by The NYPD ride horses and patrol on foot and watch you from the sky, and now they have mounted electric trikes to patrol the city. Will these new, electric, green, tricycles help control crime and prevent bad behavior? Or will the bad elements be able to outrun the Panopticonic eye of these 20 mph urban chariots?
The trikes, at first wonder, look awfully big for patrolling in the subway. Can they maneuver in tight spaces without running people over?
Is there a “dead man” switch that will prevent the trikes from rolling along without an operator? Just running up the stairs seems like one sure way of defeating an NYPD trike in pursuit.
The trikes are manufactured by T3 Motion.
Here’s an action shot of their police trikes in action.
The trikes have two batteries. When one battery is in use, the other is being charged — so that means there’s no downtime while on patrol.
I love the idea of environmentally friendly policing — but I am curious to see if an NYPD officer on one of these contraptions can really be a commanding presence that will tamp down crime and send the message that the NYPD is on the job — all while riding a tricycle.
Makes me wonder why they went this way rather than the smaller two wheeled apperati that some parking lot police use? I imagine if it got to stairs the officer would jump off and pursue on foot!
Gordon —
I think they thought the two-wheelers were too unstable.
If you jump off your trike to run up the stairs — do you leave your trike vulnerable? There’s no way to lock it or protect it.