TO PROTECT & CONSERVE
Millville Police equip vehicles with high-tech system to reduce fuel waste
MILLVILLE – This tiny town is claiming a big first in the realm of fuel efficiency for law enforcement.
In a joint venture with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, officials have equipped the first police cruiser in the state with technology designed to limit the amount of gasoline the vehicle consumes while idling.
The idle reduction system manufactured by Stealth Power of Texas is designed to operate all of the electrical components of a police cruiser, including overhead lights, camera, radio, license plate reader, on-board computer and communications, without the engine running.
“Small departments such as ours need to think of innovative ways to use technology to reduce wear and tear on municipal vehicles,” said Police Chief Ronald Landry. “That is what sets us apart from many departments with larger budgets.”
The project was the brain- child of the towns’ Green Community Committee and the Millville Police Department, said Landry.
Landry said police cruisers spend much of their time parked and running while officers monitor traffic, help at accident scenes, write reports, and wait to be called because officers commonly needed lights, radios, computers, radar and video cameras to perform their duties. A recent study about fuel consumption by police cruisers concluded that the vehicles are idling 60 percent of the time they’re in service, a practice that accounted for more than a fifth of all fuel consumption.
Landry said he conducted a good deal of research before settling on Stealth Power to provide the idle-reduction system. Duggan Vehicle Equipment out of Worcester installed the equipment in a new police cruiser recently in about four hours.
“Fleet managers for police, fire, highway and even state
police should be looking at systems such as this, especially when their vehicles idle for extended periods of time,” said Landry. “Not only do we extend the longevity of the vehicle with this installation, we reduce gas costs and save energy.”
This is the second vehicle in the police department’s fleet that is energy efficient. With the Ford Crown Vic – the gold standard for police cruisers for many years – no longer in production, its successor, the Ford Taurus, is not a practical vehicle for all applications, according to the chief.
“We looked outside the box for a vehicle that would be reliable and efficient to serve the needs of the town of Millville, and our search led us to the hybrid Ford Fusion,” he said.
Stealth Power claims its idle reduction systems have prevented the release of thousands of tons of hazardous emissions into the atmosphere, and preserved millions of gallons of fuel – as well as millions of dollars – for their client partners, according to Landry.