Ford cruiser probe sought - Ford Forums

Stacy94PGT · 05-29-2003, 00:28

Thursday, May 29, 2003

Senator calls for new investigation into Crown Vic after death

By Devlin Barrett / Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The recent death of a Missouri state trooper has prompted a New York senator to call on the federal government to reopen its investigation into Ford Motor Co.'s Crown Victoria, the most popular police car model.

Sen. Charles Schumer sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday, urging the agency to look into the issue of deadly gas tank explosions on the Crown Victoria.

"We know that there's a problem, and now we need to figure out what we need to do to solve it," the New York Democrat said in a statement. "If that means changing cars so that a different model is used, so be it. Time is of the essence."

Police unions and some political leaders have complained about the safety record of the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. About 350,000 of the vehicles are on the nation's roads as patrol cars for approximately 80 percent of police departments.

Since 1983, 14 officers have died in crashes when their Crown Victoria's gas tank caught fire after being hit from behind.

The most recent occurred in western Missouri last week, when a 25-year-old trooper died in a fiery wreck while pulled over on an interstate. Last December, New York state trooper Robert Ambrose was killed on a Yonkers highway when his patrol car was struck from behind. Ambrose's family is suing Ford.

The automaker has denied the cars are dangerous, but initiated a program of retrofitting older models with plastic shields designed to better protect the gas tanks.

Ambrose's vehicle did not have the shield; the victim in the Missouri wreck, Trooper Micheal Newton, did have a shield on his vehicle.

A 10-month probe by the NHTSA determined last November that vehicles with the Crown Victoria's fuel system involved in a rear crash caught fire 8 percent of the time, compared to 6.3 percent with the fuel system used in the comparable Chevrolet Caprice.

NHTSA said the car meets current federal standards that require a vehicle to withstand a rear crash at 30 miles per hour without leaking fuel. The agency also said the vehicle did not leak fuel during a test at 50 miles per hour, which the agency has proposed to be the new standard.

Stacy94PGT · 05-29-2003, 11:44

Thursday, May 29, 2003
By Associated Press

DALLAS -- The City Council decided Wednesday not to buy any more Ford Crown Victoria police cruisers, which have come under increasing criticism as being prone to burn when rear-ended at high speeds.

"We did that today informally as a council upon advice of our attorney," Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said. "I go to the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Friday, and I'd like to get a lot more vocal about the fact that we have a major problem that Ford isn't recognizing. Ford needs to do something," Miller said.

Police unions and some political leaders have complained about the safety record of the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, manufactured by Ford Motor Co. Roughly 350,000 of the vehicles are on the nation's roads as patrol cars for four in five police departments.

Since 1983, 14 officers -- including one from Dallas -- have died in crashes when the gas tank of their Crown Victorias caught fire after being hit from behind.

The automaker has denied the cars are dangerous but has been retrofitting older models with plastic shields designed to better protect the gas tanks.

A Dallas police officer was killed on Oct. 23 when his Crown Victoria was hit from behind and burst into flames as he was working off-duty with a construction crew on an expressway. The family and Dallas sued Ford.

Stacy94PGT · 05-30-2003, 00:04

Friday, May 30, 2003
Dallas boycotts Crown Vics

City to conduct own crash test for safety of police cruisers

By Jeff Plungis / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- In another setback for Ford Motor Co., the city of Dallas is suspending future purchases of Crown Victoria police cruisers because of safety concerns and called on other cities to do the same.

Dallas city attorney Madeline Johnson said the city would conduct its own crash tests to test the safety of the police cruisers. A recent city investigation raised questions about the validity of previous Ford testing. In a letter to Ford CEO William Clay Ford Jr., Johnson invited Ford to participate in the new crash tests.

"The city of Dallas appeals to you personally, as CEO of Ford Motor Co., to join with us to take immediate and effective action to end the continuing tragedy of police officer deaths in Crown Victoria fires."

Ford maintains the car is safe and exceeds all federal fuel system safety standards. In September 2002, responding to police concerns, the company began offering repair kits that include plastic shields placed around the fuel tank to reduce the likelihood of a puncture. Ford controls 85 percent of the police cruiser market.

"No design can eliminate all risk in high speed, high-energy rear-impact collisions," the company said Thursday. "For every story of a post-collision fire, there are many more where the CVPI performed beyond a reasonable expectation."

Dallas has been investigating the safety of the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor since the Oct. 23 death of a city police officer. On Wednesday, the City Council approved the ban on Crown Vic purchases following a May 18 police car fire in which no one was injured.

Johnson also is asking the National Highway Safety Administration to reopen its Crown Victoria investigation. NHTSA closed the probe last year without finding a defect.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote NHTSA Wednesday to press for a new defect investigation. Schumer cited the May 22 fire-related death of a Missouri state trooper. A New York state trooper died in a Crown Victoria fire on Dec. 19, prompting a hearing on police cruiser safety in the state Senate.

Dallas Mayor Linda Miller said Wednesday she will urge other cities to drop the Crown Victoria at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors next week.

(Photo)Crown Victoria police cruiser

Stacy94PGT · 05-31-2003, 00:57

Saturday, May 31, 2003

By Associated Press

BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- Plaintiffs lawyers suing the Ford Motor Co. over what they claim is a design flaw in the fuel tank of Crown Victoria police cars appeared in court Friday, about a week after a Missouri state trooper burned to death when his Crown Victoria was rammed from behind.

The lawyers want to force Ford to produce more documents in what they hope will be an Illinois class-action lawsuit against the company. However, they postponed arguing that motion because the issue is before an Ohio federal judge hearing a similar case, plaintiffs lawyer Trisha Murphy said after the hearing.

"We don't want to pit one judge against the other," she said.

Murphy is preparing to ask St. Clair County Judge Lloyd Cueto next month to certify all Illinois law-enforcement agencies as a single group of plaintiffs in the lawsuit because the Crown Victoria is the state's most common police car, she said.

Crown Victoria Police Interceptors patrol the nation's roads in 80 percent of U.S. police departments, including in St. Clair County and Centreville, the two plaintiffs Murphy represents.

"We think something needs to be done with the design of these cars," said Greg Sullivan, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs' Association, which supports Murphy's claims.

Since 1983, 14 officers have died in crashes when their Crown Victorias' tanks ignited after rear collisions, including Missouri trooper Micheal Newton on May 22, who had pulled over on Interstate 70 when a pickup crashed into his car.

Ford has denied the model is unsafe, citing government studies they say support their position.

But in September, the Dearborn-based company initiated a program of retrofitting older models with plastic shields designed to better protect the tanks.

Newton's car was fitted with the shield.

None of the Crown Victorias in St. Clair County or Centreville have been involved in such wrecks, Murphy said. Instead, her lawsuit seeks to force Ford to retrofit the cars to with special gear she says would make them more safe.

Ford lawyer Doug Lampe said the cars are fine now.

"They're asking for a vehicle that's never been designed by a car company anywhere in the world," he said after Friday's hearing.

If the Illinois case is certified a class action, it would be the first in the nation to reach such standing, Lampe said.

The several similar lawsuits filed against the company in other states have been combined into a single case in a Cleveland federal court. That case has not yet been certified a class either, Lampe said.

In October, an East St. Louis federal judge assigned Murphy's case to state court in Belleville, making it the only lawsuit outside the Cleveland case to go after Crown Victorias, Lampe said.