Saab cars are to be introduced to the Garda fleet this year for the first time on a test and evaluation basis. The introduction of the two Saab 9-3s follows the deaths of Gardas Tony Tighe and Michael Padden who were killed when a stolen car rammed the side of their patrol car at an estimated 120 mph on the Stillorgan Dual Carriageway in Dublin in April of last year, writes Ian Noctor.
Their deaths led to a call by the Garda Representative Association for suitable cars to be supplied to best protect members from the dangers faced in the course of their daily duties.
The GRA's PJ Stone says the Health and Safety Authority has advised the Secretary General of the Department of Justice that to comply with legislation district patrol cars must, as a minimum, have side impact protection. He says: "If the Health and Safety Authority has decided these cars should be fitted with these as a minimum then surely we can expect they should be."
The Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne confirmed the two Saab 9-3s are to be introduced on a pilot basis this year. The option of modifying the current fleet of cars was examined but the Commissioner said: "You can't just put roll bars into conventional cars. There are technical, engineering and safety reasons why welding bars to cars just doesn't work."
Commissioner Byrne says it's a case of looking at what cars are being used by police forces across Europe and studying best practice. He says Swedish police in particular have a good record in the area of safety and confirmed the introduction of the Saabs in a bid to evaluate how they stand up to the demands made on them by Irish policing. Members of An Garda Síochána have travelled to Sweden to see the cars in use by their Swedish counterparts.
As a choice of vehicle the Saab 9-3 has a strong safety record achieving four stars in the EuroNCAP collision test. Because of the risk of garda cars being rammed side-on by stolen vehicles, the best possible side impact protection is essential. The 9-3 achieved the highest possible score in EuroNCAP's side collision test. In the case of side impact, the body structure is designed to distribute the impact over as large an area as possible.
The crash energy is absorbed by the side of the car, where the door pillar is made of high strength steel. Reinforced sills and door pillars help distribute the force of the impact to the safety cage surrounding the interior.
Furthermore, Saab engineers have designed the door pillar to dissipate crash energy downwards. As a result it's the more robust areas of the body such as the pelvis, which bear the brunt of the force, rather than the more fragile body parts, so injury to the head, rib cage and torso are significantly reduced.
Other safety features on the Saab 9-3 include the "Designed Deformation" system. The body structure of the car is designed to behave in a controlled and consistent manner during a crash. In a head-on or rear-end crash the collision forces are absorbed by the car's crumple zones and then transferred to a reinforced high-strength steel cage which surrounds the interior. This predictable behaviour in a crash allows Saab to optimise the design of the car's other safety features, such as seat belts, airbags and dashboard further reducing the risk of injury to the occupants.
The Garda Commissioner has insisted the two Saabs are being tested purely on a pilot basis. The Saab 9-3 costs € 35,400 for the entry range 1.8t. This compares to an entry price of € 24,000 for the Toyota Avensis which has just beaten the Saab gaining five stars in the EuroNCAP safety test and a 100 per cent score for its side impact protection system which includes a thorax side airbag and a head curtain for occupants front and rear.
These facts will be borne in mind by the Commissioner who said he wants to ensure gardaí have the safest possible transport while bearing in mind budgetary constraints. Extras such as air conditioning, electric windows and central locking may seem like luxuries in a police car, but this is not the case overseas. Wiltshire Police's fleet manager, Steve Botham, says such items are necessities when officer are in cars up to eight hours a day.
Even lumber support is now considered essential for England's police drivers to reduce the backache associated with long hours in the car. Including such extras in the basic package could seal the deal for the cost conscious garda fleet managers.
If the Garda Commissioner does opt for extras it'll spell a significant shift in thinking at garda management level. As PJ Stone said: "It's not that long ago since head rests were removed from garda cars because they were deemed to be giving in to luxury."