Police Officers Are Falling in Love With EVs - The Atlantic

This piece in today’s Atlantic covers the interesting story of how police departments are transitioning to EVs. Why the transition?

Because they help police officers do their job better: “An annual vehicle test by the Michigan State Police precision-driving unit, which is used by departments across North America to gauge a car’s suitability for police use, found last year that the Chevy Blazer EV and the Ford Mustang Mach-E accelerated from zero to 100 miles per hour in roughly 11 seconds, about half the time of many popular gas-powered police cars. On a highway patrol, improved acceleration means catching up to other cars more quickly and risking fewer accidents, says Nicholas Darlington, the Michigan State Police precision-driving unit’s commander. If a suspect is fleeing in a high-end EV, a gas-powered pursuit vehicle might just not be able to catch up.”

Because they save taxpayers money: “The South Pasadena PD expects to save $4,000 a year per EV on fuel alone, Abdalla said. EVs also require less maintenance than gas cars do, compensating for higher sticker costs. After factoring in maintenance and other savings, the operational costs of the city’s Teslas could be half the price per mile driven.”

And of course, Mike’s here to provide some political analysis on this trend: “As more officers are seen patrolling highways and parks, making traffic stops and arrests, and idling on street corners in Teslas, electric pickup trucks, and battery-powered SUVs, more Republicans may give EVs a chance. “Given the high trust Republicans have in law enforcement, it’s possible that those who were once skeptical of EVs could have a more favorable impression of these products once they see law enforcement using them,” Mike Murphy, who runs the EV Politics Project, an advocacy group dedicated to getting Republicans to adopt EVs, told me over email.”