Are penalties for fleeing/eluding/failure to yield to police severe enough?

[Revive 755]

 

Are the consequences for this type of act severe enough?  Should it be a felony to attempt to flee law enforcement using a motor vehicle?

Nah, it should be punishable by having a harpoon fired into the trunk of the fleeing car so the pursuing police car just reels in the offending vehicle.

[NE2]

[cpzilliacus]

The use of non-fully marked cars in traffic enforcement should be the felony.

I had not been in Connecticut for quite a few years prior to this past weekend when I drove all of I-95 in both directions from New York to Rhode Island and back (much of which is the de-tolled Connecticut Turnpike). 

Just as the last time I was there, all Connecticut State Police cars that I observed (only Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptors) were entirely without markings, save for the light bar on top.

[Duke87]

Connecticut's regular fleet of state police cars is exclusively unmarked except for lights.

[cpzilliacus]

Connecticut's regular fleet of state police cars is exclusively unmarked except for lights.

Been that way for a long time, too.

Last time I was in Connecticut (1979 (!)), the Connecticut Turnpike was still tolled, and the trooper cars had no markings - but back then, they had to small blue lights on top (that were apparently always on), that flanked a huge (and very strong) blue strobe light in the middle.

I have seen a marked Connecticut trooper car once - on the streets of Washington, D.C. for police memorial week (usually held in May). Police cars from many states (usually east of the Mississippi River) show up in D.C. then.