Pennsylvania State Police will soon be driving Chevy Tahoe SUVs
GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) — New patrol vehicles are about to roll out across Pennsylvania for the state police. And these new vehicles are apparently going to be bigger and better than vehicles in the past.
The Pennsylvania State Police's fleet of vehicles is vast, with some 1,500 marked and unmarked cars and SUVs.
Most of those SUVs are either Dodge Durangos or Ford Police Interceptors. And while those vehicles aren't going anywhere for now, older SUVs that have traveled well over 100,000 miles in the line of duty are going to be replaced with new Chevy Tahoes.
Trooper Steve Limani of Troop A in Greensburg says that these vehicles were chosen by the department for their speed, being able to reach 134 mph, their durability in carrying heavy equipment and for the strength of their engine while idling.
"My favorite feature is that we should be able to actually buckle our seat belts comfortably," said Limani. "Because there is not a lot of room in most vehicles and when you have a gun belt on and you are trying to do something as benign as putting your seat belt on, but man, if you're a right-hander, your handgun is sitting right there where that seatbelt is. And it might not seem like a big deal to the average person out there, but you're kind of wrestling around with that little latching mechanism to try and make sure you are comfortable."
Trooper Limani says that 160 marked units along with 60 unmarked units will be rolling out across the commonwealth in the next few weeks, with the first Tahoe starting patrol in nearby Bedford County.
Limani says that soon every barracks across the state will have at least one of these new vehicles in their fleet and that they will start using them immediately.
"It's often that a vehicle literally will go out on all three shifts, especially when it's new," said Limani. "People want to be in the newer vehicles."