poison
3 April 2008, 14:30
So I got to go to driving school at the west coast branch of http://www.vehicledynamics.net/ last weekend. It's run by Tony Scotti, who put together the Secret Service driving curriculum, as well as training drivers for other gov't agencies, both here and abroad, and around 800 corporations worldwide.
I did the Protective/Evasive Driving course, which was three days. The first day was bookwork, and they covered a lot, from car choice, to maintenance, to the physics of driving.
Day 2 we started at 8:45 AM and drove til 6:30PM. There were two instructors, two students, and two Police Interceptor Crown Vics. We started with the slalom, and spent a half day on that, then went to the emergency lane change manoeuvre for the last half of the day. Suffice it to say that we started at 24MPH through the 60ft slalom, and had issues, but by the afternoon were smoking it at 36MPH consistently. By that time we could tell if we came in at 35 or 37 instead of 36.
The lane change manoeuvre built on the handling skills we learned in the slalom part. The barrier was, IIRC, 30ft wide, and we had 50 feet to go around it left or right, with another 50 feet after to hit the exit gate. We started at 26MPH, and by the end of the day were passing 37mph, with the added challenge of having a flag dropped on left or right just as we hit the 50' mark to tell us which side to swerve to. We ended up going back to the slalom for a few runs, to demonstrate our new found aggression and its effects on the slalom. We easily hit the 36-37mph speeds.
Day 3 started at 8AM. We started out with the reverse slalom. This is specific to security driving; if you come upon a hot zone or area, reversing out at high speed is many times the safest, and only option. The reverse slalom starts in a cone 'parking space', you reverse out directly into the slalom, turn 90 degrees into a parking box, go hard forward into another box, then reverse out 90 degrees back through the slalom, and into the start box. We did this looking back over our shoulder, and with mirrors only, as some vehicles may not allow a rearward view.
Then we did high speed straight backing, looking over our shoulder, mirrors only, AND using a forward point of reference only. The end gate was 10 feet wide. We had to cover 300 yards as quickly as possible. We started around 12 seconds, and I got down to 7 using all methods.
We also covered the 'Y' turn, which has replaced the 'J' turn for security purposes. It's basically a 3 point turn into a box: reverse, whip into the box while braking, then accelerate out hard in the opposite direction. Easy and fun.
The last exercise we did was and ABS manoeuvre, where they set up a short 90 degree corner with a tight radius. We had to hit the first cones, at the start of the turn, at 45MPH, stand on the brakes, and stop before the last cone, while staying in the 10 foot lane. I was shocked when the instructor pulled it off with us in the car; 45 MPH into a tight corner like that, in that boat, yet it tracked right around and stopped without touching a cone. After some practice, we managed 46mph stops. They wanted violent stoppage; my co-student pulled 1.01g. I only managed .89g, whether from brake fade or a light foot, I'm not sure.
They wrapped it up with a test incorporating all the exercises into a road course. They wanted 1:04-1:06 seconds To complete it, with a second off for each cone down. The instructor hit 1:01. On my third run I hit 1:01 with 3 cones down.
All in all, it was freakin great!!! Instruction was first class: nice guys, laid back, but extremely professional. They stressed the physics of driving heavily, and gave an explanation for everything they were doing.
We had tons of seat time. The first day we racked up 70+ runs EACH; the second, we had 50+. Instructor to student ration is awesome! I improved my driving skill by at least 80%, and I'm confident I could quickly apply it to any car I step into. The whole thing was a blast!
Oh, after we wrapped all the gear up, they let me take my Subary Impreza TS out on the slalom. They said 'oh, Subarus handle great, it'll be a .87g car, so you'll be right there with the Crown Vic'. Lol, sure, if only you knew I have Tokicos with STi Prodrives, 22f/24r sways with endlinks, camber plates, Falken 451's, etc. Lods of suspension mods.
He told me to try 26 on the slalom. I went in at 30 and came out at 37. I did a couple at 37, then blew it hard at 39 or so, then let him try it. He blew the first run, As he had no idea what my car was, but he was smiling from ear to ear, and racked a 37+ run before we went home.
