When I owned an ’02 Mustang GT, I thought it would be cool to add a “Police Interceptor” sticker on the back of it. Not sure what compelled me to do so but I thought that people would think I had something special. Chevy just announced something far more special than a sticker for their 2018 Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle. They’ve added a host of new safety features and options to “protect the protectors” out there.
The centerpiece of the new offering is their Enhanced Driver Assist Package they claim is the first of its kind for a pursuit-rated vehicle. The package has five key features including low speed forward automatic braking, forward collision alert, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, safety alert driver seat and power adjustable pedals.
The low-speed forward automatic braking has never been offered on a pursuit-rated vehicle before. This feature automatically puts on the brakes to reduce a collisions severity if the vehicle is traveling at a low speed and the system detects that a front-end collision is imminent.
The other neat feature here is the safety alert driver seat. When alerts come in from the various driver-assist modules, the safety alert seat gives the drivers the option of getting seat-bottom vibration pulses instead of audible crash avoidance warnings. As you can imagine, between the scanner, walkie-talkie, cell-phone, and computer in a police car there are probably all sorts of beeps and noises happening at all times. By using a tactile response, the officers will be able to differentiate the alert.
Speaking on the new features, Ed Peper, US Vice President of GM Fleet, said, “We want to protect our protectors and help them get home safely at the end of every shift. The safety technologies we are introducing on the Tahoe PPV may serve as a second set of eyes.”
These new safety features are a welcome addition to the standard set which includes Electronic Stability Control, Bluetooth hands-free connectivity, rear vision camera with rear park assist and steering wheel controls.