State police put cars through their paces

Kent County (WJRT) -- (09/20/05)-- Hundreds of police officers from across the nation come to Michigan every year for an annual police car evaluation.

The sound of squealing tires is all around you at the Grattan Raceway in Kent County. A group of Michigan State Police test drivers put the cars through the paces to test acceleration, braking and handling.

"While we don't encourage police to drive at a high rate of speed, there are times that you have to. We want the vehicle to be stable enough to take that," said Capt. Gene Hoekwater.

This course is nothing but a series of hills and sharp turns. It'll give the drivers worse conditions than they'll ever see in real life.

"They provide conditions for us to really put these vehicles through a test," Hoekwater said.

This year, Dodge Chargers and Magnums are being wrung out, along with Chevy Impalas and Tahoes.

And there is a number of people looking on. The evaluation attracts police from nearly every state and Canada. "MSP along with the L.A. County Sheriff Department are the two authorities and experts in the police car business internationally," said Flint Township Sgt. Ralph Osterman.

Numbers are posted at the racetrack showing how the cars performed in various tests. The evaluations will be published so law enforcement agencies can see what cars would be best in particular situations.

"All over the world people are waiting for these numbers. That's how they make an objective comparison," Osterman told abc12's Randy Conat.

The Big Three automakers say they get valuable feedback from what the grueling tests show.

The state police began the rigorous testing of potential police cars 28 years ago.

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