An RCMP Test Project: Mustangs For Highway Patrol
Veteran Ric Hall sent us this old RCMP Gazette magazine article about the Force testing the high performance Ford Mustangs. Veteran Grant Tyndall who contributed to this article has provided us photographs of this testing which resulted in the limited introduction of these cars in the Force.
Article appeared in the RCMP Gazette magazine and the article was written by Michael Babin (RCMP Gazette).
The days in which members of the RCMP kept the peace by patrolling on horseback are long gone. However, keeping pace with the North American fascination with fast cars and the temptation to disregard traffic laws that having such power under your feet can bring is an on-going challenge. To meet it, the RCMP has been testing the use of 210 horsepower, five-litre, fuel-injected, V-8 Ford Mustangs for a one-year period in two provinces since April 1986.
Division traffic supervisors requested that this type of vehicle be tested as the performance of the current transport in use was inadequate in certain areas. Furthermore, the need to evaluate smaller cruisers was evident as it appears that most police vehicles in the future will be on a “down-sized” nature.
The Mustangs have been used successfully in some American states, notably by the California Highway Patrol and the Washington State Patrol. The RCMP which has the responsibility for patrolling highways in all provinces except New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, is testing the vehicle’s suitability for traffic law enforcement. The Force’s original intention was to evaluate it in the four western divisions, however, management in “D” (Manitoba) and “K” (Alberta) Divisions re-evaluated their participation prior to the Force purchase of eight test vehicles. Consequently, “E” Division (British Columbia) was able to receive four more units than had originally been planned while “F” Division (Saskatchewan) obtained two as originally planned.
S/Sgt. Grant Tyndall of “E” Division Highway Traffic Services reports that they were pleased to receive the additional vehicles as it enabled them to evaluate the relative merit, for police purposes, of standard as opposed to automatic transmissions. Six standard and automatic models are obtained and stationed, in pairs (one of each type of transmission), at three patrol locations.
Three highway districts: Deas Island, Port Mann and Hope were chosen as testing areas.
The Deas Island Highway Patrol covers from the Vancouver City boundary, south to the US border on Highway 99, including Highway 17 to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal (Victoria Ferry) and Highway 91, the new freeway system into Vancouver via the Alex Fraser Bridge. The area includes three municipalities and is, geographically, flat delta land.
The Port Mann Highway Patrol covers the TransCanada Highway through the Metropolitan Vancouver area (exclusive of Vancouver City) from North Vancouver to Langley. The terrain varies formulate delta to rolling hilly terrain.
The Hope Free Patrol cover a territory ranging from the extreme east end of the Fraser Valley into the Cascade Mountain Range. It is the main focal point for the Trans-Proincial Highway System including the TransCanada Highway, the Fraser Canyon North and the new Fraser Canyon North and the new Coquihalla Freeway System leading to Merritt and the southern Trans-Provincial, over the Hope Princeton (Allison Summit) Highways. This area includes four-lane divided highway as well as two and four lane undivided highway systems in the lower elevations and over mountain passes.
At the first two patrols cover areas which have high volume daily commuter traffic, including inter and intra-provincial traffic, it is felt that these three areas are representative, over the course of a year, of the full range of driving and weather conditions (dry and hot, wet as well as extreme snow conditions in the mountainous areas).
An interm six-month evaluation of the six test units in “E” Division supported the continuing use of such vehicles as operational units. However, Port Mann and Hope Freeway Patrols recommended that the use of such vehicles be restricted to freeway patrol operations as the Mustang’s size and wide turing radius made it impractical in their opinion, for general duty, rural highway patrol and municipal traffic duties or duties other than freeway patrol.
The consensus of opinion indicates a preference for standard transmissions as the ‘standards’ tested performed better at higher speeds with better cost efficiency. The standard transmission is a 5 speed with 5th being overdrive. The automatics are equipped with overdrive, however, it is not being used for police operations (i.e. high speed pursuits). A problem with the automatic transmission in the Hope vehicle was encountered, corrected and no problems have since been experienced with any of the vehicles. Interestingly, those units stationed at Port Mann and Deas Island (relatively flat areas) needed no repairs at the end of the interim period. The Hope vehicles required only front brake replacement during this period which is to be expected in mountainous terrain.
It is also interesting that the standard transmission was preferred by those members who had the opportunity to try both even though there have been manual shift vehicles in the Force since the late 60’s.
When the Mustangs were initially received, and prior to being used, those designated to operate them were given a one-week driving course at a local racetrack in the Lower Mainland of B.C. This was to ensure that the members were given some training in high-speed pursuit with particular reference to those handling characteristics unique to the Mustang. Due to the combinations of the vehicle’s positraction, short wheelbase, relatively light bodyweight and torque/horsepower capability, drivers of these vehicles tend to ‘oversteer’ particularly when entering curves at close to the maximum speed and especially while driving on wet slippery surfaces.
