Road safety is priority
Victoria police have traded in their Mercedes-amg GLE63 S Coupe bruiser for a brand new 295kw-520nm E43 cruiser that will see operational use as a highway patrol car and to highlight the importance of road safety.
While a step down in power from the 430kw-760nm 5.5-litre twinturbo V8-powered GLE63 S Coupe, speeders will still need to think twice as the newest fleet addition can still crack 100kmh from a standstill in 4.6 seconds thanks to its twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 and rear-biased all-wheel drivetrain.
However, the E43 – dubbed Guardian V2 and clad in full police highway patrol livery – will serve double duty as a talking point for new car safety technologies and extensive autonomous features in addition to its patrol car responsibilities.
The $159,900 before on-road costs E43 comes standard with a long list of modern safety equipment, including 360-degree surround view cameras, adaptive cruise control, adaptive headlights, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, reversing camera and a lane-departure warning system.
According to Victoria police, 75 percent of deaths on country roads occur in cars more than 10 years old and road policing command assistant commissioner Doug Fryer said the safety technologies found in newer cars should be strongly considered when purchasing.
“All we are asking is that you consider safety for your car as an investment, an investment in the safety of yourself and for your family, it shouldn’t be an optional extra,” he said.
“So the quicker we see these advancements in technology in our new cars the quicker it will be passed down to our teenagers, to our most vulnerable, when they are buying their second-hand cars.”
The reveal of the Guardian V2 also coincides with the Towards Zero Road Safety Conference 2017, which brings police from across Victoria together to discuss road safety issues including autonomous driving, speeding and collision reconstruction.
“It couldn’t be a more perfect time to unveil the second Guardian at the conference where innovation, safety and the future direction of road safety will be at the forefront of everyone’s minds,” Mr Fryer said.
“Our partnership with Mercedesbenz is about highlighting safety features in vehicles; we want to be part of the discussion about what safer cars look like and know that having the Guardian V2 out and about in the community does this.”