chutchinson

In this column I want to talk about driving. Most enforcement and security agencies incorporate vehicles into their day to day work and unless you are a sworn enforcement officer it is highly unlikely that your agency has ever provided you with classes on how to safely drive their vehicles. This is because you are expected to operate the vehicle according to provincial traffic laws. I know for a fact that this doesn’t always happen. I’ve done it, you’ve probably done it and we all know people that drive agency vehicle’s just a little too fast, don’t wear their seatbelt or commit some other kind of traffic violation.

Now take a look at this. I did a quick check on the Canadian Officer Down Memorial Page. According to that site Canada has had 817 sworn officers fall in the line of duty. Take a guess at how many died in traffic accidents.

203. 203 sworn officers have fallen in the line of duty in Canada while driving a car or riding a motorbike. That accounts for 25% of all sworn officers that have died in Canada. That’s huge and that’s only the stats on sworn officers. Sadly nobody keeps stats on security officers that fall in the line of duty. One reason for this high number is that we spend almost all of our day driving the car. We go from point A to point B. Spend a little time at Point B before moving on to point C and D. We are on the road more then most other professions. I can’t even begin to imagine the number of vehicle collisions that enforcement and security officers have been involved in. All I know is that number would be far too high.

So what can we do about it?

If you are not a sworn enforcement officer then there is no reason to speed to a call. Nothing can be more important then your own safety. So what if you get there a few minutes later. You’re not going to be fired for responding and arriving in accordance with the law. I know your adrenaline will be through the roof and all you want to do is get to the scene and get the bad guy or girl. Believe me I know. But when that is happening you might also be experiencing tunnel vision. This then means that you are less likely to see other vehicles on the road, stop signs and traffic lights. You may also experience auditory exclusion, so now you can’t hear other traffic or sirens. All of this leads to a much higher chance of being involved in a collision. It’s not just your own life you put at risk when you speed to a call. You put every other road user at risk. Is it worth it? To combat the effects of the adrenaline dump just practice taking nice deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose, hold for 4 seconds, breathe out through your mouth, hold for 4 seconds and repeat. After a few of those your heart rate will begin to lower and you will be thinking clearly again. Make sure you continue this breathing exercise while driving to the destination and once on scene.

Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCebfIyTvgg
I have never been involved in a high speed pursuit so I cannot speak from experience but I imagine they are fairly high stress/ high adrenaline events. An EVOC instructor showed this video to me and told me that the adrenaline played a huge factor in the vehicle crash. Remember deep breathing.

Now let’s talk about seatbelts. I know many officers that don’t wear seatbelts “just in case I need to get out of the vehicle quickly.” My answer is this. How long does it take to get out of a seatbelt? Half a second? Maybe a second? If you are concerned about it then practice taking your seatbelt off (while you are parked of course). Find out how to take it off without snagging any equipment on your belt. In a study by StatsCanada they estimated that between 1990 and 2000 approximately 11,690 people were saved in Canada because they wore a seatbelt. So I ask you. Is that extra second worth risking your own life?

Another thing to consider that is often overlooked is the condition of the vehicle that you are driving. Remember as the driver you are the one that has legal responsibility to ensure everything works. I recommend that you begin each shift by checking over your assigned patrol vehicle. Your check of the vehicle should be a little more in depth then just making sure the lights work. Check the vehicles fluids and tire pressure. Are the tires balding or worn through in places? These checks can take about 5 minutes in total but they will save you a whole heck of a lot of grief. Also make sure to record your findings. If you start the shift and the windscreen has a big crack in it write it down. That way you don't get blamed.

Finally let’s talk about distractions. I think everyone can admit that they have been distracted while driving. We have the radio too loud, talking on the phone and are eating or drinking while on the go and why not. The vehicle is your office and we might not get much chance to take a break elsewhere. Unfortunately in my time working at the hospitals and also as a body collector for the medical examiner I saw first hand that distractions do kill. So turn down the radio (or better yet listen to some educational audio cd’s) and pull over to use the phone. Even if you have hands free phone in the car or Bluetooth you are still operating the vehicle while you are distracted. Take a few minutes, pull over and then deal with phone. If you want to know how dangerous it can be drinking a coffee or soft drink while driving just imagine if your air bag deployed while you had that beverage to your face. Not a pretty image is it.

So slow down and buckle up, because you have to get to the scene safely before you can do anything useful.

Chris