Town and city police in hybrids

[Daox]

Um, this is already being done. I read a while ago about something I'll see if I can dig it up...

Here we go:

Ford Hybrids: Tough Enough To Be Police Cars in New York City

[drv2die]

the hyundai sonata is built in america in alabama if i remember correctly, can get it with a 2.0 direct injected turbo that will haul @$$ . . i admit it would look a little funny to see lrpd driving a hyundai but we have customers claiming 35-40 mpg from them. but they wouldn't stand the abuse being police cars.

[oil pan 4]

Its clear that some of the big cities have bought in, but the smaller cities and towns have not.

[ConnClark]

One of the big requirements for a cop car is that it be a four door model and big enough to have a cage in the back seat. Not too many hybrids fit this requirement.

Another requirement is that they be rear wheel drive for performance and handling on pavement. Again most hybrids do not fit the bill.

In big cities cops don't transport the criminals. They call for a van to pick them up and take them to jail.

[vinny1989]

Why not get the police etc to use DIESEL cars.. The police here in the UK use tuned vauxhall astra 1.7/2.0L diesels, and they are plenty fast enough..

I like the idea of a separate battery for just the radio gear from ~ Frank Lee.

As for idling so much just for the use of the air-con.. turn OFF the car and OPEN the window. Duh?

[brucey]

Having driven a police interceptor, they aren't THAT bad on gas when you consider they're basically a truck. V8? Yup. Close to 3 tons? Yup. Still not that bad if driven carefully, probably 25 MPG range highway, 20 MPG city.

An easier method would seem to be give the officer incentive to conserve gas. Make HIM pay the gas he uses, but re-imburse him at say 50 cents a mile. That way he can drive like a nut and not be punished for it. But the smart ones will try and make their money back and save a bit for their selves.

Or maybe I'm putting too much faith in people being aware that their driving habits save them money at all.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by ConnClark

Another requirement is that they be rear wheel drive for performance and handling on pavement. Again most hybrids do not fit the bill.

Few EU police cars outside Germany actually are RWD.
Most are plain FWD, like what most coppers are used to drive of their own.
Their vehicles range from Arragonis' Aygo to BMW X5s, though most intervention units drive vans or mid-size sedans. Many of them are diesels.

At least here in Belgium, local police officers usually don't get much if any performance driving education. Some barely have their driver's licence before being sent out after the baddies. Federal officers assigned to traffic units do get better training, as do the special duty guys.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by brucey

An easier method would seem to be give the officer incentive to conserve gas. Make HIM pay the gas he uses, but re-imburse him at say 50 cents a mile. That way he can drive like a nut and not be punished for it. But the smart ones will try and make their money back and save a bit for their selves.

Or maybe I'm putting too much faith in people being aware that their driving habits save them money at all.

I'm really liking this idea.

As someone who sometimes travels for business using my own car I like to maximise what I get for the money. The official payout is 40 pence per mile so if I can spend less (by maximising FE) then thats in my pocket vs someone else's.

I did this with my company Rover 220 SDi - every mile I drove for business (which was 95% of them) I earned around 10 pence.

Lovely.

[jamesqf]

Strange how some urban police have always managed to do bike & foot patrols...

[drv2die]

2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

this is the first time i have tried posting a link i thought this was funny there is no way im pulling over for this car.