It started with curiosity about a taillight and ended 36 years later, after a long stint with the revered Michigan State Police Vehicle Test Team, which included being the commander of the entire process. The unit is widely viewed by many as the authority for information on emerging police vehicles based on an exhaustive testing protocol held each year in central Michigan. Recently, I had the chance to talk with David 'Doc' Halliday, the former commander of the unit, about what he has seen in the development of patrol vehicles over the last 30 years.
J.P. Molnar: How did you get into the vehicle testing field in law enforcement?
David 'Doc' Halliday: In about 1978, I was working at Franklin Police department down near Detroit before I joined Michigan State Police, and a guy came in for fingerprinting. At the time, I had just read an article on how engineers were making a push to develop taillights that absorbed energy during crashes. Crash energy management in vehicles was still primitive. So I was talking to this guy, and he tells me he should put me in touch with Doc Whitworth, the guy who ran the driver training program at the GM Milford Proving Grounds. He had a group of 5–6 guys who did driving instruction. I went through his program around 1980 and when I joined the MSP in about 1982, the academy driving instructors immediately asked me where I had been trained previously.
This led to me, in 1984, writing a letter to Curt Vandenburg, who was in charge of the MSP test team at the time. The next thing you know, I get a letter back from him asking me to report to Michigan International Speedway to "try out" for the testing team.
There was a road course there at the time (since removed), so I auditioned and was asked to join the team for the annual test that September. Over time, I became a sergeant with the Precision Driving Unit, and ultimately became the commander.
Molnar: What is the history of the testing unit?
Halliday: MSP started testing vehicles in the 1950s. They would put out a bid for a patrol car and whoever won the low bid would take that one and only car to the track and test acceleration, top speed and braking. At the time, the braking test was really pretty minimal.
Then, in the mid '70s, when there were many police car choices (remember the Buick Lawman?), two of the competing bids came within $4.45 of one another. Now, MSP preferred the car that cost $5 more, but they were faced with bean counters who wouldn't spend it given the overall cost when purchasing hundreds of vehicles. In response, the powers at MSP headquarters told the testing unit that they needed to develop some sort of comparative testing process to justify the extra money required to purchase one car over another.
That's when the unit changed the test and added vehicle dynamics, ergonomics and fuel economy to the existing regimen. One of the things a lot of agencies don't realize is that we include a formula in the test book that uses weighted categories that take into account that different agencies have different use requirements. This formula can help an agency pick the best car for their particular working environment.
Molnar: What differentiated MSP testing from others and set the stage for MSP becoming the authority for patrol vehicle testing?
Halliday: We were very fortunate because we were located within two hours of all three major domestic manufacturers, so we had a lot of direct access to the engineers and prototypes and could also work with them to test new ideas and equipment.
What most people don't realize is that the MSP driving unit is busy year round testing vehicles, or parts of vehicles, for all kinds of companies. Other than location, even back in the '70s, we were using cutting edge testing equipment that made our results consistent, reliable and scientific. Manufacturers want to do well in these tests, and there is a lot of pressure, so the driving unit has to produce reliable and credible results.
Molnar: What has changed over the years in terms of the testing?
Halliday: In the mid-2000s, we added motorcycle testing to the mix. I remember one monumental event where we invited the executive team of Harley-Davidson out to go through a class on anti-lock braking for motorcycles. Up to that point, BMW had it and Harley-Davidson bikes didn't. By teaching, demonstrating and allowing the executives to experience ABS, they saw the value and subsequently added ABS to Harley police bikes.
As for the tests themselves, probably the biggest changes have been in the braking test as big improvements in tires and brakes, plus ABS, required us to make that test much harder.
Molnar: Name one specific technology that has been a game changer.
Halliday: Right off the top, I would say ABS. It was a game changer, but with today's technology being everywhere in new patrol cars, I think what's happening is officers are over-relying on the technology, when, in fact, ABS, stability control, traction control, etc. were designed as "last ditch" options, not everyday driving techniques. This overreliance, I think, might explain why we keep having so many officer deaths in patrol vehicles these days and why vehicle-related deaths with officers is a leading statistic.
Molnar: How has the testing accommodated evaluating all of the many new vehicle technologies like stability control, traction control, etc. so there is some sort of barometer for their effectiveness?
