Sponsors
Patrol Issues Links
Armed Vehicle Operations Free Case Summaries on Discipline and Internal Investigations from AELE Wives Behind the Badge Moms In Law Enforcement www.VolusiaDeputies.com More Links Submit a LinkFeatured Product Categories
Wireless Handsets Flashlights Patrol Cars Precision Rifle Accident Reconstruction View All CategoriesPatrol Issues Products
| Featured Product: | |
|
|
| ITT Night Enforcer® NE/PVS-14 by ITT | |
Patrol Issues Article
|
|
EmailPrintCommentRegister
BookmarkRSS
What's This
 |
Police Driving: Safety Behind the Wheel with Capt. Travis Yates |
“Drive for survival” - What color are you?
“Drive For Survival” has become a common term thrown around in magazines, books and at conferences. The term means many things to different people and the context can take several different directions. While training has always been a standard topic in this column, driving for true survival means so much more.
We have tragically seen too many of our law enforcement officers get into a patrol vehicle to never get out alive. While survival classes are nothing new to the law enforcement profession, we rarely discuss survival as it relates to the car.
The Street Survival Seminar does an excellent job of addressing vehicle safety as it relates to survival Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, an instructor for the Seminar, states that “we teach in the Street Survival Seminar, some of the most routine and yet deadly activities we engage in are driving, traffic stops, and traffic control. Variables such as the time of day, weather conditions, and location can only aggravate an already dangerous situation, and ultimately, the greatest unknown is us; our mindset, our skill level, our fatigue, our many distractions. The final deadly element is the operators of the other vehicles around us; we have no idea of their intent, their distractions and lack of skill, or perhaps even their own impairment or malice toward us, the law enforcement officer.”
We think of vehicle training for survival as how to stay safe in pursuits, driving at high speeds or emergency runs but the facts suggest that few officers die in those high-risk driving activities compared to normal response mode or driving. A quick internet search on driving survival will elicit several classes that deal with skid control, vehicle dynamics, evasive maneuvers, backing and pursuits and while those aspects are very important, driving for survival encompasses so much more and the most important is by far our mental conditioning as it relates to driving.
Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Cooper is considered one of the foremost international experts in handgun training and survival. While he passed away in 2006, his training methodology and influence will live on for generations. In his book, The Principles of Personal Defense, Cooper describes several different states of readiness for survival. While driving is not specifically listed, these various phases of survival readiness can and should be adapted to when we are in the vehicle.
Condition White
This is a condition of being relaxed, unprepared, and unaware of your surroundings and a mental state of confusion and disbelief when something happens. This is by far a condition that will contribute to serious injury and death behind the wheel of a car. Are you prepared for a drunk driver entering your lane, that car that speeds off when you try to stop them or a burglar exiting a house as you are on routine patrol? In Condition White, you are never prepared and success can only occur if luck is with you. Luck is not the way to survive and Condition White never has a place in driving.
Condition Yellow
While this entails being relaxed, this is a condition of being aware and alert of your surroundings at all times while you are driving. What is on all four sides of your vehicle; what are the other cars doing; and if this car runs a red light, how can I avoid a collision; are just some of the mental images that should be in the mind of a driver in Condition Yellow. Cooper suggests that Condition Yellow applies when you are in unfamiliar surroundings or around individuals you don’t know. That is a perfect description of the roads and highways our officers drive every day. Condition Yellow is the minimum an officer should be in while driving. It is the first step of survival.
Condition Orange
Condition Orange is a specific alert. Something does not seem right and you know that taking action is very likely. You see a car weaving at you, a vehicle matches the description of a stolen car, or you have to respond with emergency equipment to a scene. In Condition Orange, a mental prompt should be set. If this car does “that” I will respond with “this”. It is a constant evaluation of what you are observing. Condition Orange can be mentally draining and once the immediate danger ceases, an officer should drop back to Condition Yellow, relaxed but aware.
Condition Red
It is time to fight for survival in Condition Red. Your mental trigger has gone off and it is time to take action. The car is going to continue driving at you, the suspect vehicle is going to flee, or the child playing by the road is going to run in front of you.
It is in Condition Red that traditional EVOC skills will come into play. Training is advocated for Condition Red but the mental conditioning to be prepared for Condition Red is rarely spoken about. A law enforcement officer can have some of the best defensive driving skills around but if they remain in Condition White while driving or never transition to Condition Orange the skills they know may never help them. Vehicle related incidents occur in fractions of seconds and the difference between surviving or not relies on the mental imagery the officer has behind the wheel of the car. It is not a matter of “if” I go into Condition Red; it is a matter of “when.”
Officers must live in Condition Yellow and nothing in the car should stop that. The FM radio, CD player or comfortable seats should never get in the way of being prepared. Police work can be mundane and at times down right boring and there should always be a constant reminder of the mental conditioning that has to take place every minute of every shift. Put a yellow sticker on your dashboard or a yellow dot on your mirror to remind you each day in the car to be ready. Instead of relying on “luck”, rely on “you” and always “Drive for Survival.”
 |
Back to previous page
