Fleet management: vehicle rotation criteria - law enforcement agencies

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The, August, 2002 by Curtis W. Exley

The ancillary parts of the vehicle are the ones that will break down. Suspension components wear out or weaken and break. Parts, such as bushings, deteriorate. Brake and fuel lines and wiring harnesses wear through at body attachment points or where they pass through frame members. Interior components, such as seats, controls, and interior upholstery, show signs of wear thousands of miles before a mechanical component. "Look at a 2-year-old patrol car; it will still look good on the outside while the interior shows wear on the seats, arm rests, pedals, and other areas. The passenger seat may look new, but the driver's seat, well sprung, showing the effects of thousands of hours of patrol." (29)

Engineers agree that two factors determine the life expectancy of a vehicle: environment and maintenance. Maintenance is seldom a problem for police agencies; common sense dictates that they take care of their equipment. As long as agencies follow the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedules during the life-cycling process, their cars should hold up reasonably well. (30)

However, even regular maintenance does not guarantee that a vehicle will stay in good condition forever. Automobiles are made of plastic, steel, rubber, and aluminum, which will weaken over time. There has to be a point when those materials are not strong enough to take the wear and tear police give them.

Because no definitive information exists on how long various parts last in a vehicle, the question of when safety-related parts become dangerous constitutes an arguable point. Safe-operating procedures should dictate that parts be replaced at an arbitrary point before they show excess wear and certainly before any potential weakness and failure can occur. Arbitrary or scheduled replacement of parts leads to another problem--expense. Higher maintenance downtime increases costs. Mechanics and replacement components create expenses; moreover, cars off the road do not produce results, they produce bills. (31)

The other factor that determines the life expectancy of a vehicle is the conditions it operates under. Not just the use aspect, such as law enforcement or civilian, but the actual environment. The ideal environment for anything composed primarily of steel is a warm, dry climate such as the American Southwest. Because the area is warm and dry, steel is less likely to rust. In areas where there is more moisture or corrosive elements, such as salt, metal life expectancy is much shorter. States where salt or chemicals are used on the highways in winter or the coastal states where salt is always in the atmosphere provide the ideal recipe for short vehicle life.

Overall, a newer car may cost more money, but it can save the agency money in reduced fuel and maintenance costs. Also, an agency's image can suffer if all it uses are older cars. How safe will citizens feel when they see a 10-year-old patrol car on the streets? They may applaud the agency's fiscal responsibility, but they also may ask why the cars are not safer and more up-to-date.