Halliday: Really, most academies have tracks that are 35–45 mph max speed, so it's tough, if not impossible, to teach cadets what happens at the speeds these new patrol cars are capable of. What really allowed us to evaluate the effectiveness of these systems is our access to top notch test facilities, such as Michigan International Speedway, Grattan Raceway Park and the Chrysler Proving Grounds. (We have tested at Ford and GM as well.) The speedway had a road course for many years that we used, but when parking was expanded and parking barriers erected, it became a safety issue. So we switched to Grattan, a two-mile road course in Michigan mostly used by sports car clubs, and even the Corvette development team.
The track is fantastic because it offers all kinds of corners, elevation changes, off- and on-camber turns, all the things that will test vehicle dynamics to their limits, including the active safety systems. If the system works well and assists the driver rather than gets in the way, the car will be pretty fast around the track.
On the other hand, if it is too intrusive, the car can be a handful, not to mention slow. This also extends to all facets of vehicle dynamics, and the track is challenging enough that we can identify and even prove out flaws that may not have existed in manufacturer development, but crop up under the more severe patrol car testing we can perform. After all, these cars are based on civilian production models. We are an independent source of information that manufacturers and others can use to test and evaluate their products.
Molnar: What are some challenges to developing a great patrol vehicle?
Halliday: The biggest challenge is that patrol vehicles are based off of civilian models. For a manufacturer to justify building a vehicle, production numbers have to be at least 200,000 or so, which is an issue when thinking about a stand-alone patrol vehicle.
Years ago, there were many choices from manufacturers such as Plymouth, Buick and Mercury, but all of those went away. As an example, Ford saw no need to offer both a Ford and a Mercury police package, so it disappeared. In a good year, maybe 70,000 patrol cars are sold in total in the U.S. and Canada combined, so the business case doesn't make sense despite all manufacturers wanting to have their car used.
So, they take existing production vehicles and enhance them for law enforcement use. This is going to become more difficult with increasing CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) limits that really affect the weight and size of future vehicles. So, that's where the compromises come in.
Molnar: What one vehicle was the game changer in law enforcement vehicles?
Halliday: I think the Caprice back in 1994 really changed everything. That was the year they put the LT1 engine in it. I think it changed the way we thought about patrol cars in terms of space, handling and engineering. I think part of what helped that is that, when I was commander, I had the engineers from GM and Ford go through our driver training program. This really allowed them to have the "ah hah" moment about what it was we wanted in a patrol car because they saw firsthand what was needed.
Molnar: Is there one "best" patrol vehicle out there right now?
Halliday: I think manufacturers overall are the closest they have ever been to making the best patrol vehicle. It used to be officers wanted the space of a Tahoe, the comfort of a Ford Crown Victoria, the handling of a Ferrari, the acceleration of a Corvette all wrapped up into one—it was the "dream." But these days, look at the Ford Interceptor Utility SUV and the Chevrolet Tahoe PPV and compare it to what vehicles overall were doing in the 1990s. These two vehicles smoke anything from that era. So, we are really seeing some amazing vehicle choices. I am really proud of the manufacturers and the engineers at these car companies. They really do work very hard to give the officers the best possible vehicle to drive within the vehicles they have to work with as manufacturers.
Molnar: What is one vehicle that wouldn't have happened without MSP involvement?
Halliday: The Chevrolet Tahoe Police Package almost never happened. Back in the '90s, we had taken a Tahoe and put it on the track, which was before GM really put any money into it. We kept asking for it because of the space, but it went nowhere. We had been working with GM engineers to develop it, but we kept getting stymied by one particular higher-up who kept shutting the idea down. I was getting really frustrated, so my boss suggested I write a letter to Bob Lutz, the head of GM, and ask him to build a police version. So I get a call from GM. Bob Lutz read my letter to the entire GM Board, and he said, "Why didn't we think of this? How come I need to get a letter from Lt. Halliday about this?" I guess the guy who had kept shutting the idea down raised his hand and came clean. We got our Tahoe and it debuted in 1998 testing as a 1999 model. It's been running strong ever since.
Summary
David "Doc" Halliday retired from law enforcement in June 2013, after 36 years of duty. He is very thankful for all of the great mentors who supported and helped him develop from a newbie driver to the commander of the testing unit. He continues to serve as an advisor to the Michigan State Police Vehicle Testing Unit. You can reach him at [email protected].
An extended version of this interview is available online at LawOfficer.com.
