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Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,326 posts, read 54,350,985 times
Reputation: 40726
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroWord
Most PDs are under budgeted and overworked. I was one of the lucky ones who got assigned a car that had about 60k miles on there. My friends from the academy got assigned cars that were 150k+ miles.
I was under the impression the manufacturers were quite competitive in trying to win fleet contracts and thought a purpose built seat might be a talking point. The competitiveness may no longer be the case, I know in my area every municipal, county, and state patrol vehicle I see is a Chrysler product. Perhaps Ford and GM have given up the fight?
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,326 posts, read 54,350,985 times
Reputation: 40726
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrolman
I wish they did. I spent 40 years is a patrol car, starting with a 1973 AMC Matador and retired driving a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria. When I started in 1974, I had my holstered service revolver, two ammo dump boxes, and a set of handcuffs on my duty belt. That was it.
By the time I retired, my duty belt held my service revolver, three speedloaders, two sets of handcuffs, pepper spray, taser, folding knife, glove pouch, collapsible baton, flashlight, radio - well, you get the picture. As a result, three spinal surgeries in the three years since I've retired. I don't know if the newer patrol cars have addressed the issue. I hope they have.
I was thinking of how some race cars have a basic seat pan that accepts inserts for different drivers, I thought it a good possibility a similar scheme could be employed in patrol vehicles, a basic seat pan with different inserts made to accommodate various equipment levels. I don't know if it would be economically viable but with today's laser measuring equipment and modern production methods it wouldn't be a big stretch to produce personalized inserts for every driver using the vehicles.
I was under the impression the manufacturers were quite competitive in trying to win fleet contracts and thought a purpose built seat might be a talking point. The competitiveness may no longer be the case, I know in my area every municipal, county, and state patrol vehicle I see is a Chrysler product. Perhaps Ford and GM have given up the fight?
Here's the problem with this logic. This logic may work if there is a single all powerful bigass PD. But there's not. There are millions of PDs out there, most of them only consist of a few POs. There's no way manufacturers can please all of them.
What PDs do is look at cars they think best suited for the job and the price point. Certain areas, you see a lot of crown Vics, impalas, and chargers simply because those are the biggest sedans there are.
I wanted to know if they had a donut holder instead of cup holder
Former cop here. After about 3 years, I quit and changed career.
Anyway, I remember the first day straight out of the academy. There were 3 of us at our particular station. I had to go pick up our equipment. When I got back, I saw the other 2 guys walking down the street carrying several donut boxes. I stopped and asked what the hell are you doing? They said the staff asked them to go buy donuts for everyone. They walked to the donut store. They had no idea the staff was playing a prank on them. Imaging driving down the street and seeing 2 uniformed cops carrying several boxes of donuts.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,326 posts, read 54,350,985 times
Reputation: 40726
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroWord
Here's the problem with this logic. This logic may work if there is a single all powerful bigass PD. But there's not. There are millions of PDs out there, most of them only consist of a few POs. There's no way manufacturers can please all of them.
What PDs do is look at cars they think best suited for the job and the price point. Certain areas, you see a lot of crown Vics, impalas, and chargers simply because those are the biggest sedans there are.
PDs each do their own shopping for vehicles? IIRC, when I lived in NJ, I believe the State Police negotiated a deal for what vehicle they believed best suited their needs and PDs in the state could choose the same deal if the vehicle fit their needs.
I wish they did. I spent 40 years is a patrol car, starting with a 1973 AMC Matador and retired driving a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria. When I started in 1974, I had my holstered service revolver, two ammo dump boxes, and a set of handcuffs on my duty belt. That was it.
By the time I retired, my duty belt held my service revolver, three speedloaders, two sets of handcuffs, pepper spray, taser, folding knife, glove pouch, collapsible baton, flashlight, radio - well, you get the picture. As a result, three spinal surgeries in the three years since I've retired. I don't know if the newer patrol cars have addressed the issue. I hope they have.
What no briefcase and AED? My husband is a retired LEO and the passenger seat was for all of the left over gear except for the rifle. That was in the trunk. He drove a Crown Vic too and hated the SUV's. He said the Crown Vic's were way more comfortable. A friend drove me home after I parked my car at our police department after a blizzard in an SUV, and it seemed pretty nice.
PDs each do their own shopping for vehicles? IIRC, when I lived in NJ, I believe the State Police negotiated a deal for what vehicle they believed best suited their needs and PDs in the state could choose the same deal if the vehicle fit their needs.
It might be a NJ or a New England thing. My experience in the Midwest is to the contrary -- no one piggybacks on a state bid. Each agency is responsible for choosing and negotiating their own vehicle purchases.
I'm not LEO, but I have a permit to carry. No matter what type of holster I have used while driving it was uncomfortable. You sit funny to compensate and end up with aches and pains. I finally removed it from my body and keep it in a dash compartment. I can't imagine how uncomfortable it has to be for cops to have all that gear poking them while driving.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,326 posts, read 54,350,985 times
Reputation: 40726
Quote:
Originally Posted by joe from dayton
It might be a NJ or a New England thing. My experience in the Midwest is to the contrary -- no one piggybacks on a state bid. Each agency is responsible for choosing and negotiating their own vehicle purchases.
A bit surprising to me, there's a lot to be said for the economy of scale.
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