US police trade gas for electrons as EVs keep smoking Dodge Chargers

zohaibahd

zohaibahd

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In brief: Police are facing a new reality on the roads, one their aging fleets may not be equipped to handle. Long the undisputed kings of pursuit, even the mighty Dodge Charger's 6-second sprint to 60 mph is getting dusted by the latest EVs. Thanks to the success of models like the Tesla Model Y and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, fleeing suspects now have a wicked new advantage.

Several modern EVs are nearly twice as fast as the Charger, able to hit 60 mph in under 3 seconds. According to law enforcement's own testing, the 2024 Kia EV6 GT rips to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds while boasting a higher top speed than standard police cruisers.

A recent report by WMTV 15 News has highlighted how this gap is causing major concerns. Controlled tests have already shown police cruisers struggling to keep up with EVs – real-world incidents are piling up and the report has pointed out multiple such cases.

During a pursuit in West Memphis, Arkansas, a state trooper tried executing a PIT maneuver twice to stop a fleeing Tesla Model Y, but both times the EV just zoomed away. It was only stopped after hitting spike strips. Police departments nationwide are therefore looking to diversify their fleets with these new age vehicles.

Take Georgia Tech Police Department for example. While the department avoids highway pursuits, they still need quick acceleration when responding to urban emergency calls. That's why they've added three Mach-E GTs to the fleet, assigning them to patrol officers.

This EV switchover is not just limited to Georgia – it's happening everywhere from small towns to major cities. Vermont agencies have leveraged state and federal grants to invest in EVs as part of some lofty transition targets. Even the US Department of Justice has evaluated transitioning to electric police vehicles, the report notes.

Beyond speeds, long-term cost savings are also a big reason behind these switchovers. Research shows taxpayer savings of around $5,000 per year for each EV cruiser thanks to reduced fuel and maintenance costs. Georgia Tech estimates nearly $4,000 in annual fuel savings alone for each EV.

There are some drawbacks, though, like charging needs during pursuits and limited space for transporting arrestees. Still, the future of law enforcement fleets is clearly charged up.

A Georgia Tech police lieutenant told the publication that she envisions the entire fleet will be electric at some point, with some going the hybrid route too. With benefits in both costs and speeds, it's easy to see why.

Image credit: Jim Harris, John Jones Police Pursuit Vehicles

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US police trade gas for electrons as EVs keep smoking Dodge Chargers

 
Sounds like a good idea for PDs at the outset, however, given the insane speeds of the EVs, including the police cruisers, I can hear the news reports now of people getting killed with little left, of the vehicles or the people driving them, because of high-speed chases. Seems to me like the "spike" solution might just be a better solution.
 
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wiyosaya said:
Sounds like a good idea for PDs at the outset, however, given the insane speeds of the EVs, including the police cruisers, I can hear the news reports now of people getting killed with little left, of the vehicles or the people driving them, because of high-speed chases. Seems to me like the "spike" solution might just be a better solution.
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So while that may seem to make sense at first, spike strips are actually a really bad idea. The only thing more dangerous than a speeding vehicle is a speeding vehicle that can't control where it's going.

This is also why I tell people to always buy the best tires avaliable for your vehicle as everything it does, it does through the tires. You can have have a thousand horsepower and the the best brakes in the world, but that doesn't matter if your vehicle can't put them to the ground. That idea is the premise that spike strips use to "stop" a speeding vehicle.
 
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yRaz said:
So while that may seem to make sense at first, spike strips are actually a really bad idea. The only thing more dangerous than a speeding vehicle is a speeding vehicle that can't control where it's going.

This is also why I tell people to always buy the best tires avaliable for your vehicle as everything it does, it does through the tires. You can have have a thousand horsepower and the the best brakes in the world, but that doesn't matter if your vehicle can't put them to the ground. That idea is the premise that spike strips use to "stop" a speeding vehicle.
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Point taken. However, with all the publicity of PDs choosing not to pursue HS chases because of the potential danger, all the issues with HS chases will be amplified with HS EV chases and you can bet that either the driver of the car being chased or the police cruiser will lose control even without spikes.

It does say in the article that an EV was stopped using spikes. In this case, it appears that the tactic was successful, though the article does not say if the vehicle lost control after striking the spikes.

As I see it, one way or another, with EVs now on the board for people making escapes, there will be lessons to learn and lessons learned.
 
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yRaz said:
So while that may seem to make sense at first, spike strips are actually a really bad idea. The only thing more dangerous than a speeding vehicle is a speeding vehicle that can't control where it's going.

