Issue link: http://pfmmag.epubxp.com/i/113376
reviewed by Ford engineers. Te mappable steering wheel switches are superior to anything out there in the police market today. Moving only your thumb to activate lights and/or siren is not only safer but far easier for the ofcer. Ford has always taken driver distraction seriously, but these switches, along with some future enhancements as a result of their partnership with InterMotive Vehicle Controls, will further beneft ofcer safety. u The PI Sedan has four customizable auxiliary control buttons built into the steering wheel for heads-up control. The remappable switches, rocker up ON ��� rocker up OFF, can be connected to any aftermarket device. Upftting and Ergonomics Te Ford OEM center console baseplate comes standard. Tis provides an anchor point for all equipment consoles and mobile computing solutions. Tis center mounting plate has been crash tested with 75 pounds of gear bolted to the plate. Again, Ford���s priority is to ensure occupant safety. Te rear console plate is a square channel allowing wires to run to the trunk. Te dash cutout equipment tray made from the retail Taurus subwoofer location also ofers secure anchoring for dash-mounted equipment. Tis universal top tray is designed to allow radar displays and antennas to be securely mounted out of the airbag zones. Te PI Sedan that I tested had a Gamber Johnson CF-30 docking station with a Gamber Johnson steel console. Te console had the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) and Whelen Sapphire light controller. Tey were mounted fat, which made it easy to access but difcult to view when the laptop was pulled close enough to type on the keyboard. I would have preferred to have the LMR and Controller mounted up high instead of having to drop my eyes to the radio channel while moving. Interior ergonomics mixing HVAC and IP controls with police mobile computing systems is very difcult for the vehicle manufacturers. Many in policing say the police car makers should ofer a built-in screen on the dash of the vehicle. However, that isn���t as simple as it sounds. Any such screen has to be large enough to display dispatch or CAD information. In a moving vehicle that shakes and vibrates, the size 8 font on a screen with sunlight on it is difcult to read. Te screen has to be able to swivel side to side; the prisoner in the back should not be able to read the screen while the ofcer works. Second, across North America law enforcement is so diverse in how we upft our vehicles that even if an OEM decided to mount a screen, how many agencies would be able to adapt their software to it? Te better focus for the vehicle manufacturers would be to provide greater real estate and structural mounting surfaces on the airbag-safe center IP stack. Ten everybody does their own thing, in the same area of the IP. Te other issue is most police software is formatted to work with a typical 13-inch screen. If you put that software on an 8-inch display, you will have display issues. Rear Visibility Contrary to the frst impression it may give, the PI Sedan actually has very good visibility overall. Te roofine is lowered and sleek, but the visibility is perfectly acceptable forward, forward-upward, forward past the A-pillars, out the side, and to the rear quarter (turn head and look behind B-pillar). Some ofcers feel the B-pillar is right in the way of a shoulder check. Te safety improvements that lead to the higher beltline, smaller door glass size, and A, B, and C pillar locations, take some getting used to. Ofcers used to shoulder checking in the CVPI simply have p The Ford PI Sedan has a trunk volume nearly as large as the Ford CVPI. The PI Sedan full-size spare is under the 400 pound rated load foor. Gain more than 3 cubic feet of trunk space by removing the spare and foam support. The sliding, electronics trunk tray is highly recommended. www.pfmmag.com 51