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Story and Photos by Justyna Konczalska
Engineering Public Affairs Writer
The first traffic violation ever issued by police driving a hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicle took place at
Wayne
State
University in
Detroit early this month.
Wayne State Police Sgt. Frank Smith made a routine traffic stop June 5 and issued a moving violation to a female student for driving through a stop sign at Kirby Street and Cass Avenue on the eastern edge of campus.
The silver blue Mercedes A-Class vehicle operated by the WSU police with a top speed of 87 miles per hour runs on pure hydrogen converted to electric power by a fuel cell membrane packed under the floorboard. It is one among 60 vehicles in the DaimlerChrysler fleet distributed to companies in California and
Michigan to gather valuable data under daily driving conditions.
The silent running Wayne State F-Cell vehicle is believed to be the only fuel cell police car in the world. The only emission the car produces is water vapor emitted from its tailpipe.
Early into his morning shift, Sgt. Smith observed a white late model Nissan moving north on Cass Avenue pass through the intersection at Kirby Street without stopping. The street was heavy with traffic in both directions, but because of the small size of his patrol car, Sgt. Smith was able to maneuver between a bus and the lineup of cars. The Mercedes Benz A-Class is only 12 feet long and 68 inches wide.
Sgt. Smith caught up with the violator two blocks north at Cass and Palmer Avenues after the driver turned into a parking structure. The female driver, a student, told Sgt. Smith she did not see the stop sign. She did not say anything about his unusual police car, Sgt. Smith added.
The WSU police car outfitted with police lights, sirens and WSU Police Department logos often perks people’s interest, said Sgt. Smith. “The first question people ask is if it is an electric car."
One of the partners in the WSU Police F-Cell project is NextEnergy, an alternative energy technology incubator facility just north of campus where the car is refueled. The other partners are BP Energy, which owns the hydrogen refueling station, the WSU police, and the
College of
Engineering , where the car serves as a laboratory for students in the Alternative Energy Technology program. The entire project is funded in part by the US Department of Energy.
The three-year project is in its final year, but the F-Cell car had limited use until now because of delay in construction of the refueling station. The next closest hydrogen fueling station is at the
DTE
Hydrogen
Fuel
Energy
Park in
Southfield, Mich., about a 25-mile round trip. The Fuel Cell car has a range of about 90 miles.
“Some officers feel it’s too small and a lot of them think it’s cute,” said Sgt. Smith. To him, “It’s like any other police car, and I use it like a piece of equipment.”
Besides outmaneuvering the Ford Crown
Victoria, the most predominant model in the WSU police car fleet, the Mercedes Benz F-Cell car is extremely quick off the start. In a recent street pursuit by two other WSU police vehicles, Sgt. Smith recalls, he was able to keep up with them, and in the end pull in front of the detained suspect’s car to block its way.
Sgt. Smith is not only impressed with the fuel cell car’s practicality, but also its technology. “When I saw it for first time, I thought it’s a funny-looking car,” he said. But after driving the environmental friendly car twice weekly, he believes it is a good solution for the future. “I like that one, and would buy it for myself.”
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Fuel-Cell traffic stop