This is also why I tell people to always buy the best tires avaliable for your vehicle as everything it does, it does through the tires. You can have have a thousand horsepower and the the best brakes in the world, but that doesn't matter if your vehicle can't put them to the ground. That idea is the premise that spike strips use to "stop" a speeding vehicle.
Click to expand...
Not to mention how much heavier EV’s are in general, they do even more damage to whatever they hit.
 
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yRaz said:
So while that may seem to make sense at first, spike strips are actually a really bad idea. The only thing more dangerous than a speeding vehicle is a speeding vehicle that can't control where it's going.

This is also why I tell people to always buy the best tires avaliable for your vehicle as everything it does, it does through the tires. You can have have a thousand horsepower and the the best brakes in the world, but that doesn't matter if your vehicle can't put them to the ground. That idea is the premise that spike strips use to "stop" a speeding vehicle.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if spikes are different now a days, but they were designed to slowly deflate the tires, not instantly, so there will be no instant loss of vehicle control
 
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With all these Internet connected cars, I bet Tesla has something set up to help police disable one of their moving vehicles. If a police officer identifies a Tesla going 100mph+ on a public road, I think Tesla would be happy to verify and disable its acceleration for public safety reasons.
Burty117 said:
Not to mention how much heavier EV’s are in general, they do even more damage to whatever they hit.
Click to expand...
To be fair, the Tesla Model 3 weighs about the same as the current generation Toyota Camry... According to Wikipedia it weighs 3,552-4,048lbs while the Toyota's website lists the Camry's curb weight at 3,494-3,682lbs. Clearly the long range or the performance model makes it several hundred pounds heavier than the Camry though.
 
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Plutoisaplanet said:
To be fair, the Tesla Model 3 weighs about the same as the current generation Toyota Camry... According to Wikipedia it weighs 3,552-4,048lbs while the Toyota's website lists the Camry's curb weight at 3,494-3,682lbs. Clearly the long range or the performance model makes it several hundred pounds heavier than the Camry though.
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Yeah I was basing that comment off all the fast models, since we’re talking about criminals now using EV’s, just like normal ICE cars, they tend to pick the fastest models.
 
Rivieg said:
I'm not sure if spikes are different now a days, but they were designed to slowly deflate the tires, not instantly, so there will be no instant loss of vehicle control
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The speeding driver won't slow down regardless how fast or slow the tire is deflating. They will keep pushing until something happens, and when that tire goes down, the steering control goes with it.
 
Burty117 said:
Yeah I was basing that comment off all the fast models, since we’re talking about criminals now using EV’s, just like normal ICE cars, they tend to pick the fastest models.
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Yeah and I was comparing the Tesla to an affordable sedan... Dodge Chargers are heavier than the faster Model 3's at 4,021-4,530 lbs. This is all around heavier than almost every version of the Model 3 (again it's 3,552-4,048 lbs). Plus, EVs have no engine in the front and therefore have a larger crumple zone. So you actually have it backwards.

Here is a list of vehicles that have a configuration with 4,000+ lbs curb weights like the performance Model 3:
- BMW 3 series
- Dodge Charger/Challenger
- Ford Mustang
- Acura TLX
- Mercedes C-Class
- Cadillac CT5
- Chrysler 300
- Genesis G70 (30 lbs lighter)
- Volvo S60 (30 lbs lighter)

And here are vehicles that have a configuration with a heavier curb weight than the base Model 3:
- Chevy Malibu
- Toyota Camry
- Lexus ES/IS
- Acura Integra
- Kia K5
- Hyundai Sonata
- Audi A4/RS3
- Cadillac CT4
- Nissan Maxima
- Subaru WRX/Legacy

Just like with price, most ICE vehicles have gone up in weight and most EVs have come down in weight.
 
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yRaz said:
So while that may seem to make sense at first, spike strips are actually a really bad idea. The only thing more dangerous than a speeding vehicle is a speeding vehicle that can't control where it's going.

This is also why I tell people to always buy the best tires avaliable for your vehicle as everything it does, it does through the tires. You can have have a thousand horsepower and the the best brakes in the world, but that doesn't matter if your vehicle can't put them to the ground. That idea is the premise that spike strips use to "stop" a speeding vehicle.
Click to expand...

Spike strips to not "blow out" the tires. It slowly deflates them. Considering the amount of sensors in vehicles these days, I'm sure there would be a warning alarm/light. Although even with that, they would probably still run, making the vehicle a danger, but anyway...

