In addition to Iowa’s State Patrol, many local law enforcement agencies around the state are adding safety devices to Ford Crown Victoria cars, possibly the most popular model used by law enforcement. Lieutenant Dave Rowell is in charge of the fleet of vehicles for Cedar Rapids police, and he says they’ve installed gas tank shields in their fleet to protect from explosions and fires after accidents. After concerns were raised about fire danger in collisions, the Ford Motor Company offered a gas-tank shield for added safety. He calls it Ford’s “fix.” About 70 Crown Victoria squad cars in the Cedar Rapids police fleet were retro-fitted with the gas-tank shields. Other agencies are going through the same process, and about 70-percent of the 400 vehicles in the State Patrol’s fleet have so far gotten the gas-tank shields installed.
