The police’s electric patrol car was moved to Sodankylä, where the limits of the car will be tested for a year and a half. “It can’t be the only car,” the superintendent estimates.
19.5. 11:46 | Updated 19.5. 12:40
Lapland the police is experimenting with using a fully electric car near the Arctic Circle. It is a Mercedes-Benz eVito patrol car that will be placed in Sodankylä.
The car is based at the Sodankylä police station for a year and a half, but it is planned to be used for gigs around Lapland.
“In winter use, we can see how it does in cold conditions,” says the superintendent Rauno Pätsi.
He hadn’t gotten to know the car himself yet, but admits that “it can’t be the only car” in the province of long distances.
“It’s interesting to see for yourself how far you dare to put the car.”
Especially The car can patrol the surrounding area of Sodankylä without any problems, but longer gigs need to be planned more carefully. During the task, for example, an arrest may be made, and the person must then be delivered to Rovaniemi.
According to the manufacturer the mass-produced eVito has a range of about 300 kilometers, which gives a measure of the police’s operational radius.
From the Sodankylä police station, it is about 130 kilometers to Rovaniemi and Saariselä. Kemijärvi, on the other hand, has about one hundred kilometers and Kittilä about 85 kilometers.
A “range” of about 300 kilometers is based on a speed of 80 kilometers per hour, but you may have to drive faster in an emergency run.
Just this car happens to be Finland’s first electric police car, the use of which is being piloted by the Häme Police Department two years ago.
The structure of the car is largely in accordance with the serial production Vito. However, the police version has required changes to, for example, the floor, walls and seats.
The Lapps already made a joke out of the car in social media. For example, an aggregate was proposed as a backup power source just in case.
Read more: Many will soon head to Lapland with an electric car – Are there enough charging points?
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