metal pins are placed on the road to destroy tires. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 1600 systems are to be procured throughout Austria, 230 are already in use, for example in Tyrol.

"These are three one-meter-long plastic sleeves into which cassettes loaded with spikes are inserted and which are connected by a kind of cord," explains Erich Lettenbichler, head of the operations department of the Tyrolean police directorate.

New measure against speeders
The so-called stop sticks are only pushed onto the road immediately in front of the fleeing vehicle so that the car drives over the barrier. These are used, among other things, in the course of alarm searches after criminal offenses - "for example after ATM break-ins", Lettenbichler continues.

In order to be able to use these types of nail barriers, "the legal and geographical framework conditions would naturally have to be right", according to the Tyrol police. The new tools should enable vehicles to be stopped without endangering the general public or the driver, especially in the event of aggressive escape behavior.

No effect of uncontrollability
If a fleeing vehicle drives over the "stop sticks", it loses air, becomes difficult to steer, but stays on track and eventually comes to a standstill. The aim behind this is also a safety measure for speeders: "It doesn't have the effect of bursting a tire and making the car uncontrollable," explains Erich Lettenbichler.

This new measure is already in use in Tyrol. It was used to stop a driver who was wanted as part of an international manhunt for a kidnapping case. "He disregarded several attempts to stop him and was ultimately stopped with a tire deflation system," according to the Tyrol Provincial Police Directorate.

The vehicle loses air and becomes more difficult to steer, but remains on track and then comes to a standstill, but it does not have the effect of blowing out a tire and making the car uncontrollable.

Erich Lettenbichler, Leiter der Einsatzabteilung der Landespolizeidirektion Tirol

Final test phase
The 230 sticks currently in use throughout Austria are currently in the final testing phase, according to the Ministry of the Interior. The decision was made in mid-2024 after "an analysis of police vehicle stops and stop attempts or lane closures".

It was determined that "the use of tried and tested technical means for stopping vehicles can better prevent any danger to people", as a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior explained. The purchase of "stop stick" training systems is also planned. The final expansion should be completed by 2026, by which time every patrol car should have a "stop stick".