According to the Associated Press (AP), police departments in Connecticut and other US states are taking some of their Ford Crown Victoria Interceptors off the streets because the police cars’ frames are rusting.
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AP noted that the ‘Crown Vic’ was also recently investigated by the government for petrol tank fires linked to the deaths of 12 officers.
AP said the Ford cruiser accounts fro about 80% of vehicles used by US police – some 350,000 cars.
AP said East Hartford police in Connecticut pulled eight cruisers off the road in November while the South Bend, Indiana police department removed 70 of its 111 Crown Victorias from the streets earlier this year because of rust and epartments in Elyria and Lorain, Ohio, have also pulled some of the cars.
Ford spokesman Todd Nissen told AP that the rusted frames do not necessarily mean the cars are unsafe.
“We haven’t received any reports of injuries related to this,” Nissen told AP. “We looked into it, and we did not feel it was a widespread problem.”
AP noted that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in October closed its investigation of the fires, saying that the car exceeds federal standards for fuel system safety and that the rate of fires was no greater than that of Chevrolet Caprice police cars.
AP added that Ford agreed to pay for the installation of shields around the petrol tanks on Crown Victoria police cars to reduce the chances that the vehicles will burst into flames after a crash.
