Page 27 - Argyle Police Officer Field Training Tips

Police Driving

Vehicle inspection-Police driving can be fast and aggressive. You don’t want to find out you have a bad
tire when you’re driving at high speeds. A well-maintained vehicle is a much safer at 120 MPH than a
vehicle that isn’t properly maintained.
Check the tires

Check the rear seat for contraband, weapons, etc.

Check for damage

Check fluids-this means check the gas level too. You don’t want to run out of gas on the way to
helping out another officer or on the way to a hot call. Depending on your level of activity, fill it
up when you get between a quarter and a half a tank left.

Check all the lights as you will need them

Check to make sure you have the equipment you need, see the equipment list

Always wear your seat belt-You are more likely to get into an accident than getting shot. The
seatbelt will save you more times than your vest will, and you wear your vest everywhere you
go. There is no excuse for not wearing it your seatbelt.

Patrol vehicles-Are much heavier than the civilian version because of the equipment that’s loaded in it.
However, they typically aren’t built much different than the civilian versions and simply weren’t
designed to be driven like racecars. Slow down, you see and hear more at slower speeds anyway.

Always place the radio mic back in its holder when not in use. This is not a piece of equipment that you
on the floor or activating and deactivating during emergency driving.

If on the way to a hot call, you don’t know quite how to get there and you are being followed by other
police vehicles, just pull over, deactivate your lights and wave them through. Then follow them.

On the way to non-emergency calls, play the “what if” game from time to time. It’s generally much
easier and faster to do something you’ve thought about than it is to formulate a new plan and do that.
Don’t place items on the dashboard of your vehicle. The moment you make a quick turn, any item on
the dashboard will roll around.

If you come across a small animal in the roadway during emergency driving, drive through it. At high
speeds, you’re more likely to wreck out if you swerve to avoid it than if you drive through it.

Don’t over drive the vehicle, ever. No apprehension is worth you killing yourself in a car crash. Plus, if
you die or get hurt, you’ve now lost your chance to catch the suspect anyway. In other words, don’t
drive like recklessly just because you can. You somehow managed to attain your dream job, don’t hurt
yourself doing it.

When in a pursuit, if you’re not the first or second vehicle, stay off the radio. This allows the primary
units to continue communicating the important information to dispatch.

Pg. 26 POLICE FIELD TRAINING CONCEPTS