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Crime & Safety

One Car Can Make a Difference

Sgt. Jeff Ferry of the Mantua Police Department has created a bold message to deter drunk drivers in Gloucester County on the holiday weekend.

People aren’t sure what to think when they pass what appears to be a police car/yellow cab hybrid in front of the Mantua Police Station on Mantua Road, according to Mantua Sgt. Jeff Ferry.

“I tell them–before I even answer any of your questions
, walk around the car and read it," Ferry said. "If you don’t understand, then I’ll answer your questions.”

Before they get halfway through, most people get it.

The vehicle, painted on the front half like a Mantua patrol car, and painted on the back half like a taxi cab, has clever 
anti-drunk driving messages written on different parts of it that aren’t easily made out by a moving vehicle.

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But from a non-moving position, you can easily see messages like “When The Bartender Says ‘Last Call’…Make it a Taxi” displayed on the rear bumper, or “This ride about $20.00” printed on the cab section–as opposed to a similar sign on the patrol car side that reads, “This Ride=$4,100.00+”

Ferry says that he got the idea when his friend, Bill Walsh, went down to Savannah, Georgia and took pictures of a very similar vehicle in front of their police department.

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He had the same reaction that many people do when he first
 saw the car, and did not really understand the meaning.

“The car is basically designed to shock the viewer,” said 
Ferry. It makes them think twice.

Ferry also realized that there was an aging patrol car at the
 Mantua police station that was about to be disposed of, so he brought the idea of this message-bearing car to his police chief.

After he received approval, Ferry brought his idea to Mike Layton, the owner of Car Effex in Mantua, who was very receptive to the idea.

Layton and his six-man team re-painted the entire car, completed the lights, and tinted out the windows, free of charge.

Over the course of about a month, the team prepared the car 
for display, turning it from a vehicle ready to be junked to one that has been to several parades, a local prom and a car show.

“He gave me a picture of what he wanted to do, and we made 
it happen,” said Layton. “It was a real good idea. Everybody that sees the car loves it.” 

A company that Ferry had worked with before, Signs of All 
Kinds, also contributed some of the detail work to the hood and insides of the project free of charge, and Suburban Taxi provided the taxi cab light.

The last group of people to help out was the Mantua Police 
Explorers, who donated $500 to the project from their budget. The Explorers are a group of young people ranging from ages 14 to 20 who members of the Mantua police department, including at one time Sgt. Ferry, train and instruct on what it means to be a police officer. 

In the end, the project was done at no cost to taxpayers or the Mantua police department.

As for the message, Ferry said, “It’s not that I think that drinking is a bad thing, or that we as police officers think that people 
that drink are bad people. It’s just that we don’t want people behind the wheel if you’ve thought you’ve had too much.

“It’s a lot better to make the right decision and call a cab
 or call a friend.”

There are already plans for the vehicle to make appearances 
at both West Deptford and Mantua Night Out, the Woodbury Fall Festival parade and a Camden Mothers Against Drunk Driving event at Campbell’s Field this coming Fall.

Ferry said Mantua police, like many local police departments, also have plans to continue efforts to crack down on drunk driving this Fourth of July weekend.

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