Ford Crown Victoria Post-Crash Fires
Ford Crown Victoria Exonerated by NHTSA
Below is a link to the summary issued by NHTSA (the National Highway Transportation Agency) and their ODI (Office of Defects Investigation) about an investigation they opened on November 27, 2001 and concluded on Oct 3rd, 2002. This investigation was an examination into potential problems involving fuel leaks following rear impact crashes in MY (Model Year) 1992-2001 Ford Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Marquis vehicles.
The summary of the investigation that NHTSA conducted on the Crown Victoria is obtainable via this link:
www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/studies/CrownVic/CrownVic021003.html (Note: New URL as of at least 7-06-2003)and resides on NHTSA's website. NHTSA, an agency of the United States Federal Government, concludes, in part, in their summary, the following:
-
Based on its analysis of the information obtained during its investigation, ODI made the following findings:
- The subject vehicles meet current Federal motor vehicle safety standard for fuel system integrity (FMVSS No. 301), which requires a vehicle to withstand a 30 mph rear collision without fuel spillage in excess of established limits.
- NHTSA has proposed to amend FMVSS No. 301 to require a 50 mph rear impact [crash tests]; however,
- Ford has conducted [these kinds of] tests [already] in which the vehicles' fuel system did not leak in 50 mph rear impact [crash] tests.
- Almost all of the post-crash fuel leaks occurred in very high-speed incidents, with crash energies far in excess of those generated by FMVSS No. 301 tests.
- There is no single factor that contributed to the post-crash fuel leaks in the CPVI vehicles.
- In addition to the components identified in the Ford TSB,
- leaks were also caused by a deformed frame rail,
- shock absorber supports,
- the differential cover, and
- stowed items in the trunk (including an aftermarket floor jack and a trunk-mounted radio).
- There have been numerous high-energy rear crashes in CVPI vehicles with little or no loss of fuel.
- Based on an analysis of
FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System) data,
- The risk of fire per fatal rear crash in the CPVI vehicles was comparable to that of Chevrolet Caprice police vehicles.
- A study conducted by the Florida Highway Patrol reached similar conclusions.
The complete text of the closing report (basically exonerating Ford and the Crown Victoria/Panther platform vehicles) may be found on NHTSA's website by clicking here: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/studies/CrownVic/Index.html.
NHTSA Study at odds with portrayl of Crown Vic in the media
This is is a most enlightening report. In contrast to most of the hype in the media this report presents actual factual information (like the striking vehicle's size and speed) about the accidents the Ford Crown Victoria has been involved in. Armed with actual accident data coupled with the details surrounding those accidents and also comparign the Crown Vic's statistics with statistics from other vehcles in the same service NHTSA concludes something FAR different than the short, hyperbolic and select presentation of the 'facts' as found in what passes as your typical top-of-the-hour or evening 'newscast' these days.
A brief side note in defense of (?) news organizations. Whoever suggested that the evening news was a 'presentation of the facts' anyway? They are there to attract and hold a viewing audience and sell advertising airtime. If they happen to stumble into the truth, that action is usually incidental to their actual, *unstated*, goal: profitability in their market and in their time-slot.
What will be the effect of such media-fed hysteria?
What I'm afraid of is, after it's all said and done with, that our police are going to be driving other SMALLER, UNSAFER vehicles than the Ford Crown Victoria once Ford cancels that model line or ceases to equip or recommend it for Police Service. This can be but the *only* result of all this constant media hystyeria, whipping up a fever pitch in the public which bleeds over into city councils, mayors, city managers, county judges, purchasing agents, city attorneys, state legislators, state attorney generals who will then be prompted to file a slew debilitating set of lawsuits against Ford.
Looked at another way - it was actually these governmental organizations (cities, counties, states) which inappropriately specified a federally-approved motor vehicle (a vehicle meeting all applicable federal crash and fuel-leakage regulations) for duty in locations known to be hazardous to life.
By *not* specifying in their RFQ's (Request For Quote) specifications section for purchases of police vehicles a requirement for high-speed crash survivability these cities, counties, states and towns buying Ford Crown Vics have endangered the lives of countless personnel under their employ; there *are* safer vehicles for performing such duties as construction zone 'blocker' duty than a large, civilian passenger automobile (as will be described further below).
Other 'forces' are at work behind the scenes
The news media isn't completely to blame - special interest groups like www.crownvictoriasafetyalert.com have sprung up, groups that are fueled by the lust for defendant's money that perform what looks like (to the untrained mind) a selfless 'public service' by posting/documenting the timeline of events around the Ford Crown Vic. But in their so-called 'timeline' of events these organizations miss (intentionally perhaps?) key dates and events like the closing date of NHTSA's investigation as well as NHTSA's conclusion (basically exonerating the Crown Vic/Panther platform) but notice that these organizations *do* clearly identify the date upon which NHTSA *opened* their investigation!
