All About Telematics for Ford Police Interceptor Vehicles

ford police interceptor

Ford and Telogis have developed a new way to help police departments save lives, prevent injuries, and potentially save money (by reducing maintenance and accident costs). Based on the Crew Chief telematics system that comes in Ford’s Transit vans as well as their complete line of commercial light duty trucks, the Ford Telematics system is designed specifically to help meet the monitoring needs of law enforcement agencies.

Traffic related incidents have been the leading cause of law enforcement fatalities in 14 of the last 16 years, and so any improvement in driver behavior and training could save lives. The telematics system monitors vehicle speed, location, lateral acceleration, spins, yaw rates, pursuit mode, accelerator and brake pedal position, engine torque, antilock braking system events, stability and traction control events, and safety belt usage. Agencies are able to get individualized scorecards for each of their officers’ driving based on these inputs, allowing the agencies to monitor their drivers to ensure that they are driving safely, avoiding excessive speed, and using their safety belt. The agencies can use the data to tailor their training to specific officers and to encourage safe driving behaviors. The system can also be used to reduce municipal liability and help defend against complaints and litigation.

The Crew Chief system found in Ford’s other fleet vehicles are capable of monitoring Oil Life (% remaining), Tire Pressure, Diagnostic Trouble Codes (or DTCs), Engine Coolant Temperature, Water in Fuel (on diesel vehicles), Excessive RPM, Safety Belt usage, Airbag faults, Battery voltage, Excessive Idling, and Hard Acceleration or Braking.

For more information on the Crew Chief system, visit http://www.fordcrewchief.com and for more information about Ford’s police vehicles, visit http://www.fordpoliceinterceptor.com.