WHEREAS, law enforcement agencies rely upon motor vehicles as a primary means to manage traffic, to enforce traffic laws, to respond to calls for service, and to protect incident scenes; and

WHEREAS, each law enforcement jurisdiction reflects its ownership and equips its vehicles using varying schemes; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement officers rely upon the safety of their issued equipment, as well as upon the use of designated emergency vehicles, to fulfill professionally their sworn responsibilities; and

WHEREAS, officer safety and the safety of the motoring public are dependent upon the identification and proper equipping of emergency vehicles; and

WHEREAS, “the manufacturers of equipment/accessories used to enhance the safety and visibility of law enforcement and other emergency vehicles” (hereinafter referred to simply as “the manufacturers”) have the expertise, equipment, and research facilities to conduct safety testing, studies and evaluations of their own product(s), both alone and in conjunction with other products and with law enforcement vehicles; and

WHEREAS, the manufacturers have an ethical responsibility to ensure the mounting, installation and/or storage of their equipment/accessories do not compromise the safety components or the electrical systems integral to law enforcement vehicles; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the manufacturers be called upon to conduct safety testing, studies and evaluations of their product(s), both alone and in conjunction with other products; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that testing of law enforcement vehicles include crash testing at speeds up to, and including, 75 miles per hour; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the manufacturers work in conjunction with the producers of law enforcement vehicles to ensure the safety components integral to the vehicles are not compromised; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the manufacturers provide to fleet managers, law enforcement executives/agencies, and the IACP information and/or templates concerning the safe mounting, installation and/or storage of their equipment/accessories in or on law enforcement vehicles; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that if the mounting, installation and/or storage of equipment/accessories could compromise the safety features of law enforcement vehicles, this information also shall be provided to fleet managers, law enforcement agencies/executives, and the IACP; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the manufacturers be called upon to cooperate with the IACP’s Highway Safety Committee and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in any study(ies) relevant to the establishment of standards, guidelines and/or best practices addressing subject areas such as, but not limited to, emergency vehicle lighting, reflectivity and reflective markings, basic equipment mounting, equipment storage and the emergency vehicle’s overall basic safety features.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP, in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), shall cause the formation of a national study panel to propose the adoption of national standards addressing emergency vehicle lighting, reflectivity, basic equipment mounting, equipment storage, and the emergency vehicle’s overall basic safety features, including crash resistance.