I'm not sure why more security guys don't do the driving, at least in the private sector. Shooting is great, and necessary, but it's far more likely you'll get in an accident, or need good driving skills, than shooting. It was well worth the time and expenditure. I hope to continue my driving education with more classes soon.
I did the Protective/Evasive Driving course, which was three days. The first day was bookwork, and they covered a lot, from car choice, to maintenance, to the physics of driving.
Day 2 we started at 8:45 AM and drove til 6:30PM. There were two instructors, two students, and two Police Interceptor Crown Vics. We started with the slalom, and spent a half day on that, then went to the emergency lane change manoeuvre for the last half of the day. Suffice it to say that we started at 24MPH through the 60ft slalom, and had issues, but by the afternoon were smoking it at 36MPH consistently. By that time we could tell if we came in at 35 or 37 instead of 36.
The lane change manoeuvre built on the handling skills we learned in the slalom part. The barrier was, IIRC, 30ft wide, and we had 50 feet to go around it left or right, with another 50 feet after to hit the exit gate. We started at 26MPH, and by the end of the day were passing 37mph, with the added challenge of having a flag dropped on left or right just as we hit the 50' mark to tell us which side to swerve to. We ended up going back to the slalom for a few runs, to demonstrate our new found aggression and its effects on the slalom. We easily hit the 36-37mph speeds.
Day 3 started at 8AM. We started out with the reverse slalom. This is specific to security driving; if you come upon a hot zone or area, reversing out at high speed is many times the safest, and only option. The reverse slalom starts in a cone 'parking space', you reverse out directly into the slalom, turn 90 degrees into a parking box, go hard forward into another box, then reverse out 90 degrees back through the slalom, and into the start box. We did this looking back over our shoulder, and with mirrors only, as some vehicles may not allow a rearward view.
Then we did high speed straight backing, looking over our shoulder, mirrors only, AND using a forward point of reference only. The end gate was 10 feet wide. We had to cover 300 yards as quickly as possible. We started around 12 seconds, and I got down to 7 using all methods.
We also covered the 'Y' turn, which has replaced the 'J' turn for security purposes. It's basically a 3 point turn into a box: reverse, whip into the box while braking, then accelerate out hard in the opposite direction. Easy and fun.
The last exercise we did was and ABS manoeuvre, where they set up a short 90 degree corner with a tight radius. We had to hit the first cones, at the start of the turn, at 45MPH, stand on the brakes, and stop before the last cone, while staying in the 10 foot lane. I was shocked when the instructor pulled it off with us in the car; 45 MPH into a tight corner like that, in that boat, yet it tracked right around and stopped without touching a cone. After some practice, we managed 46mph stops. They wanted violent stoppage; my co-student pulled 1.01g. I only managed .89g, whether from brake fade or a light foot, I'm not sure.
They wrapped it up with a test incorporating all the exercises into a road course. They wanted 1:04-1:06 seconds To complete it, with a second off for each cone down. The instructor hit 1:01. On my third run I hit 1:01 with 3 cones down.
All in all, it was freakin great!!! Instruction was first class: nice guys, laid back, but extremely professional. They stressed the physics of driving heavily, and gave an explanation for everything they were doing.
We had tons of seat time. The first day we racked up 70+ runs EACH; the second, we had 50+. Instructor to student ration is awesome! I improved my driving skill by at least 80%, and I'm confident I could quickly apply it to any car I step into. The whole thing was a blast!
Oh, after we wrapped all the gear up, they let me take my Subary Impreza TS out on the slalom. They said 'oh, Subarus handle great, it'll be a .87g car, so you'll be right there with the Crown Vic'. Lol, sure, if only you knew I have Tokicos with STi Prodrives, 22f/24r sways with endlinks, camber plates, Falken 451's, etc. Lods of suspension mods.
He told me to try 26 on the slalom. I went in at 30 and came out at 37. I did a couple at 37, then blew it hard at 39 or so, then let him try it. He blew the first run, As he had no idea what my car was, but he was smiling from ear to ear, and racked a 37+ run before we went home.
I'm not sure why more security guys don't do the driving, at least in the private sector. Shooting is great, and necessary, but it's far more likely you'll get in an accident, or need good driving skills, than shooting. It was well worth the time and expenditure. I hope to continue my driving education with more classes soon.