'It's Only a Compact'

The two liquor store bandits stood silently beside their overturned high-powered luxury getaway car, resigned to arrest, while officers snapped on handcuffs.

As they were moved to a nearby police vehicle, one of the bandits looked at the patrol car that had run them down. He spoke to the officer nearest to him.

"Are you the guy who caught us?" he asked.

"That's right," the officer replied.

"In that?" the prisoner inquired, nodding toward the police car.

"Right again," the officer said.

"But damn it, man! It's only a COMPACT!" the prisoner said in disgust.

Even increasing numbers of law enforcement agencies are discovering that Seattle's happy experience with compact police cars is well worth looking into. Faced with spiraling costs for vehicles, parts, fuel and maintenance, many agencies are finding new reasons to consider alternative selections of vehicles rather than to stay with a traditional big car syndrome.

Seattle Police Chief Robert L. Hanson has had great success in converting his metropolitan and suburban fleets from full and intermediate-sized Plymouth Fury and Satellite models to the sturdy Dodge Dart equipped with the 318 cubic inch V-8 engine. At the present time, the department is operating a total of 162 Dodge Darts. Eighty-three are employed in the Administrative Pool and seventy-nine in an enforcement application.

Lieutenant Jack B. Greer, head of the Evidence and Fleet Control Section of the Seattle Police Department, has been in charge of the force's experimental program with compact vehicles. "The results of these experiments," Geer says, "dictated that the Dodge Dart was the most acceptable vehicle for our enforcement and administrative pool operation and, to date, we have enjoyed excellent results from that decision."

Greer points out that Seattle's history of small car use in enforcement application actually began in the late 1960's when the department added to its fleet several Studebaker six cylinder sedans and later experimented with the six cylinder Dart. Because they were underpowered for normal patrol activity, they were used in administrative work where top performance demands were unneeded. However, the experience gained from the utilization and economies of the two vehicles led to later consideration in favor of small car employment.

Greer points out that as early as post-war 1947, several Plymouth coupes were included in the police fleet for use by the Motorcycle Unit during periods of inclement weather when the 'cycle force was inoperative. The coupes were used for metropolitan traffic control work and were placed in the department's general pool when the Motorcycle Unit returned to its normal routine.

After disposal of the Plymouth coupes, the department operated without smaller cars until the early '60s when the experiments were conducted with the six cylinder Studebaker and Dodge Dart.

Greer obtained staff approval in 1973 to replace ten Dodge Darts with sub-compact Pintos as part of the ongoing evaluation program of various vehicle sizes, weights, horsepower and economies. The department's Fleet Unit accepted an additional ten Pintos when an unscheduled fleet increase was necessary, thereby resulting in twenty sub-compact Pintos in the Administrative fleet.

"The basis of the sub-compact decision was, of course, the poor economic outlook in city government and the fuel energy crisis," Geer points out. "Statistics on savings as a result of the sub-compact move are not available as no real study has been made."

The 'Granddaddy' of Seattle's compact police car program is a veteran 1973 Dodge Dart that had been part of the fleet's pool of cars used in administrative work. This was Car 504 which was taken out of the Administrative Pool, modified only in the rear axle ration (to 3.23.1), suspension beef-up, installation of emergency equipment and necessary cosmetics. Car 504 was placed in routine patrol service at a time when it already had 20,000 miles on the clock.

In a short time, Car 504 won high officer acceptance and frequently was sought after by police officers who had been avid big car users. As interest grew in trying out the novel police vehicle, more and more officers expressed satisfaction with the car's performance and handling characteristics.

Car 504 is still in service, with more than 60,000 operational miles on the odometer. The vehicle was completely tested before it went into actual service at Sandpoint Naval Air Station where the Seattle Police Department conducts its vehicle testing operations. An experienced test driver was used to determine the full potential of the test vehicle. Here is an extract from the department's test report on Car 504:

The vehicle was first run from a standing start for the approximate distance of one-half mile, obtaining a top speed of 105 miles per hour. The vehicle then decelerates to 35 miles per hour to drive through a 180 degree curve.

On leaving the curve, the vehicle accelerates to 50 miles per hour and drives at that speed through a serpentine course of fast curves.

The vehicle then turns around and returns through the serpentine path and the 180 degree curve and then accelerates to 60 miles per hour to maintain that speed and drive through a lane change area. The execution speed of these tests was accomplished at considerably greater speeds than that of the course design.

The vehicle then went through the brake test which consists of the vehicle moving at 60 miles per hour, apply brakes of the point of not locking up the wheels and coming to a full stop four times.

In between each controlled stop, the vehicle is 'panic stopped' by locking the brakes, forcing it to a sliding stop. The Dart was consistent in stopping in the area of 140 fleet.

The vehicle was then tested for bottoming out, by running it through a washboard area, which it passed with flying colors.

