September 27, 2002
Bowing to pressure from states and cities, Ford Motor Co. has agreed to build rubber and plastic shields around the gas tanks in 350,000 Ford Crown Victoria police cars. At least 12 police officers have died and many more have suffered burns when gas tanks exploded in flames after high-speed rear-end collisions.
Ford said it will do nothing to improve the safety of consumer versions of the full-sized sedan but said consumers would be able to buy the parts and pay for their installation.
Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano called it "a significant step forward." Three Arizona officers have died and one has been seriously injured in recent years when their cruisers' fuel tanks exploded after they were rear-ended.
Consumer advocates and attorneys for accident victims were less satisfied. They said the fuel tank shields should be tested by an independent agency, not just by Ford. They also demanded a federally-ordered recall to apply the fix to the 2 million Crown Victories, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Cars driven by consumers. The three cars all share the same design.
A Ford executive said police cars are at higher risk of serious rear-end collisions because they pull over on highway shoulders an average of 10 times a day to make traffic stops. Also, police cars are on the road an average of 10 hours a day, far more than most private vehicles. They are involved in roughly four times as many accidents as other vehicles.
It's hardly the first time Ford has had a problem with exploding fuel tanks. Like the infamous Pinto, the Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis have fuel tanks that are located behind the rear axle, making them more vulnerable to damage in a rear-end crash.
State and municipal agencies have been complaining about the problem for years. Ford finally responded after several class-action lawsuits were filed by city and state governments. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finally opened a preliminary probe last November.
