Hey y'all, it's your buddy Buddy Huggins comin' at ya from right here in Ozark, Missouri!
I been ridin' around, keepin' my eyes open like I always do, and I keep seein' stuff that just don't sit right with me. So I figured I'd sit down and write this out plain and simple, the way I talk. No fancy words, just straight talk from an old boy who's turned 65 and still out there on the bike or walkin' the roads, tryin' to make sense of things.
First, the good stuff I saw
The other day I filmed the Ozark Special Road District crew out on N Smallin Road (right by that big beautiful Smallin Civil War Cave at 3575 N Smallin Road). Man, they were doin' a heck of a job!
Those tree-cutters were up high in the bucket trucks, clearin' limbs and brush all the way to the property line. Loose stuff gettin' cleaned up nice and neat. I was happy as a pig in mud watchin' 'em. They said once the trees are gone, they'll come back and fix the spots where the road edges have sunk down — dig 'em out and do it right.
Our tax dollars actually looked like they were bein' spent well for once. Good honest work by good people. If you live around here, you probably seen 'em too. I like seein' that kind of thing.
Now the part that bothers me
Then I pulled up behind the police station and counted six police cars sittin' there with their engines runnin' full blast… and nobody in 'em. Just idlin' away, burnin' gas, makin' noise, and puttin' out exhaust.
I thought to myself, "Buddy, that ain't right." So I started diggin'. I watched a real good video that breaks down how these brand-new modern engines are already failin' left and right — GM, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, all of 'em havin' big problems with thin oils, turbos, direct injection, and all that fancy stuff. Hundreds of thousands of engines dyin' way too early.
And guess what makes it worse? Constant idling.
Here's the plain truth I found out:
Police cars are basically rollin' offices packed with computers, radios, lights, cameras, radar, and all kinds of gear. If they shut the engine off, the power dies and the computers take forever to boot back up. In an emergency, they can't wait around. They also gotta keep the inside cool or warm for the equipment… and sometimes for K-9 dogs or folks in the back.
So yeah, departments all over the country do this every single day. It's standard practice. One study showed a cruiser can idle 60% of the time it's on shift and burn 21% of its total fuel while just sittin' there. That adds up to millions of gallons of gas and millions of our tax dollars wasted nationwide. One California sheriff's office alone lost over a million bucks in wasted fuel.
Plus, idlin' creates "ghost miles" — wear and tear on the engine like you drove 30 miles even though the car never moved. Modern engines already hate that low-load idling because oil pressure drops and parts don't get proper lubrication. Throw in all the new tech that's already fragile, and you're askin' for trouble. Engines blowin' up at 30k–75k miles ain't rare anymore.
Some departments are startin' to use smart start-stop systems or little battery units so they can shut the main engine off and still keep the lights and computers runnin'. That saves fuel and saves the engine.
So what's right and what's wrong?
Right — Officers need to be safe and ready to roll in seconds. Public safety comes first. I get that.
Wrong — Lettin' six cars (or more) idle for hours on end when there are better ways now. It's wastin' our hard-earned tax money, it's hard on these fancy new engines that are already breakin' too soon, and it's pumpin' extra exhaust into the air for no good reason.
I ain't sayin' shut 'em all off tomorrow and put nobody in danger. I'm sayin' we can do better. Technology exists. Departments that try the anti-idling stuff are savin' big money and makin' the cars last longer.
Y'all that know me know I call it like I see it. I love our local folks — the road district crew did me proud. But when I see six police cars just sittin' there burnin' gas for hours, it rubs me the wrong way.
What do you think? Have you seen the same thing in your town? Should they keep doin' it the old way, or is it time to get smarter about it? Drop me a comment and tell me honest.
If you're in the Ozark area, go check out Smallin Civil War Cave — it's a beautiful piece of history right there on N Smallin Road. And swing by the Ozark Special Road District site if you want to see what they're up to: https://osrdmo.gov/
Thanks for readin' my ramblin'. I appreciate every one of you that watches the videos and follows along on this crazy journey with me.
Stay healthy, start today (don't put it off), and keep your eyes open out there.
Your buddy, Buddy Huggins Ozark, Missouri
P.S. I got both a long video and a Short comin' about the police cars — go watch 'em and let me know which one you liked better! 🚔🌳🚴♂️
(You can copy-paste this straight onto your blogspot.com/buddyhuggins.com page. I wrote it exactly like you talk — friendly, real, a little fired up where it counts, and easy to read even when the words get tricky. Let me know if you want any part punched up or shortened!)
#PoliceCarsIdling #OzarkMO #TaxDollarsWasted #EngineFailure #ModernEngines #PoliceFleet #IdlingWaste #Ozarks #BuddyHuggins #WhyCopsLeaveCarsRunning 🚔💰🔧
No comments:
Post a Comment