Following this post on driving tactics for the "bump and rob" carjackings going on in florida: http://simplybecauseitis.blogspot.com/2011/05/drivers-bewarebump-and-rob-defensive.html which was quite popular, I got some requests to write a bit more on the subject of defensive driving from the police perspective.
Today I'm covering high-speed turns.
First, I must state I was a military-police officer. I was not a race-car driver. My driving was done in the national as well as international realm where the consequences of wreckless driving impacted international relationships and carried a heavy penalty - there wasn't room for screw-ups and you don't get do-overs. (for the record, I've never lost a single high-speed chase.....ever....not even as a civilian....I've got a totally cocky smile as I write this right now).Police driving is different from racing in that police are trained in "due regard" meaning that we run code in populated areas where there are hazards such as old-ladies crossing the street, mothers pushing baby strollers across crosswalks, blind people who can't see my lights, deaf people who can't hear my siren, hysterical teenage girls who weave back and forth in front of me when I come up behind them running code three as I try to avoid a crash going around them, and crazy people who just slam on their brakes in front of you and put their head on the steering wheel and have an annurism and die of fright.
Racing in traffic is dangerous. Police who get in an accident running code are automatically at fault because of the expectation that they use their training and due regard and operate their vehicle in its operational envelope
I have seen teenagers out "squirreling around" taking some high speed corners where they were thinking "haha, we're so badasss! YEAH!" and they pull it off, but in fact they were actually only lucky nothing happened because they were "outside the envelope" of their vehicles performance for all contingencies that could have happened.....i.e. another death that I would have responded to with another decapitated teenager with their girlfriend's formerly absolutely-gorgeous face torn off and I have to do the interview in the hospital to find out the details of what happens and talk to parents because their kid was stupid and is now dead. One of the things you need to do as a police officer is be able to corner at a high speed but still be safe at all times but not lose speed by a poorly executed turn.
The first thing I recommend is, going back to my first blog entry on the topic above, keep a following distance and let people go around you so you don't have to do anything high-speed. An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure. Its easier to stay out of trouble than it is to get out of trouble. It's better to get there late than not at all. Its easier to prepare and prevent than to repair and repent....and all that stuff. I'm not advocating people living a lifestyle where this kind of driving is required just to get by day to day.
I still administer drive tests in my current occupation and have been a professional driver 14 out of the last 18 years. One of the things I've noticed about people during turns is they suck at them. No really. By and large.
No really....they suck.
First, this may be used to get away from someone who's trying to follow you home or even box you in. I've had this happen in my civilian life and have even set up police traps to lead the offenders right into the cops hands.
This can be done at a normal speed without even speeding and still be effective to throw someone off your tail without looking like your'e trying to get away or lose someone and can be a useful way to determine if someone's following you to see if they keep up with you through it. Even at a normal speed - i.e. not speeding - in your situation - this will "feel" fast but you'll have total control.
But how to do this properly, as I can describe it is to keep your speed up all the way to the point where you start to turn.
Then as you turn your steering wheel you start braking. Start turning gently, start braking gently. This allows you to keep going as fast as you possibly can the entire time of the turn.
As your vehicle's speed drops due to braking, begin turning sharper, and the harder you turn, the harder you brake.
Stop increasing braking when you stop turning the steering wheel, keep the same speed through the end of the turn. Accelerate out of it before your wheel is even straight - increase your speed more the straighter your steering wheel becomes.
Your goal through the turn is to:
1) Keep your speed up
2) Keep control of your vehicle at all times
3) Be prepared for all contingencies by keeping your vehicle in its performance envelope for anything that can happen
4) Not take your vehicle outside the lines of traffic where you're supposed to be and reduce risk to others and yourself.
5) Allow yourself time to keep observing and being aware and safe at all times of yourself and others giving yourself time to react.
What people do wrong in all this, is they will brake well before and lose speed, giving their pursuer time to catch up, or also thereby giving away their intentions to turn making evading and escaping even more difficult.
The other one, is they won't brake at all and are going wayyyyy too fast for the turn, causing them to swing wide and cross head on into traffic or lose control and end up killing themselves or someone else.
Here's a hint - if you start sliding sideways? You're doing it wrong. You might get a bit of a squeal from your tires but shouldn't drift at all and should stay exactly where you need to be in your lanes of traffic while maneuvering. If you're doing it perfectly, you won't get ANY squeal because the sound of squealing tires can be heard for miles by cops and is a giveaway that you're pushing it. For the public, your objective as a police officer is to SHOW the public you have complete control of your vehicle. Squealing your tires may sound cool to you and impress some of your buddies, but to the jackass neurotic tattle-tale i-hate-cops public, it causes even more problems. Keep it under control.