Selective presentation of the facts? Yes, THIS is how it's done when you're a 'big boy' and the facts need obfuscating!
A reasonable 'take' by an Automotive Journalist
Ed Wallace, local winner of a Gerald R. Loeb award for journalistic excellence as documented here and here analyzes the media hyperventilation caused by a recent rash of Ford Crown Victoria fires by either LARGE vehicles (including: dump trucks, a loaded 6500 pound van, a pickup truck towing a cattle trailer and a semi tractor-trailor rig) or vehicles travelling at excessive speed here in RealAudio Format.
In this analysis and commentary Ed pins the biggest part of this hysteria on the tort (personal injury) lawyers for the unstated purpose of 'poisoning of the jury pool' -a point I whole-heartedly agree with Ed on- because, quite simply, they stand to GAIN from any lawsuits filed and one against a vendor/manufacturer with 'deep-pockets' like the Ford Motor Company. Never mind that products end up costing ALL of us more when a tort -personal injury- lawyer files then prosecutes and wins a lawsuit on the basis of emotionly argued points RATHER THAN on the facts and on the proven, willful, perhaps negligent acts of a defendant ...
From the horse's mouth
Additional info and important/in-depth background data/anaysis (supplied by Ford and other organizations) may be found at: www.cvpi.com
Lost in the presentation by the media are such relevent points such as the very great danger that high speed actually represents in a collision - as the kinetic energy in an impact is directly proportinal to the *square* of the velocity (speed) of the impacting (or 'bullet') vehicle!
Stated in english the Kinetic energy present in a moving object is equal to one-half times the Mass times the Velocity squared. Written in symbolic form this becomes:
Kinetic Energy = 1/2 * Mass * Velocity2
What this means is that the amount of Kinetic energy in a moving car at 40 MPH is actually *four* times that of a car moving at 20 MPH -and- a car moving at 80 MPH has sixteen (16) times the amount of Kinetic energy of a car moving at only 20 MPH!
These are the kind of points that are covered in some of the material at the www.cvpi.com website.
Perspective - Rear Crash Fires against other sources of Fatalities
The pie chart below depicts the various causes of Officer Fatalities from 1996 to 2000. Notice that rear-crash fires amount to less than 1% while *other* causes (including accidents other than rear-end post-crash fires) amount to 99%! At this point it would *only* be logical to ask what is being done in some of these other categories to insure the safety of Officers.
Officer Safety in construction zones - time for a new solution?
After reviewing the circumstances surrounding these accidents it becomes appearant that police cars parked along side the road/highway are more subject to rear-end collisions than any in any other circumstance. A number of these collisions also occurred while an officer was performing 'blocker' duties - these officers, in effect, run interference for roadway, bridge, sign and lamppost constuction crews. Just recently Officer Metzler in Dallas was performing such duties when struck at high speed by a drunk driver.
Perhaps the *real* answer would to equip police assigned to construction zone 'blocking' duty to use vehicle equipped with behind-the-vehicle energy-absorbing barriers such as these:
... rather than a civilian vehicle like a passenger car.
The idea here is to select the proper, *safe* tool for a job like construction-zone 'blocking' rather than simply relying on the lights flashing or strobing on a Visibar - which don't work with distracted drivers, drivers driving under impaired conditions due to narcotics, alcohol or untreated/unmedicated medical conditions.
- Link summary:
- NHTSA Crown Victoria Investigation report summary (NHTSA website) (Note: New URL as of at least 7-06-2003)
- NHTSA Full Report (NHTSA website) (Note: New URL as of at least 7-06-2003)
- Ed Wallace's Anaysis in RealAudio format (requires RealAudio player)
- Background/current technical recommendations/reports (www.cvpi.com website)
- Ed Wallace RealAudio 5-21-2003 with a clip of Dallas Mayor Laura Miller 'sounding off' about the Crown Vic's as well as an analysis by Ed Wallace of what the City of Dallas SHOULD be putting in their "bid specs" when securing bids for Police Department patrol cars ...
Firestone Tire failures
News media hysteria over Firestone Tire failures was unnecessarily excerbated by an error in NHTSA's database - errors which prompted the airing of a number news stories based upon scenarios suggested by the 'bad numbers' appearing in the NHTSA database!
Ed Wallace does an excellent job examining all the hoopla - as well as any serious basis that may lie behind the reports of bad Firestone tires: Intro Full Story.
Here is an on-air story on the Firestone Tire issue given by Ed himself in RealAudio Format.
- Link summary:
- Intro to: "Errors in NHTSA database" (website)
- Full Story (website)
- RealAudio Story (requires RealAudio player)