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On Friday, Ford announced a program to retrofit 350,000 Crown Victoria police cars with gas tank shields in response to pressure in the wake of more than a dozen officer deaths in fiery crashes. The measures do not include civilian Crown Vics.
Three months ago, Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano and Ford Motor Company Vice President of Environmental and Safety Engineering Sue Cischke appointed company and police experts to a nine-member Blue Ribbon Panel to identify best practices and recommendations to help avoid accidents and improve officer safety during traffic patrol situations. They also created a Technical Task Force, comprised of engineers and scientists, to take an in-depth, detailed look at the vehicle and to find ways to further reduce the likelihood a Police Interceptor would experience a fuel tank puncture if involved in a high-speed, rear crash.
The task force used a variety of means to identify as many potential tank-puncture sources as possible, including studying accidents in the field, conducting hundreds of computer-aided tests, components tests, and two crash tests at 75 miles per hour.
This work led to the development of the component shielding for the Police Interceptor. The shields are for rear axle components, bolts on the differential in the center of the rear axle, and potential stress locations on the straps that hold the tank in place. Although Ford is not aware of any rear impact accidents resulting in a fire in which either the differential bolts or the tank straps punctured the tank, Ford addressed those potential tank puncture sources with shielding.
"No automaker can prevent accidents, but we’ve advanced the state of the industry by taking developmental testing to an unprecedented level," said Cischke.
Ford will provide upgrades to all Police Interceptors currently in police service at no cost. In addition, all Police Interceptors ordered by law enforcement agencies from today forward will be built with these enhancements.
The upgrades include:
-An upgrade kit for the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor package designed to help reduce the potential of fuel tank punctures in high-speed rear-end accidents by shielding key components.
-An optional trunk package designed to help police officers carry sharp-edged, heavy equipment more safely, horizontally rather than longitudinally. In some high-speed incidents, sharp and stiff or heavy objects in the trunk have been rammed forward through the trunk wall and into the back seat, potentially damaging the fuel tank and injuring rear-seat occupants. This trunk package also will include a layer of puncture-resistant material, and will be available to police by the end of the year.
-A trunk template -- or pattern -- that can be placed in the trunk to show law enforcement agencies where equipment should or should not be mounted in the trunk.
-New Web site: www.cvpi.com
Three months ago, Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano and Ford Motor Company Vice President of Environmental and Safety Engineering Sue Cischke appointed company and police experts to a nine-member Blue Ribbon Panel to identify best practices and recommendations to help avoid accidents and improve officer safety during traffic patrol situations. They also created a Technical Task Force, comprised of engineers and scientists, to take an in-depth, detailed look at the vehicle and to find ways to further reduce the likelihood a Police Interceptor would experience a fuel tank puncture if involved in a high-speed, rear crash.
The task force used a variety of means to identify as many potential tank-puncture sources as possible, including studying accidents in the field, conducting hundreds of computer-aided tests, components tests, and two crash tests at 75 miles per hour.
This work led to the development of the component shielding for the Police Interceptor. The shields are for rear axle components, bolts on the differential in the center of the rear axle, and potential stress locations on the straps that hold the tank in place. Although Ford is not aware of any rear impact accidents resulting in a fire in which either the differential bolts or the tank straps punctured the tank, Ford addressed those potential tank puncture sources with shielding.
"No automaker can prevent accidents, but we’ve advanced the state of the industry by taking developmental testing to an unprecedented level," said Cischke.
Ford will provide upgrades to all Police Interceptors currently in police service at no cost. In addition, all Police Interceptors ordered by law enforcement agencies from today forward will be built with these enhancements.
The upgrades include:
-An upgrade kit for the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor package designed to help reduce the potential of fuel tank punctures in high-speed rear-end accidents by shielding key components.
-An optional trunk package designed to help police officers carry sharp-edged, heavy equipment more safely, horizontally rather than longitudinally. In some high-speed incidents, sharp and stiff or heavy objects in the trunk have been rammed forward through the trunk wall and into the back seat, potentially damaging the fuel tank and injuring rear-seat occupants. This trunk package also will include a layer of puncture-resistant material, and will be available to police by the end of the year.
-A trunk template -- or pattern -- that can be placed in the trunk to show law enforcement agencies where equipment should or should not be mounted in the trunk.
-New Web site: www.cvpi.com
