TheDavidson County North Carolina Sheriff’s Officehas just purchased three new electric motorcycles. The department took delivery of the newZero DSR motorcycleson March 11th.

Increasing police department visibility

Major Robert Miller said that the motorcycles would be used to help increase police visibility while helping the environment.

“It’s green. Green technology is the thing these days. There’s no gas consumption, there’s no combustion or exhaust fumes in the air. … We can help the environment a little bit, so we’re going to help the environment.”

Good performance

Miller explained that the motorcycles are very quiet and can accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in 3.8 seconds with a top speed of 130 MPH. Miller said the following:

“They are freaky fast”

Many types of duty

The motorcycles will see various types of duties. Miller said the Sheriff’s Office supports many 5 and 10 kilometer races as well as parade duty.

We do a lot of 5Ks and 10Ks. You can maneuver a motorcycle so much better through those events like the motorcycle rides and the parades that we do. It’s going to help us add to our motorcycle unit so we can help them with traffic.”

Dual purpose machines

The bikes will also be used at lake access points where Miller said the machines will really shine. The Zero DSR is a dual purpose motorcycle. It can be used both on the pavement and off-road.

The Sheriff’s Department also plans to the motorcycles in school zones to direct traffic at drop-off and release times as well as traffic enforcement. The Zero DSRs will join the two Harley-Davidsons that the Office already owns.

Ease of charging

Miller highlighted the fact that the Zero DSR motorcycles do not require an electric vehicle charging station. The bikes can plug into any standard outlet which gives the Sheriff’s office the ability to charge nearly anywhere.

Police use of electric motorcycles is not new in North Carolina. Davidson County joins the Greensboro and Charlotte police in using electric motorcycles as well.