Other mistake: Malloy is the training officer and Reed is the trainee for what appears to be years. A major part of training as a cop is to get hands-on training to drive in emergency situations, but Malloy always does, except when he has an invalid license or needs to move the car.
Adam-12 (1968)
1 mistake in show generally
Starring: Kent McCord, Martin Milner, Shaaron Claridge, William Boyett
Jim Reed: You just have to know how to arrest them and still make them like you. We call it technique.
Question: What are those rods hanging down in front of the tires on the passenger side?
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Answer: You probably need to be more specific about which car or episode you're talking about, but if I had to guess, it sounds like you're talking about "curb feelers." Most people have to park on the right side of the road (passenger side), so the wires or springs would make a noise when they hit the curb, letting the driver know they're close enough to the curb without hitting the tire against the curb.
Bishop73
S5 Ep5 "Training Wheels": Adam 12 stops a VW van. Their Matador car has a curb feeler on the left front of the car.
Correction: That's the right-hand side of the car.
Probably for one way streets. When they were popular, I saw them on front and rear. They were the mustaches and eyebrows of the day.