Environmental concerns played a big role in the Norman Police Department’s recent decision to switch from buying Dodge Charger police vehicles to Ford Crown Victorias.
The Chargers’ fuel consumption and inability to run on alternative fuels accelerated the decision, Police Superintendent Mike White said.
“[Norman Police are] trying to create a greener Norman,” he said.
The Crown Victoria is a “flex fuel” vehicle, which means it can be powered by either E85 or conventional unleaded gas. The Dodge Charger is not capable of running on alternative fuel, White said.
E85 is an alternative fuel that uses 85 percent ethanol alcohol and only 15 percent gasoline. The ethanol is produced from corn.
Although the city does not currently have an E85 filling station, the department is excited to buy cars that can change with the times.
“We will be ready if the infrastructure can be developed,” White said.
Mechanical engineering junior David Collins said the switch back to Crown Victorias is a good one. Collins is the captain of the Sooner Racing Team, which designs and builds a race car every year.
“If you can get the job done with a Crown Victoria for less, then that’s great,” Collins said. “Why spend the extra money?”
From 1996 to 2006, the Norman Police bought Ford Crown Victorias, but in 2006 White’s predecessor switched the department to Dodge Chargers.
“They looked real good on paper, and they have performed well. We’ve just been seeing some issues that make the Crown Victoria look a little more enticing to us,” he said.
These issues include decreased visibility, which has led to accidents, and a lack of Charger parts available in local warehouses and dealerships.
“If we can’t get a part that day and the car has to sit a week, that car is not doing us much good,” White said. “We have not run into that so far with our Crown Victorias.”
Norman Police Lt. Kyle Harris said the lack of visibility has been a problem for officers.
“The [Dodge Charger] has a few quirks. It’s a great car… but it’s got some blind spots,” Harris said. “As you can imagine, with police driving… especially in a high performance situation with your lights and sirens, you definitely don’t want blind spots in the corners when you’re going through intersections.”
Harris said several officers have had accidents as a result of the Chargers’ blind spots, in some instances colliding with things like street signs, gas pumps and other vehicles.
White said he carefully weighed the options with officers, and they decided to discontinue purchasing Chargers.
“Since the police officers are our customers, we want to make sure they are happy with the products we’re giving them,” White said.
After careful evaluation of the pros and cons of both cars, it was determined that the department would cease purchasing Chargers. This does not, however, mean that all of the existing Chargers will be forced into retirement.
“The good taxpayers in Norman paid for them so we’re going to see that they stay on the street for the remainder of their life cycle,” White said.
He said the typical police vehicle is retired after five to seven years of use.
In the meantime, White said he is excited about all of the unique characteristics of the Crown Victoria, including optional Kevlar doors and an optional onboard fire-suppression system. He also said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rates the Crown Victoria more favorably than the Charger in crash tests.
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Bubba 3 years, 8 months ago
Hmmm, if the City of Norman is going to be taking advantage of OU's natural gas refilling station, why not Norman PD? Why this fracturing of intent? I don't like E85, makes my car difficult to start, caused by water-contaminated E85- especially when under a 1/4 tank. Norman needs less wastewater, not more if it...