Depending on where you live and work, winter may have already set in. Officers in Alaska, Montana, North and South Dakota, and other states may have already seen single-digit temperatures and snow that stuck to the ground. Officers in the Florida Keys definitely have not. Preparing your patrol vehicle—where winter is a concern—has to be done with proper timing, but what should such preparation entail? The preparation encompasses everything from vehicle maintenance concerns to modifications to what you put in your patrol vehicle for the season and on a daily basis. Let’s take a look at what some of them are and make sure you’re not behind your climate curve.
First, you need to know your climate and needs. If your agency issues you an SUV that is 4-wheel drive capable, you likely don’t have to worry about chains for your tires. If you are stuck with a sedan—even a front wheel drive sedan—and your area commonly gets snow or ice on the roads, you may need to have that set of chains handy. Putting chains on tires is something some officers know how to do and have done before. For other officers, it’s like a puzzle they’ve never put together before. It’s imperative that you make sure the chains go on correctly and are secured properly. If you’re not sure, ask or find someone who is to help you. The last thing you want to do is put the chains on, go out on patrol, have one of them tear loose and chew up the fender of your patrol vehicle.
Additionally, you should have prepared your patrol vehicle, through your fleet maintenance protocols, for the winter months. Whenever you have that last oil change and Preventative Maintenance (PM) performed—any time now—you need to make sure you have appropriate fluids put in. Anti-freeze windshield washer fluid, appropriate oil, enough anti-freeze in your coolant ... these are all things you should ask your fleet maintenance manager about. When was the last time your battery was tested? It’s another item in your vehicle that will potentially see overuse or challenges in the colder temperatures. Get it tested at that next PM appointment.
Then there is the list of equipment that you typically keep in your vehicle; whether in the passenger compartment, storage area in the back or in the trunk. Almost every officer keeps a trauma or first-aid kit available. Do you have sterile water in yours? If so, and your area regularly experiences sub-freezing temperatures, you might want to get that sterile water out. The same thing goes for bottled water, if you typically carry any. Some officers have a foaming alcohol-based sterilizer. While this might not freeze due to the alcohol content, it may stop foaming and become, essentially, liquid alcohol. It can still serve the purpose of sterilization, but it will not go as far.
Having an extra blanket, hand warmers and other such warming items might be a good idea to load in as well. You may not need them, but you also might come across a citizen in a situation where hypothermia is a threat. Rendering aid to them may mean needing to provide that blanket along with warming packs. We may not see our primary duty as one of assistance or service, but it’s still part of our job description and we should be prepared for it.
Do you have an ice-scraper or de-icer available in your vehicle? There’s a good chance you’ll need one or both, so you might as well go ahead and make sure they are handy.
Most patrol officers dress to keep ready access for their equipment—sidearm, impact tool, OC Spray, handcuffs, etc. In the winter months, depending on the temperatures where you work, a parka might be required to actually keep you warm enough. It might not be necessary every minute of every shift, but having it available is never a bad idea during this time of year. Do you keep it in your vehicle?
All of the above, of course, refers to officers and deputies who have assigned patrol vehicles. If you’re one of those officers on an agency so large that you drive a pool car every day, then you need to load in (and out) your winter equipment every shift. If something hasn’t been done right to prepare the vehicle itself for the winter months, you’ll likely find out along about the time you start it (or try to). You’ll want to add the ice scraper to your equipment bag, probably in an outside pocket, so you can get to it without even having to unsling your bag.
The bottom line is that our in-vehicle needs change during the winter months (for those of us in climates that actually change; no bad-mouthing the south here). You should know what you need and prepare proactively. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Let that guide you.
