Tesla Model 3 vehicle that is intended to be a police patrol car has been tested by Tesla in the United Kingdom. The findings were shared by the automaker online.
Tesla's Model 3 Vehicle
Several electric vehicles, including the Tesla vehicles, are becoming popular with emergency services and police departments.
This is because the vehicle can travel far as it has a lot of mileage and it does not need gas and maintenance, resulting in a lot of savings in that department.
Electrek reported that the Bargersville Police Department in Indiana bought several Model 3 vehicles. After a year of using the Model 3, the police department was able to save more than $6,000.
Police departments bought the vehicles and modified them into patrol cars. However, earlier this year, Tesla decided to create its own Model 3 police cars for testing at police departments in the United Kingdom.
Max Toozs-Hobson, the account manager and emergency services lead at Tesla, stated that the vehicles have been in trial with the police for at least 9 months and they have been getting amazing results, according to CNN.
Finding Shared on LinkedIn
Toozs-Hobson shared Tesla's findings on LinkedIn. The Model 3 can do over 200 miles of Blue Light advanced driving, and the average blue light run in the United Kingdom is about 15 minutes maximum. The longest run in the vehicle has been 4 hours on active deployment under advanced driving conditions.
The report also shows that the auxiliary systems have minimal impact on the car's range, and the LED lights could work for days via the battery pack.
The speed limiting allows the vehicle to be limited, and it gives the possibility for split crews to drive in the vehicles on shift so all officers can utilize the car.
Even after integrating the lights into the cabin, it did not affect the coefficiency. It requires no holes to be drilled into the roof, which negatively affects the residual values of the cars.
Tooz-Hobson also said that he joined a traffic unit last week who got into the vehicle with just 80 miles of ranges. They stopped at a Supercharger station to charge the vehicle, and it got 70% of power in just 20 minutes. This gave them another 6 hours of driving for the shift.
The public response to seeing their active units has been great, and the press articles regarding the vehicle have been positive.
The brakes were in good condition even after driving for 10,000 miles. The tires are the same as ICEs and need replacing at around 8,000 miles.
After 15,000 miles, the only maintenance has been tires and brakes, and there are no annual service schedules, so there are minimal running costs, total competitive cost of ownership, and time off the road.
The Tesla software updates and systems have new ways to police, and the ability to send directions to the vehicle through the systems like Google maps will allow control rooms to send directions to a job. The GPS tracking & app and the dashcam access offer potential to the vehicle too.
Related Article: Police Warn That Tesla Owners Could Be Targeted by Professional Thieves
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Written by Sophie Webster
