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Do IT this week: Layering
Published on Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009
Associated Press
LIMA: Tight budgets are forcing police departments and sheriff's offices across Ohio to keep cruisers on the road longer, raising safety concerns.
Auglaize County Sheriff Al Solomon in northwest Ohio has nine cruisers with mileage well over 100,000 miles and in some cases approaching 200,000.
To save wear and tear, Auglaize County places deputies in higher crime areas, keeping miles down instead of driving around on patrol. The risk is leaving areas of the county without patrols, Solomon said.
Putnam County has its nighttime deputies park their cruisers 20 minutes each hour when they can.
The Lima Police Department has 19 marked cruisers, of which 11 have more than 100,000 miles. The agency has not received a new car in two years and expects to exceed its annual maintenance budget of about $82,000 by the end of this month.
Allen County Sheriff Sam Crish said he is concerned about safety when it comes to older vehicles.
He said sheriff's cruisers frequently travel at high speeds when deputies respond to emergencies.
That abuse takes a toll on cars and worries Crish, especially if something breaks that could jeopardize deputies or the public.
''We don't want to be driving vehicles on the road that are unsafe,'' Crish said. ''We ticket people for that.''
In Van Wert County, three of the sheriff's six patrol cars have more than 118,000 miles. After years of tough economic times, the agency runs its cruisers as long as possible, sometimes pushing mileage to 180,000 or even 200,000, said Sheriff Stan Owens.
A new police car costs about $20,000, with an additional $10,000 if new equipment is needed.
Sheriffs and police officials say the maintenance costs will catch up with the departments eventually. They say the only saving grace is that fuel prices have decreased since the summer of 2008, when many agencies were struggling with the effect of $4 a gallon gas on their budgets.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 10:45 AM, 09/08/2009
www.carbonmotors.com
Diesel engine police car of the future! Should last longer and run faster! A car built from the ground up to be a police vehicle! Not a taxi cab with a cage!
