Ford Mustang Boss 429 1970 Nevada Highway Patrol

The Nevada Highway Patrol was established on 1 July 1949 by combining police personnel, inspectors from the Regulatory Commission and several inspectors from the Nevada State Tax Department.

The state already had a long history of enforcing order on its roads. Its first highway patrolman was hired on 23 June 1923.

Nevada was the first western US state to organise a highway patrol. In 1934, two more officers joined, each receiving a silver patrol car with gold stars on the doors, red warning lights on the roof and a siren. Officers were assigned to Reno, Carson City and Las Vegas.

The Nevada Highway Patrol grew alongside the automotive industry and the number of vehicles on the roads. The duties of its 429 sworn officers ranged from enforcing traffic laws to managing a criminal case database. The patrol focused on safe, economical and comfortable road use, protecting the public from violence and disorder, and assisting police agencies throughout the state and the country.

A die-cast model of a 1970 Ford Mustang, painted light blue with a gold star on the door, pays tribute to the Nevada Highway Patrol. It faithfully reproduces the classic muscle car decorated with Nevada Highway Patrol graphics. This 1970 Ford Mustang scale model bears the serial number DYM96667 and was produced exclusively by Matchbox Collectibles. No real road-going example of this particular car could be found.