Taurus Police Interceptor Deters Speeders and Lowers Auto Insurance
By: Justin Vasquez, Car Insurance Analyst
CheaperCarInsurance.com
Speeders who have been outrunning Ford Crown Victoria police cars may be in for a nasty surprise in late 2011. Ford has released its Taurus
Police Interceptor model that will soon replace the Crown Vic model with a sleeker, tech savvy car that is built for speed. That’s bad news for speeders, who will receive even more speeding tickets. But it’s good news for auto insurance companies, as they can:
a) Make more money from those speeders by raising their rates for unsafe driving
b) Lower overall rates if the new police cars deter more people from speeding
Ford controls 75% of all U.S. police vehicles on the market, and sells about 45,000 to law enforcement officers. Its Crown Victoria model will end production in late 2011, and the new Police Interceptor version of the Taurus will seamlessly be offered as the new and improved police pursuit vehicle.
The Police Interceptor may seem like just another Taurus model, with V6 and front wheel drive, but get it on the road and try to outrun it, and you’ll soon see it ain’t your grandfather’s police car. The Taurus gets 25% better efficiency than the Crown Vic, and also features:
- 263-horsepower
- 3.5-liter V-6
- E85 capability
For high speed chases, the Interceptor has a special system that helps it accelerate super fast; EcoBoost V-6′s 365-horsepower and 350-pound-feet of torque help police overtake the bad guys and stop them on any road condition.
All in all, the Taurus police vehicle will be better in fuel efficiency, performance, safety and features (especially technology related) than the Crown Victoria.
There are plans to unveil a sports utility vehicle model by Ford for the Police Interceptor line later in 2010. It too will have the speed and versatility that the car model has, as well as technology to assist law enforcement officers to quickly access police and driving records from their vehicles.
Ford modified its standard Taurus inside to better accommodate police work. It includes:
- Improved safety features, and the ability to withstand a 75-mph rear-end crash
- A side-curtain rollover airbag for both front and rear passengers
- Roll Fold technology that lets the side curtain airbags slide between passenger and window
The inside of the Police Interceptor is high tech all the way.
New features for this model include a seatbelt that better accommodates a police officer’s utility belt, and an anti-stab plate in the back of the front seats to protect the officers from the arrested passengers in the back.
The Police Interceptor has been rigorously tested by police officers and has stood up to all driving styles and performance tests given by Michigan State Police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Few modifications were needed after the testing, but a few things, like the brakes, were tweaked to better meet the needs of police officers.
How the Police Interceptor Can Lower Auto Insurance Rates
Auto insurance companies base rates on general driving conditions. They look at the number of car accidents, speeding incidents, traffic violations, et cetera, and determine the possibility that someone will incur one of these while being a policyholder.
If the Ford Taurus Police Interceptor deters people from speeding (simply because they are more likely to get caught and ticketed), those statistics for speeders will drop significantly—enough, in fact, to affect auto insurance quotes. Fewer speeders means fewer accidents, too, so bringing that number down will also decrease auto insurance rates even more.
While law enforcement and auto insurance companies do not work together per se, they do have the same goals: to keep drivers and passengers on the road safe. If police officers can keep people driving safer, auto insurers can reward all drivers by offering lower rates.
Posted: March 13, 2010
