Summary:
In a bid to help the environment and catch violators more efficiently, the Travelers Rest Police Department has introduced two new Tesla patrol cars as part of their green initiative. Travelers Rest is in South Carolina and has a population of about 8,000 residents.
Chief Ben Ford has led the charge in implementing a pilot program for electric patrol vehicles, stating, “We really want to try to do our part to see if we can save on money for the city.”
The department’s Tesla Model Y vehicles have been in possession for about a year but only recently became street-ready.
Officer Henry Blake, one of the first to drive the new police Tesla, highlights the unique safety features: “It has early warning stop detection, so if I’m getting too close to the vehicle in pursuit, it actually starts braking even more for me so I’m not so much focused on my driving, per se, but the vehicle in front of me.”
Chief Ford emphasized the speed of the Teslas, explaining to WSPA, “These cars are very quick… We don’t do a lot of chasing over long distances. But when we need to catch the violator, we can catch them quicker in these cars.”
Furthermore, the electric vehicles have led to lower maintenance costs, with Ford stating that the department has spent “zero on maintenance” over the past year. “In the past year, we have spent zero on maintenance. There’s no oil in them. There’s no fuel for them. They are full electric; nothing but electricity,” said Ford.
The initial price difference between a Tesla Model Y and a Ford Explorer is only a few thousand dollars, which Chief Ford believes will be offset by savings on fuel, oil changes, and other expenses in four to five years.
The department is considering adding more Teslas to their fleet in the future to further save the city money and contribute to environmental sustainability.
Check out a video of the Travelers Rest police departments kitted out Model Y below:
