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12/11/03 Officer C Reports
Here's
a list of cars that can out run the new CNG Ford Crown
Victoria Interceptor patrol cars.
|
Model |
0-60 Acceleration |
Horespower & Torque |
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|
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Acura TSX |
7 seconds |
200 / 166 |
|
Audi S4 Quattro |
5 seconds |
340 |
|
Mazda RX-8 |
7 seconds |
238 / 164 |
|
Honda Prius |
11 seconds |
|
|
Saturn Ion |
6 seconds |
200 / 200 |
|
Volkswagen Passat W-8 |
7 seconds |
270 / 273 |
|
Suzuki Verona |
10 seconds |
155 / 177 |
|
Pontiac Grand Prix GT-2 |
8 seconds |
200 / 230 |
|
Honda Accord EX V-6 |
6 seconds |
240 / 212 |
|
Honda Civic Hybrid |
11 seconds |
|
|
Ford Focus ZX5 |
9 seconds |
130 / 135 |
|
Kia Rio |
10 seconds |
96 / 98 |
|
Hyundai Sonata GLS |
9 seconds |
181 / 177 |
|
Mazda Prot??/td>
|
10 seconds |
130 / 135 |
|
Saturn Vue |
10 seconds |
138 / 145 |
|
Dodge Neon SRT-4 |
6 seconds |
215 / 245 |
|
Dodge Neon R/T |
8 seconds |
150 / 162 |
|
Lexus IS300 |
8 seconds |
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Most notable is the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Toyota Prius, which are hybrid
gas and electric vehicles. All statistics were gleaned, with must patience and a
headache, from internet car reviews and magazine sites. Most car makers don't
publish their 0-60 acceleration statistics. I rounded up the
figures in most cases, just for ease of
comparison. So, these cars are actually a
little faster than I'm claiming here. I provided horsepower and torque when I
could find the information.
Citizens keep stopping me and asking me what the big deal is about the
performance of these patrol vehicles. I tell them that a car chase isn't about
the high speed. It's about trying to close the gap on a vehicle that often makes
quick turn after quick turn. We need good acceleration to catch up to the
suspects.
In a car chase, the suspect will rapidly accelerate from turn to turn. I need
all the power I can to catch up. If I lose sight of the suspect, the chase is
over and the bad guy gets away. We don't just chase stolen cars. Robbery
suspects, murder suspects, and burglars are just a few of the people who are
routinely chased down by police.
The police helicopter often helps police keep sight of the suspect in a chase.
Patrol officers really appreciate the help, but Dallas
only puts one helicopter in the sky. It's stationed in Southwest, just off of
Marvin D. Love and Hampton. That's not very much help if your an officer in a CNG
patrol vehicle in Northeast Dallas in a car chase with a bank robbery suspect.
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Aren Cambre:
I noticed a possible
error in Officer's piece where he says that the
brakes will be worse in CNG-retrofitted vehicles. You may want him to
double-check his information. Brakes are ?powered? off engine vacuum, and I
have never heard that CNG has a major effect on engine vacuum.
I wonder if he says this because
engine vacuum goes to zero during full-throttle acceleration, and weakened
cars will require more full throttle acceleration. However, once the driver
releases the gas pedal, the engine vacuum suddenly snaps to full vacuum,
immediately ?re-energizing? the power brake booster.
You
may have noticed my Letter to the Editor concerning CNG retrofits in the
12-10-03 DMN. It?s the very last letter on the web version.
****
Retrofit silver lining
The Dallas City Council may have done
motorists a huge favor. By slowing down Dallas Police Department cruisers
with natural gas retrofits, they may force the police to stop over-enforcing
Dallas' arbitrarily low speed limits.
Aren Cambre, Dallas
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Officer C
responds:
The gas powered Crown
Victoria Police Interceptor will decelerate from 60-0 in an average of 145.4
feet, with an average deceleration rate of 26.64 feet per seconds squared.
The CNG powered Crown Victoria Police Interceptor will decelerate from 60-0
in an average of 148.3 feet, with an average deceleration of 26.12 feet per
seconds squared.
This may seem like a trivial amount.
It's only three feet. But consider this, three feet from the driver's side
door is the middle of the passenger seat. I won't say that's a deadly
collision, but I wouldn't volunteer to be the test dummy.
The other thing to consider, during
any kind of hard driving that I may perform during my shift my brakes are
worked hard. They get softer and softer throughout the drive. When I exit my
vehicle after a hard drive, the first thing I notice is the strong smell of
the brakes overheating.
The brakes on my squad car are not
maintained as well as I would like. I don't need any kind of handicap to my
car. CNG cars are a big handicap, no matter how you look at them.
I hope this is an adequate response
for Aren. Thanks for publishing my email so quickly. Too bad the council
didn't debate this issue a little longer. Ignorance is the greatest enemy of
the public good. |
I guess we can all feel safe, with
Councilwoman Finkleman's assurance that "Once
they're moving, they're going to move as fast as anyone else does. This is a
step forward and a good way to go." After all, she must be an expert,
right?
Here's my educated guess as to the outcome of this ill-informed move by the
council:
| 1 |
The city will pay
out millions in settlements over suspects who escaped and committed later
crimes, |
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| 2 |
The city will pay
out millions in lawsuits from citizens over the increased accidents, and |
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| 3 |
The city will pay
out millions in lawsuits from police officers either injured, or God forbid,
killed in the accidents caused by these vehicles. |
How will these vehicles cause more accidents? Officers will have no acceleration
to move out of the way of a vehicle. The braking power on these vehicles is
diminished. An officer expects the brakes to work within a certain distance by
habit and training. When the brakes don't work properly, accidents happen.
I am concerned with officer's safety above all. Not too many weeks ago, I called
for an assist. I didn't call for cover. I screamed into the radio for help.
Everyone who wasn't in the middle of a call dropped everything and sped my way.
I was in a fight for my life. Just five seconds after the first officer arrived,
my partner and I were able to subdue the suspect.
Five seconds.
We were on a back street. There was no direct route to our location.
I now wonder, given the number of turns made by each of those officers, how long
would it have taken help to arrive if everyone was driving CNG vehicles. I am
thankful they were not.
Otherwise, you would all be writing stories about two
young officers killed in their prime.
I hope this information is helpful. As always, I ask that you not use my name if
you can avoid it. I appreciate the help the officers of DPD receive from your
various articles on our department. Thank you for your time.
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