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 MSR Houston’s Driving Program is committed to maximizing drivers’ skills to maximize their safety, bringing their skill level up to that of the car so they can be in safe in all situations they may encounter.
In our Law Enforcement Driving Safety School, our focus is on control and precision driving. Officers are taught to handle their cruisers in both low and high speed situations, in wet and dry conditions. Our course is approved by TCLEOSE for 8-hours of continuing education credit.
We prefer to keep the classes to around 12-16 officers allowing for maximum attention from our instructors. If an officer needs a little extra time at one stage or another, we can dedicate an instructor to give some additional help.
Our schools are designed to be specialized for each department. We provide the basic curriculum and add on additional departmental requirements. One example of this is instructing the officers to drive at 80% of their ability, but not to exceed 80% of the car’s performance level.
Over the past two years, we have provided this school to the local Houston-area Department of Public Safety State Troopers. As a result of our training, the Troopers’ fleet accident rate decreased by 36% in 2008.
Although we cannot promise these results for your department, evidence shows our school can greatly reduce your accident rate and the associated cost.
We begin in the classroom where we focus on vehicle driving dynamics and techniques.
We cover the basics, such as hand placement and vision, to the specifics, such as entry and braking points and car balance. Each officer is given a copy of our driving manual to keep as a reference. It includes both visuals and explanations to all techniques taught in our school.
After the classroom, the officers will proceed to the skid pad and autocross courses.
The skid pad is a wet-down, 300-foot, piece of sealed asphalt. Officers get behind the wheel of our skid car, specially prepared without anti-lock brakes or traction control, and learn the fundamentals of skidding. Experiences on the skid pad transfer over to proper handling techniques in the rain as well as high-speed pursuits.
The autocross course is a specially designed cone-course, emphasizing the most common types of cornering seen in the road. The course forces drivers to look ahead in order to maximize their speed. The officers are given practice runs, before they take to the course for two timed runs. In addition to adding a little friendly competition, it allows to see how officers will react under pressure. After the timed runs, we switch things up and have the officers drive the course in the opposite direction, without any practice. It’s very similar to pursuing someone in an unfamiliar territory.
Next, we take a quick lunch break and discuss what was learned on the skid pad and autocross courses.
After lunch and a road course orientation around our 2.38-mile road course, officers get behind the wheel of their cruisers for a two lap lead-follow session. In lead follow, instructors show the proper line and braking points. Each officer takes a turn driving directly behind the instructor to get the maximum information. The officers are then released to drive the road course on their own. We strive to help each officer obtain the personal skill level to meet his or her departmental limits.
Additional pursuit skills can be taught for those departments that don’t allow for “pit maneuvers” or any other vehicle contact method for ending chases.
Contact us today to sign up your department for our next Law Enforcement Driving Safety School.
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