We grow old too soon and smart too late

Seminars  may be tailored for time and content to meet the specific training goals of your organization.

It is difficult to understand how a law enforcement officer spends so much of their duty time in vehicle operation but manages to lose control of their vehicle and crash into a tree or a guardrail. The operator is skilled through (sometimes) years of exposure. The advantage is you drive like you breathe. The detriment comes from complacency. Complacency comes from attitude.  I believe I have found the key to ending law enforcement at-fault car crashes. Over the last 15 years, I have become obsessed with searching for anything that will end the needless car crashes in law enforcement. A Law Enforcement agency relies upon 2 things to carry out the responsibilities in their jurisdiction. They must hire, train, and retain their employees. The agency must also provide vehicles to provide the service to the community. These two important pieces of the puzzle must be maintained to the highest standard for success. Emergency vehicle operation is not just driving, and operators must be skilled at a level where driving is second nature. While this may seem to be acceptable, it also breeds a culture of complacent operators. Many times, these operators believe they possess a superior skill set. I use the term rogue because, in the early years of my career, that’s what I was. The problem with rogues is most of the time they do not see their behavior as dangerous or unsafe. I provide an 8-hour seminar to stress the importance of the mental aspects of operating an emergency vehicle. The curriculum comes from years of experience and failure as an operator as well as an instructor.  Topics discussed:  The profession's failure to train the mental aspects of EVO. The five most common driver failures that lead to crashes. Case studies where officers made poor driving decisions and were indicted.  Focus on the task at hand, EV operation. This seminar is an eye-opener for many attendees and can have a lasting effect on those who attend. I wish I could guarantee complete success after the seminar, however, officers possess free will with limited supervision, and law enforcement officers often allow their ego to override the information provided from wisdom and experience. 

• For Texas Police Officers, this course is eligible for TCOLE training credit! 

Training time  8 hours

Law Enforcement's Driving Concern

The law enforcement profession has moved into a new era with old problems. Our profession is under attack from almost every side and police officers are questioning their worth to the job and society. 

Sadly, those who choose to stay continue to be injured, and killed and cause liability to the agencies they represent. Use of force and racism get the headlines, but vehicle operations and crashes continue to be the Achilles Heel.

The “Driving Concern” was developed to protect the officer, the agency, and the jurisdiction by changing the mindset of the street officer and the field training officers responsible for their tutoring. 

This is a classroom-only,  behind-the-wheel Officer Survival/Safety seminar!

This seminar covers topics that are glanced over or overlooked altogether in basic cadet training.

• Topics include the use of the patrol unit for protection while on the side of the road regardless of the task. Video examples and case studies are used to reinforce training. Included in the discussion is an overview of the laws governing emergency operations. 

• The training continues with a section on routine patrol operations. Training discussions include common mistakes, backing, turns, intersection, speed, and emotional vs. rational response.  This section covers 5 circumstances where poor decisions and attitudes, caused death, injury, or liability and case studies reinforce each point. Case law is introduced to emphasize liability issues to the organization, management, supervisors, and field training officers for failure to manage, failure to supervise, and failure to properly train. 

• The seminar closes with a section on decisions and consequences where case studies of death, injury, and prosecution of officers involved in on-duty crashes reinforce the importance of this training.

• For Texas Police Officers, this course is eligible for TCOLE training credit! 

Training time  8 hours

• Car crashes continue to be one of the greatest dangers of law enforcement. Decision Driving was created to train the mental aspects of emergency vehicle operation. Vehicle crashes take the lives of many emergency vehicle operators every year. Often the cause of these crashes is not skill deficiency, it is a deficiency in mental preparation for emergency vehicle operation.

•  Law Enforcement officers receive a minimum of behind-the-wheel driver training. Most are trained on a skills course at low speed. Officers quickly learn, however, to be proficient as an operator of an emergency vehicle, not through training but through exposure. Officers become overconfident in their abilities and that is the purpose of “Decision Driving for Law Enforcement”. 

• This course was created to bridge the gap between driving skills and mental preparation. 

• This classroom-only course focuses on officer survival/safety, behind the wheel of an emergency vehicle. 

• This training is designed as a reality check for law enforcement officers of all ages. 

• Topics include, routine operation, common mistakes and driving errors, responding under the influence of emotion, and lessons learned from crash studies of officers across the country. 

• For Texas Police Officers, this course is eligible for TCOLE training credit!

Training Time 4 hours