One official says the governor’s SUV is a “mobile office.”
AUGUSTA – SUVs do roll over more than sedans, but there are other considerations when deciding the best vehicle to drive the governor in, a state police commander said Friday.
“If someone runs a stop sign, you don’t want the governor in a Volkswagen,” said Lt. William Snedeker, special services commander who oversees several Maine State Police divisions, including the Executive Protection Unit which guards the governor.
Snedeker was defending the choice of an SUV as the best and safest vehicle after the SUV Gov. John Baldacci was driven in crashed and rolled over Wednesday. “We made these choices after input about protection details, after talking to people in Detroit, and after years of constantly re-examining” safety and convenience.
When former Gov. John McKernan was in office he was driven in a large sedan. Former Gov. Angus King was driven in a van. But the advent of technology and the way King used cell phones and laptop computers meant the governor could get a day’s work done in the vehicle “rather than just looking out the window,” Snedeker said.
That meant a need for more space, which an SUV allows. The SUV also has a good suspension system that softens blows from the road, room for electrical systems, computers, a fax machine and cell phones, along with staff members or first family.
“The governor is literally working every minute,” Snedeker said. “His time is highly valuable. He can best service the citizens” by using the vehicle “as a mobile office. Because he’s not driving himself, he has the ability to work.”
When King was driven in the van, Snedeker’s unit began to worry about what would happen if another vehicle or a moose struck the van. “In a van, the engine is right under our front end.”
“If I die, the world doesn’t stop spinning,” Snedeker said. But it would be a hardship for Maine if something happened to the governor, he said.
SUVs do roll over easier than sedans, “but we make our decision based on 15 or 20 factors, not just one. And we’re counting on our men and their training to mitigate the risks. But it doesn’t mean we’re immune,” he said.
Snedeker said he’s gratified that the governor praised state police Det. James Trask’s performance on Wednesday “in extremely trying circumstances. Trask’s first concern was rendering medical aid to the governor before thinking about himself, even though he was injured. He fought through consciousness himself to make sure the governor kept talking.”
Baldacci told reporters Friday that Trask, who was driving him, was doing well and is recovering from bruises and injuries.
Most of the vehicles owned by state government are not SUVs, said Dwayne McKenney of Central Fleet. Only 2 percent of the fleet, or 34, are SUVs, he said. Because they are more expensive use more gasoline, SUVs are only bought when absolutely necessary, such as by the Corrections Department for transporting prisoners or special forces, McKenney said. Since 2,000, Wednesday’s rollover is the first time a Central Fleet SUV rolled over, McKenney said.
Central Fleet does not include vehicles owned by the Department of Transportation or Public Safety. Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland also said most of their vehicles are sedans, but that Public Safety does own some SUVs used by special units. McCausland said he does not have comparative data on rollovers of sedans compared to SUVs.
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