I'm sure within 10 years, vehicles will be "required" to have a device to allow law enforcement to disable the vehicle. And of course, it will be hacked and people will abuse it.
 
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wiyosaya said:
with all the publicity of PDs choosing not to pursue HS chases because of the potential danger, all the issues with HS chases will be amplified with HS EV chases and you can bet that either the driver of the car being chased or the police cruiser will lose control even without spikes.
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Not pursuing criminals because of the risk of high speed chases will just encourage criminals to start more high speed chases. Here in the UK the police decided not to chase 2 wheeled vehicles if the rider wasn't wearing a helmet. They did this for safety reasons. This led to all criminals stealing every high powered scooter that wasn't nailed down. Crime went through the roof as criminals knew they wouldn't get chased. Eventually the police (and the public) had had enough and they resorted to ramming the bikes whether they had helmets or not. The crime wave immediately stopped.
 
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Anybody can make an EV smoke a stock standard car, EV's are designed in this way, put any EV against a Supra Celica with 2000 bhp and good by EV, MPG/CO2 emissions Supra wins both
 
wiyosaya said:
given the insane speeds of the EVs, including the police cruisers, I can hear the news reports now of people getting killed [because] of high-speed chases. Seems to me like the "spike" solution might just be a better solution.
Click to expand...
These aren't either/or alternatives. If you don't have a police cruiser tailing a fleeing vehicle, you have no idea when and where to lay the spike strips.
 
Endymio said:
These aren't either/or alternatives. If you don't have a police cruiser tailing a fleeing vehicle, you have no idea when and where to lay the spike strips.
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OOOPS! Having some sort of police tailing the vehicle, or not, makes it an either or choice.

You can bet that the vehicle is being tailed one way or another. Ever heard of helicopter surveillance? The choice is more difficult and a certain amount of chance is necessary, but, according to the article, it has been done.

Its a choice police have at their disposal, successful or not, practical or not. If the choices to "contain" pursued EVs prove inadequate over time, you can bet that someone will try something else, and they will keep trying until they find some way of containing the pursued vehicles. EVs may be more difficult to contain, however, it is not impossible to contain one.
 
p51d007 said:
I'm sure within 10 years, vehicles will be "required" to have a device to allow law enforcement to disable the vehicle. And of course, it will be hacked and people will abuse it.
Click to expand...
I understand Tesla owners already have a way of disabling their vehicles if they are stolen. It will only disable though when it is next parked up. You'd think it would be fairly easy to change this so the vehicle becomes speed limited to say 30mph until the driver stops.
 
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mbk34 said:
I understand Tesla owners already have a way of disabling their vehicles if they are stolen. It will only disable though when it is next parked up. You'd think it would be fairly easy to change this so the vehicle becomes speed limited to say 30mph until the driver stops.
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In the USA, there is already talk of mandating vehicles cannot exceed a certain speed limit. With GPS, connectivity and what not, it wouldn't surprise me if they start issuing speeding tickets that way too LOL.
 
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wiyosaya said:
OOOPS! Having some sort of police tailing the vehicle, or not, makes it an either or choice.

You can bet that the vehicle is being tailed one way or another. Ever heard of helicopter surveillance?
Click to expand...
You've been watching too many Hollywood films. Helicopters are an extremely limited resource. The SD Highway Patrol, for instance, has one helicopter for the entire state; Virginia has 7. California has 29 .... compared to some 11,000 police cruisers. There are locations (around airfields, certain federal facilities, etc) and weather conditions where helicopters cannot operate, and even when one such unit is available, a ground cruiser is required to tail the vehicle while the helicopter is dispatched and en route.

wiyosaya said:
Its a choice police have at their disposal, successful or not, practical or not. If the choices to "contain" pursued EVs prove inadequate over time, you can bet that someone will try something else.
Click to expand...
Sure. And the "something else" they're trying is purchasing EVs for police use. Not giving up on ground chases entirely.
 
We had a saying growing up: You can outrun the cop car, but not its Motorola (radio).
I'm sure that still applies today.

Plus, with cameras on virtually every corner, it should not be toooooo hard to see where they're going.
 
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So let me guess, you have an EV which either catches fire or is a total wreck from a single bumper dent? Like those Ioniq 6 which were written off because of a SMALL scratch on a battery pack?
How much will it cost for a police car then to have it insured should the Police use it to crash into the suspect's vehicle?
I'm positive that the criminals will use the EV cars, but if your police force uses the EV cars without some special reinforcements for their body parts, it will results in millions in totaled cars used for forcefully stopping the suspects. Just sayin'
 
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