In match-up performance testing against the Plymouth Fury and Satellite intermediate sized police cars, testing officers were pleasantly surprised to find that the Dodge Dart could out-accelerate the bigger cars up to 60 miles per hour and could come to a controlled stop in a shorter distance than the Fury and Satellite. In addition, the Dart's suspension system and weight distribution contributed to superior handling over the larger cars in the opinion of testing officers. Drivers found new confidence in the Dart's ability to perform as well or better than the Fury and Satellite in nearly every circumstance.

In addition, such features as interior comfort, leg-torso room and other environmental considerations were found to be nearly equal to the Fury and Satellite.

Officers also discovered that when running in the rough, hilly, twisting geography of Seattle's seven hills, the Dart showed agility and stability when running at high speeds in situations where bottoming-out put severe strain on suspension system and steering controls. The lightness of the car, combined with satisfactory power/weight ratios, made for excellent handling in normal response situations.

In a major effort to reduce fuel consumption and maintenance costs in 1974, the department replaced 50-percent of its enforcement fleet with compact cars and organized its program to accommodate total replacement of the larger cars with compacts by mid-1975.

In planning the shift to compact cars, the department estimated by replacing full-size and intermediate-size enforcement vehicles, large fuel savings and significant maintenance cost reduction would be accomplished. Also considered was the prospect of a higher residual value of the compacts at a future date when the vehicles would come up for replacement.

A major consideration supporting the decision to go compact was an expected 25 to 30-percent reduction in patrol car traffic accidents wherever the Dart replaced the larger fleet vehicles. Department officials felt that the accident reduction rate would be the result of better maneuverability, 50-percent reduction in stopping distance and the possible psychological aspect of operating smaller vehicles, based on test survey findings by department studies.

At no point in department records, according to Greer, do the cars reflect any greater severity of injuries to officers in accidents of comparable severity involving intermediate and larger cars. Although Greer and his associates are quick to point out they cannot scientifically prove the compacts are responsible for the accident reductions, then do believe - and strongly suggest - that the combination of a recently initiated safe driving program for officers and the psychological effect on officers operating in smaller vehicles "may well contribute significantly" to the surprising drop in patrol car accidents.

Fleet Control is monitoring this bonus result of compact car usage to ascertain accurately all the factors in the safety equation. Greer's personal conviction is the officers themselves may exercise mental disciplines while driving the smaller compacts which they might subconsciously ignore were they driving the larger vehicles.

"We are of the opinion that the resultant savings will exceed those predictions we made in 1973 and we have sacrificed virtually nothing in the transition. The compacts used today were the sedans of yesterday and people are not that much bigger," Greer said.

Of great importance to this decision is the nearly total acceptance to the Dart by the officers actually using the cars. A program was set up by the Patrol Administrative Unit early in the experiments to collect use. An overwhelming majority of the officers gave their endorsements to the change in vehicle size and showed a strong preference for using the Dart whenever possible over the Fury and Satellite.

Greer believes that the decision to go compact on a full operations basis opened the doors to a whole new realization of values in police fleet operations. He remembers that when he made a presentation in April, 1974 at the National Association of Fleet Administrators' Conference in New York City regarding Seattle's decision to use compacts on operational status, he got some negative reactions.

"The attendee's reactions varied from disbelief to humorous jokes and mild interest," Greer recalls. "After having offered our projections in the area of savings in fuel, maintenance and accident reductions, I felt maybe I had sounded off a little too long and too loud.

"After a full six months of operating 75 compact cars on patrol, the Fleet Unit conducted an in-depth study of the areas of concern. The resultant information was almost unbelievable. We had almost total acceptance of the compact in this application. We are enjoying a large fuel savings, a 32-percent decrease in maintenance costs and a 21-percent (department) accident decrease over-all," he says.

Greer says that the bulk of the department's present Dart enforcement fleet is assigned to the North and South Precinct Stations where there was a very significant accident reduction.

"In the Central or Headquarters Precinct where intermediate sedans are being operated, we show a one-percent increase in accidents. These facts cannot be ignored," Greer says.

Seattle's police fleet totals about 378 vehicles, traveling a total of approximately 6,000,000 miles. With the fuel savings, the economical gains are considerable. The Darts have been averaging 10.4 miles per gallon versus the average of only 5.7 miles per gallon for the Furys and Satellites, according to Greer's records. These figures are based on actual enforcement operations.

All told, compact cars are attracting a lot of fresh attention from the nation's fleet operators, especially in city governments where the high costs of fuel, parts, maintenance, overhead and the initial investment in lease equipment is pressing hard against public budgets.

If the experience of Seattle's law enforcement professionals is at all representative of official reaction to the possibilities of compacts in police work, then a lot of former hard-nosed big car advocates are due for the baptism for conversion.