Salt Lake County and Unified Police Department leaders unveiled a fleet of hybrid police interceptor vehicles on Wednesday at the same time they announced plans to better enforce anti-idling laws — their newest initiatives aimed at curbing air pollution.
The vehicles are gas and electric hybrids that are specifically designed to be used in law enforcement because they meet the required specifications previously only available to gas vehicles.
“[The vehicles] idle only about 20 percent of the time in a 2 hour period,” UPD fleet manager Keith Larsen said, adding that using these vehicles will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 5 million pounds a year.
Police also will be paying more attention to anti-idling laws, but in a way aimed at educating the public as much as it is about enforcement. Officers who approach idling vehicles or stop modified vehicles will hand out pamphlets that contain information on the air quality impacts of their actions before resorting to ticketing.
Utah’s Seventh Annual Clean Air Solutions Fair will be held at The Gateway from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, at 12 South 400 West. Organizers of CATALYST’s solutions fair say “It’s a day to discover skills and habits for cleaner air.” The event is free and open to the public.
“This is just one small part in a larger puzzle we are trying to solve, which is our Wasatch Front air quality problem,” said Michael Shea, the environmental manager for Salt Lake County. “But this is going to lead to a big step and hopefully create a lot of public awareness and lead to some substantial emissions reductions.”
The effort comes after a Salt Lake Tribune investigation last year found only one citation written over a period of 10 months across six cities that have adopted anti-idling ordinances.
UPD is suited to help educate the public because of its wide presence around the county, Shea said. Officers have the ability to reach more people and engage them in conversation about reducing emissions.
Drivers who have older, smoking vehicles are encouraged to go to the Salt Lake County Health Department for emissions and testing. The department offers an assistance program for low-income drivers to help repair qualifying polluting vehicles.
While other departments have hybrid vehicles at their disposal on an administrative level, UPD is the first department in Utah to use hybrid vehicles as police interceptors.
Shea said these vehicles are specifically designed to be used by police departments, and he said he hopes that other police agencies in the county will be inclined to adopt some into their own fleets.
County officials also encouraged the public to report emissions violations they see to help clean the air.
