The equipment of a modern police patrol car and the safety of the crew

To correctly identify the hazards and elements affecting the safety level of the crew of the police cars, Automotive Industry Institute (PIMOT) carried out research in the field of passive safety of two passenger cars currently used in the Polish Police. The vehicles were equipped like marked and unmarked police cars. The tests consisted in defining the contact zones of additional equipment with the head and limbs of the driver and the passenger of the car. Furthermore, there was performed an energy dissipation test for the camera placed in front of the passenger. Authors carried out also the test involving the detonation of air bags mounted in the steering wheel and in the dashboard. Based on the conducted research, it has been shown that the additional equipment of police cars may pose a significant threat to the vehicle crew. During the tests the camera detached from the holder. The air bag contacted the car's equipment in both cars, which affected work of the air bag. Therefore, it was considered that it is necessary that manufacturers of police cars and other special vehicles should expand their knowledge on passive safety of vehicles to better select the type and manner of development. The tests that are carried out by research centres are helpful in this issue. Moreover, there should be legal regulations that will effectively enforce the control of the methodology of building emergency vehicles.