You do remember the Dubai police cars, right? What if I told you that on the other side of the world, in New York, the police department decided that it’s high time for a change. A smart change. Believe it or not, the new police car for NYPD is the new smart fortwo.
The New York Police Department intends to replace the aging fleet of three-wheeled scooters with smart cars painted like police cruisers. According to The NY Daily News nine smart cars were ordered by the NYPD at a price of $119,000, but only one is on patrol at the moment, in Central Park. The officials agreed that the smart fortwo will be safer because they come with airbags and air conditioning, a clear upgrade because the scooters lacked such equipment. Furthermore, they will be less expensive than the scooters, which were purchased at a cost of $27,000 each. What’s more, the smart fortwo model is crash tested, while the scooters are practically motorcycles.
“They’re midget cars, I guess you can call them,” said Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. “We have acquired a number of them to test them out. Actually, in many instances they are more maneuverable than the scooters. They’re also cheaper, interesting enough.”
If the program proves successful 100 new smart fortwo models will join the fleet and some of them even by the end of this month.
The small police car will only carry the driver and they also feature plenty police equipment such as the mini light bar on the top and also a LED bar. Even though until now only one has been seen in service so far, eight more vehicles will be placed in traffic and school areas.
