Police vehicles, city buses, garbage trucks and the like all use fuel at an alarming rate. When gas prices are as high as they are they begin to put a serious damper on city budgets. In fact, out of 132 mayors surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, ninety percent of them indicate that their city budgets have been significantly impacted by fuel prices. Mayor Douglas Palmer of Trenton, New Jersey says that tough choices are necessary, "Everything is on the table except for a reduction in public safety."

While the easy answer would be to stop driving so much, that's not always possible. For instance, what would happen if a city were to decide to pick up trash only once every two weeks. Not only would tax-paying residents be upset, but a certain number of workers would likely lose their jobs. What's more, as more residents choose to use public transportation, more fuel might consumed by the bus lines as more vehicles are added to the schedule.

According to a news report from Reuters, Seattle already uses Segways for its parking officers and Prius hybrids for its city workers. The city is now considering hybrid police vehicles, according to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. We're not sure what vehicles are being considered, but we do know that GM offers police-specific versions of its Tahoe SUV. Could the hybrid drivetrain prove useful in this application? We're not certain, but it appears that the days of the standard-issue Crown Vic could be coming to an end.

[Source: Reuters via Yahoo]

In France, if you don't keep your car properly maintained, watch out. If your car pollutes too much, the police can fine you between €45 and 68 ($70-105 US). The police are even equipped with mobile pollution testers that have a CO (carbon monoxide) detector for gasoline vehicles and an opacimeters to detect abnormal CO₂ levels for diesels. With the treat of coming to you to analyze your car's fumes, the French government wants motorists to maintain their vehicles properly and, eventually, will ban the most polluting ones.

Last year, more than 1,700 controls were made, which uncovered 360 contraventions in Paris alone. The French government wants to make clear that car pollution is not only the manufacturers' responsibility, but the driver's as well. Similar controls exist in Spain, where noise pollution is also taken into consideration.

[Source: Autoplus]

High fuel prices have surely altered most consumer's driving habits. The gas crunch has gotten bad enough that even police units have found it necessary to change their routines. For instance, in Palm Bay, Florida, Police Chief William Berger has banned officers from allowing their patrol cars to idle. The only circumstances where idling a police vehicle is permissible is when an animal or prisoner is left inside the vehicle. Turning off the vehicle sometimes requires on-board computers to be rebooted and, of course, raises the internal temperature of the vehicle since the air conditioner is no longer running. Other agencies have been forced to park their motorcycle units, which could potentially lead to a lower level of service from the police force. According to spokesman Lt. Andrew Walters of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, "Our motorcycle unit... will stay intact. It's an integral part of our service, as the No. 1 complaint to the sheriff's office is traffic-related."

One easy way to reduce fuel consumption is to choose a more efficient vehicle, and that's exactly what some agencies have done. "Our fuel usage is actually less than what it was last year because we changed from Crown Victorias to Chevy Impalas. The Impalas get much better mileage," Cocoa's Acting Police Chief Mark Klayman says. The Impala is a front-wheel-drive unibody design which uses a V6 engine while the Crown Vic is a traditional rear-wheel-drive, body on frame vehicle powered by a V8. Seems like switching to the Impala would be an easy choice as opposed to laying off officers or reducing motorcycle units.

[Source: Florida Today via CarScoop]

When newly-appointed Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis was given an open floor at a Chicago Crime Commission luncheon held in his honor, he suggested that he would like to see Chicago's aging fleet of Ford Crown Victoria police cars replaced with Chevrolet Tahoe's. He noted that the four-wheel-drive capabilities could prove helpful in Chicago's historically snowy winters and the extra storage space would also be welcome. While the emissions of these Tahoe's would likely be an improvement over the older Crown Vic, the fuel mileage is a wash at 11 miles per gallon. Yes, that's right -- their fuel mileage is not even in the teens.

Here's a perfect example of how Europe is thinking differently than the U.S. when it comes to what is really necessary for police work. Perhaps Chevy could at lease release a Police edition of their hybrid Tahoe?

[Source: The Chicago Tribune]

Spotted outside at the Orange County Auto Show Wednesday was the T3 personal mobility vehicle.

Made by T3 Motion, the T3 is designed for police patrols and other security scenarios where horses, bicycles or cruisers aren't effective. The T3 three-wheeler offers enhanced visibility from its 8-inch riding platform and can turn on its rear-wheel axis. Top speed is 25 mph. The vehicle runs on two rechargeable batteries that give it a range of about 30 miles. Total weight with batteries is 240 pounds.

T3's president Neil Brooker told me the T3 will sell for about $6,200 and two batteries with charger run about $1,800. In the near future he'll offer a trailer to enhance the utility. I think it has potential as a warehouse runner if a service body could be adapted. Brooker gives the T3 a 450-pound payload. But for now the flashing police lights and siren are pretty cool.

The Northern Illinois University police department's vehicle fleet has transformed itself over the last few years from a standard Crown Vic dominated fleet into a fuel sipping fleet consisting of Toyota Prius hybrids. The NIU police started testing hybrids in 2004, and now hybrids make up eighty percent of the total fleet of vehicles. This has saved 4,500 gallons of fuel for fiscal year 2005 alone. The officers using the hybrids seem to have really warmed up to using them as well. Officer Marc Roocaforte, a supporter of the Crown Victoria police car, warmed up to the Prius quickly, calling it "the perfect car for the job."

The Crown Victoria police cars average eight to ten miles per gallon, while the Prius replacement is getting forty miles per gallon, which is clearly leading to financial savings for the university. In 2005 alone, the switch to the Prius saved an estimated total of $15,828 in fuel costs. While the Prius can not keep up with the Crown Victoria as far as acceleration is concerned, this is not seen as a handicap for the model as high-speed chases are becoming a thing of the past.

[Source: NorthernStar Online]

Uh, oh. Here's an effect from high gas prices that adds urgency to resolving the issue. The Lenawee County Sheriff's Department in Michigan got hit hard by the high gas prices caused by Hurricane Katrina last year. According to Sheriff Larry Richardson, the department will run through its budget by the end of September with increased gas prices the prime culprit. While other police departments have been limiting the number of miles officers can drive their vehicles daily to cut down fuel costs, Richardson is adamant against such tactics. Instead he is looking at switching to motorcycles for patrols. The department considered E85 for its flex-fuel vehicles as well but high demand makes the alternative fuel even more expensive than regular gasoline.

[Source: Daily Telegram]

It's not going to be participating in any high-speed vehicle chases, but Daimler-Chrysler's fuel cell police car will be carrying out other police bussiness for Wayne State's University Police Department in Detroit. Wayne State University is already a maverick, since it's the first school where students can earn a master's degree in alternative energy, and now they've taken delivery of the first ever fuel cell cop car. The Mercedes-Benz A-Class based F-Cell can travel about 100 miles without needing to refuel, and is capable of chasing down offenders at up to 85 mph. At 0 to 60 in 16 seconds, it isn't the fleetest cruiser on the market, but it does have flashing lights and a siren, which in reality is probably all a college's police car needs.

[Source: DaimlerChrysler and PlatinumToday]