The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) has introduced a new stealth tool that RVers should be aware of: “ghost graphics” on select patrol vehicles.
What are ghost graphics?
Ghost graphics are reflective, color-matched vinyl decals applied to Highway Patrol vehicles. The graphics nearly disappear in daylight yet glow brightly under headlights at night.
During the day, those stripes and state insignia blend seamlessly with the vehicle’s paint, making the cruiser look like an ordinary civilian car. But once the sun goes down (or if you’re shining your high beams down the road), the same graphics “pop” in retroreflective brilliance, instantly revealing the car as law enforcement.
The rollout
This week, MSHP Lt. Eric Brown confirmed the agency would continue to equip 20 cruisers statewide with ghost graphics. Nine of those are earmarked for each regional troop, ensuring even rural areas get at least one stealth patrol car. The remaining 11 will be strategically deployed to Missouri’s highest-incident corridors—particularly around urban centers like St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia. These locations receive frequent complaints about street racing, reckless driving and impaired operation.
The first 10 cruisers went into service before Memorial Day weekend. The remaining vehicles are scheduled to hit the road by July 4.
A modest investment in safety
You might assume that adding stealth markings would break the bank. However, Lt. Brown says ghost graphics add only a marginal cost over standard patrol car branding. It’s essentially the price of a specialty vinyl wrap versus a traditional decal package.
Vendors like SVI Graphics, which supply 3M-based reflective films color-matched to factory paint codes, typically charge in the low-to-mid hundreds of dollars per car for materials and installation. This investment pales in comparison to the societal and financial costs of a single major crash.
Why go ghost
Missouri saw 954 roadway fatalities in 2024. This was a 4 percent decrease from 2023 but still nearly three lives lost every day. Traffic crashes injure thousands more, stretch first-responder resources, and rack up billions in economic loss.
MSHP’s leadership hopes that ghost-graphic vehicles will:
• Unmask reckless behavior. Drivers tend to behave differently when they know a marked cruiser is nearby. Let that cruiser look unmarked, and officers can catch tailgaters, street racers, and impaired drivers “in the act.”
• Deter repeat offenders. Word spreads fast when stealth patrols nab habitual speeders. This is especially true in popular corridors where some drivers use wide-open stretches to test their vehicle’s limits.
• Optimize patrol coverage. Instead of assigning more troopers, Missouri invested in a little mystery to maximize the impact of existing staffing.
“People drive very differently when they don’t see a patrol car,” Brown noted. “These are tools to help keep Missouri’s highways safer and reduce traffic crashes.”
The national picture
Missouri joins several states that have already embraced ghost graphics:
• Nevada has run six stealth cruisers since 2018, crediting them with a marked drop in aggressive-driving complaints.
• Florida, Texas, and North Carolina have all experimented with color-matched, reflective markings to catch distracted or intoxicated drivers off guard.
Even as some critics call the practice “underhanded,” defenders argue that the decals help law enforcement enforce safety laws fairly and effectively, especially on busy corridors where RVers, commuters, and commercial drivers share the road.
What RVers should know
Expect the unexpected. If you’re traveling through Missouri or other states with ghost graphics, keep your speed in check. That unmarked sedan might not be as civilian as you think. (Honestly, we should follow all traffic laws everywhere to keep ourselves and others safe.)
Safety first. Ghost-graphic cruisers aren’t about tricking law-abiding travelers. They’re about catching the small percentage of high-risk drivers who endanger everyone on the road. Remain alert for these high-risk drivers!
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RVT1213b
Just follow the traffic laws and you won’t have to worry about the “ghosts”..thanks Gail !
That’s one reason they are going invisible. Just like using the small ‘stealth’ light bar that looks like a roof rack, on the vehicles instead of the large red an blue lights.
The next thing will be the lawsuits about these vehicles being used for entrapment of lawbreakers.
Given the technology that we have it would not be difficult to deploy AI based traffic enforcement where you don’t even need to endanger officer’s lives.
Yes, you can catch and convict them before they even start speeding. Maybe use those driverless robotaxis to pull them over. Oh, wait, I’ve seen that movie …Minority Report
Was on TDY at Ft. Leonard Wood once in the state of Misery….never again.
Sounds like they’ve reinvented unmarked cars. I would question whether it’s more effective to catch one speeder out of a bunch as opposed to visible enforcement encouraging everyone in sight to drive responsibly.
Edit: After posting this, I did some looking on google. The main thing is there doesn’t appear to be much actual research on the subject as mentioned by several references I found. One study in Canada indicated crash rates were significantly lower when a mix of unmarked and marked radar monitoring was used WHEN it was accompanied with heavy publicity. Without the publicity, the difference was much less.
We have had ghost cars in our province for at least a couple of decades. Cars, SUVs, trucks, and motorcycles. These are completely ghost with no markings. Seems unusual that they are a story since we have had them for so long. They tend to catch a lot more drivers than marked cars
I’m going to take heat for this but too bad.
I’m not a fan. I believe the purpose of law enforcement is to “Serve and Protect”. At least it used to be. I don’t think that’s the case any longer. Our law enforcement agencies appear to be headed toward a more militaristic posture.
Look at patrol cars in the UK and Europe to see the difference.
The use of unmarked vehicles does fulfill the “Protect” portion of the motto. That is to protect the drivers who are obeying the laws from those that don’t.
I recall some statistical studies indicating accidents and/or the severity of them were reduced when law enforcement was “visible”. The normal reaction is slow down or pay closer attention. Unfortunately, it is not economically feasible to have enough patrol units to make most people aware of their presence. Also, they have this other duty of crime to deal with! Drive with care and regard for the limits and procedures and …who cares if the troopers or local police are present or not! Hmmm?
Thank you, Gail! Sounds pretty cool. Law enforcement routinely has to up the ante as offenders become experienced in evading the latest detection method(s). Glad they have a new way of marking “unmarked patrol cars.” As Bill said, don’t break the law and it won’t matter what technology is being employed. Have a great weekend and safe travels!
Just a way to raise taxes. Visibility lowers lawlessness.
One more state: California. I’m in northern California for the summer and some local Facebook group (I believe it was CHP but maybe CalTrans) announced a number of ghost CHP vehicles were just deployed too.