Monday, November 7, 2011

Learning to drive all over...

We all had the opportunity to head out to Colorado State Patrol’s track where were able to practice driving in different scenarios that we as police officers will come up against. There were many different obstacles that were set up to simulate backing up, pulling forward, split second decision making, and many more.

Our instructors that we had for each stage knew their stuff! Each group would pile into the car with the instructor driving, and then would be blown away at how fast that stage was just completed! It was a great time had by all. I mean, how often do you get to go out and drive a vehicle almost as fast as you can push it, and be paid for doing it?!

It was and is very helpful to learn the limit as a driver and also the limit of the car you are operating. Yes, there were times where we lost control or hit some cones, but that is really how you make yourself learn in this environment. We would make the corrections the following time through and clear all the obstacles.

One of our days out on the track included a night pursuit. This was awesome! We put to use what we had learned in our previous days of training and applied everything to a night drive. We also added in the use of a radio (calling into dispatch reporting the vehicle we were chasing), as well as adding in the use of our lights and siren.

Hope you enjoy the pics!