Ageing Garda fleet

[Tony]

Just reading the Indo over lunch and see that the ageing fleet of police vehicle has been called into question as it was revealed the car in which the two Gardai were unfortunately killed was a 10 year old Toyota. Although Garda headquarters was unable yesterday to disclose what mileage was on the car, Garda recommendations are for vehicles to be taken off the road once they reach 100,000 miles.
The Garda were unable yesterday to give details of how many of the 1,800 to 1,900 vehicles in the fleet are 10 years old or more. The age of the Garda fleet is expected to be discussed by the GRA's central executive committee at a meeting in Dublin on Thursday.

I wonder if the car had of been newer with better crash protection and dual airbags would they still be alive today?

[BeCos]

Well certainly if they had been in a newer car they would have had a significantly better chance.I don't think a 10 year old Corolla would have much in the way of crash protection.

Where I used to work we serviced a lot of the Vectra patrol cars and they would clock up 100k in ONE year. They were in complete sh1te isnside and out, but they were mechanically perfect, and always had good tyres and brakes.

Still the question has to be asked, What are the standards for Garda vehicles and when are they deemed due for replacement?

[WhipLash]

According to the newspapers, the car involved in the accident had clocked up 103,000 miles during its 10 year service. Garda sources have said that the car was in good mechanical condition despite its high mileage, and was due to undergo its National Car Test in June. They also stated that it was not unusual for a Garda car to clock up 100 miles during a shift and with cars in use 24 hours a day, 300 miles could be clocked up in the three shifts which make up each 24-hour period :eek: . The target of replacing cars when they reached 100,000 miles was an aspiration rather than a directive, so many cars could be over the 100,000 level. Figures released yesterday by the Gardai show that 242 cars out of the existing fleet of 1,376 cars have mileage exceeding 100,000 although the Garda crime report of two years ago said cars should be replaced once they reached 100,000 miles.
The average age of cars in the fleet is four years. Twenty cars are aged eight to 10 years and 19 cars are more than 10 years old.

[PG]

Hands up anyone who has ever seen a Garda wearing a seat belt.

As rare as........ you name it.