Police plan to buy more white cruisers

The cruisers will be more visible and therefore safer, the chief contends.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Safety is one of the motives behind the township's plan to replace the police department's black cruisers with white ones.
The township's first white police cruiser hit the streets July 1. It's assigned to the supervisor.
The goal is to buy white cruisers as the department's seven black cruisers are retired.
"We didn't want to spend the money to paint the old cruisers," said police Chief Brian Goodin.
The process will likely occur at a rate of one to two cars per year, depending on available funding, he said. "I've always liked the white cruisers," the chief added.
The move also follows a switch to white by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
In 2003, OSHP started to retire its charcoal gray cruisers in favor of white ones. The idea was to make the vehicles more visible.
State patrol officials said at that time the dark color blends in with roads during the day and can't be seen at night. The switch followed the deaths of two troopers killed during traffic stops in less than three years.
Problems with visibility
"Their studies had found that one of the reasons for the accidents was that people couldn't see the cars," Goodin said.
Those conclusions could have caused liability issues for the department had one of its officers been injured in a similar accident, he said.
"From a safety standpoint, the darker colors are difficult for some people to see when the officer is pulled to the side of the road," said Robert J. Lidle Jr., township trustee chairman.
On a lighter note, the school district's colors of blue and white will be added to the cruisers, he noted.
"It's a way to reflect our community a little bit better," Lidle said.
Goodin and Sgt. Gary Abeid designed the blue logo that adorns the sides of the cars.
A second white cruiser is likely to start patrolling township roads early next year, the chief said.
What Boardman did
Last year, Boardman's police department also started to replace its black cruisers with yellow lettering with white cars containing blue print.
The new car also features a lightbar that's less expensive than the old style and casts a brighter hue.
"If you see this car at night with its lights on, there's no way you don't know this is a police cruiser," Goodin said.
Abeid pointed out that the inside of the new car also is different. The department worked with Youngstown police and with Troy Products of California to get the equipment inside the car installed in a more compact and convenient arrangement.
The older cruisers feature a laptop computer that's on a stand between the driver and passenger seats. That could be cumbersome when two officers are in the cruiser or there's a passenger.
"There were airbag issues," Abeid said.
The newer design is more flush with the seats, allowing the officer more mobility inside the vehicle.
"It's like driving your family car," said Abeid, who uses the cruiser. "There's nothing in the way and everything is user friendly."
The public can see the new cruiser at the annual Safety Forces Appreciation Day from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Giant Eagle, Center Road. The event is sponsored by Giant Eagle and BFI/Allied Waste and features the township and Poland village police departments and Western Reserve Joint Fire District.
Village police and the fire district also will have new equipment on display.