Unfortunately, this vehicle has a tendency to understeer initially and drivers must anticipate these handling characteristics and provide immediate and proper response to avoid spinning out. All breaking, heavy acceleration, downshifting and upshifting is most safely accomplished while travelling in a straight line either prior to entering or after leaving a curve. In this connection, a common complaint about the Mustang – that their rear ends are too light and tend to sway, even at moderate speeds – is partially compensated for by the weight of the equipment that the police officers store and carry in their trunks.
American statistics have shown, in that country, that the Mustang driver does not have a higher percentage of accidents than does the operator of conventional police vehicles. however, the states from which these statistics were taken take great care in selecting the personnel who use the Mustang pursuit vehicles. Consequently, in the future, those members chosen to operate the Mustang will be expected to have competed the Advanced Driver Training course, either at a divisional level or at Depot.
Five of the six B.C. Mustangs are being operated without roof-mounted light bars. Their use tends to be a hindrance in deterring those violators who look for police lights before seeing or breaking the law. The sixth vehicle vehicle is equipped with a new downsized, roof-mount light-bar which is also being tested. It is mounted on a Mustangwith an automatic transmission and that vehicle is being rotated to all three B.C. test areas. This is being done to test the light bar in all three areas and to determine if the automatic transmission problem previously discused was unique to the affected vehicle or whether it was due to the hilly terrain or both.
The use of these vehicles has been well received by both the general public and Force members. A lot of publicity has been generated by the media around the use of such vehicles in police work. However, as S/Sgt/. Tyndall is quick to point out, ‘these units are really no different from police interceptors we operated in the past. The previous units are large vehicles with V-8 motors, now we are testing small vehicles with small V-8 motors.’
SPECIFICATIONS
In 1986, a popular American car magazine created the five-litre V-8 Mustang among the ten fastest cars in North America, placing it in the same category as Corvettes and Porsches in terms of speed and acceleration. The five-litre V-8 Mustang equipped with a five-speed transmission goes from 0 to 100 kilometres an hour in 7.3 seconds. It takes 7.59 seconds to reach the same speed using an automatic transmission.
The two-door test models purchased by the Force have been painted RCMP colour and are equipped with a police heavy-duty suspension package. Being lighter than the four-door underpowered sedans traditionally used, these vehicles are more economical in terms of fuel consumption (an important consideration in an age of fluctuating feel costs).
These Mustangs have heavy-duty low-back bucket seats; 0-255 Kph calibrated speedometer head assembly; metal disc break pads; rotor shields; front lower radiator air deflector; a full reinforced front floor pan; heavy-duty(Kevlar) dive belts; heavy duty belt tensioner; conventional spare tire and wheel; hood sound absorber delete; heater hose inlet restrictor; police special transistorized voltage regulator; and 15″ x 7″ heavy duty steel wheels.
CONCLUSION
S/Sgt/ Tyndall feels that the six-month interim report indicated that then units are giving satisfactory service with few operational problems. However, he feels that it is too soon to determine which unit, standard or automatic, will be the most acceptable from both the operator’s point of view and that of cost efficiency. When the Mustangs have been in use for a year under all weather conditions, management will be in a better position to determine if the vehicles will be suitable for Force Fleet operations at selected locations.
At a cost to the Force of approximately $14,000 each, these police Mustangs are designed to fulfill a preventive and not a provocative role in crime prevention. The use of such cruiser is certainly not meant to encourage high-speed chases; however; such hazardous pursuits are a factor in highway policing. The Mustang may, in fact, prove to be the ‘vehicle’ for safety and improved traffic law enforcement.
POST-SCRIPT
According to Grant, Staff Sergeant Marv Ukrainetz used one of the cars for the final RCMP escort of Rick Hansen into the Lower Mainland.
According to Veteran Warren Nelson “The Ford Mustang was in use from 1986 until 1992. They were a handful to drive on wet or snowy roads. All Mustangs came with manual transmissions which kept driver’s busy in the cockpit particularly when having to driver, shift and use the radio. The Mustang was phased out in favor of the Chevrolet Camaro.
The Camaro was purchased from 1992 until 2002. The Camaro outperformed the Mustang. The Camaro engine was larger, the wheelbase was longer, the Camaro was faster and it handled better.
The integrated Traffic Service Unit at Chilliwack (formerly Sumas, Hope and Agassiz Highway Patrols) had one of the last Camaros in service, until 2004 or so.
None of the Mustangs or the first of the Camaros were painted the correct RCMP blue.
I drove both and taught on the course required for all who operated these cars.”
Despite this short-term usage in the Force, the two of the vehicles were secured by car collectors and refitted to their original condition. The Mustang in the image below is owned and maintained by a collector in Saskatoon. This vehicle was originally assigned to the Burnaby Freeway Unit.
Many thanks go out to RCMP Veterans Grant Tyndall and Warren Nelson for provide the photographs and followup details on the Force’s use of the Ford Mustang.