NEW PALESTINE — While the average driver logs about 15,000 miles per year in their vehicle, police officers can drive well over 70,000 miles per year, with some logging as many as 250,000 miles. It’s one of the reasons police officers are required to be top-notch drivers as well as understand everything they can when it comes to maneuvering emergency vehicles safely.
Late last week, officials from the New Palestine Police Department (NPPD) gathered for a low speed emergency vehicle operator training session instructed by NPPD Deputy Marshal Tyler Batton, who has been certified in order to instruct the work session.
“I went to 40 hours of training specifically for emergency vehicle operations and then there is an advanced training class too,” Batton said.
Batton noted that speeds for police officers will vary depending on the type of situation they are responding to and said they must always be watching stop lights and what other drivers are doing.
“Most of the time, people are reacting to what we are doing and the signals we are giving while driving,” Batton said.
While many think of police training involving guns and physical agility work, police officers spend a vast amount of their time inside their vehicles.
Chief Bob Ehle noted it’s the simplest of things for officers when driving that mean the most, and that is why they take the time to train on the simplest of maneuvers. Plus, they’re required by the state to spend at least two hours working on emergency vehicle operations each year.
“Backing up, changing direction, those little types of things are important,” Ehle said. “We’ll do the high speed training at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) where they actually have a track where guys can learn about controlling their cars at high speed, but this type of training is just as important.”
It’s key for officers to understand how their vehicles handle in all kinds of situations including minor maneuvers, officials said. As an example, officers must be the best when it comes to backing into a small space, which they do often when watching traffic or are on surveillance.
Batton put his fellow NPPD officers, including his chief, each through a course to test their skills on precision.
“The majority of police officer crashes come from backing into crashes,” Batton said. “Officers get in a hurry, they throw it into reverse and someone gets behind them and then it’s a crash.”
Batton made sure each one of the officers was able to back their vehicle into a tight, boxed-in area and then were able to do what he called “serpentine” moves around several safety cones.
“That comes in handy when you’re changing lanes or avoiding something in the road,” Batton said.
Ehle noted, even the best of drivers can become complacent, so why not take the time and make sure his department knows the importance of handling their emergency vehicles properly.
“It’s just a good reminder,” Ehle said. “When you do training, it’s a great way to tell you what your limits are because not all drivers are equal and you’ve got to know your driving limits.”
Ehle noted officers need to know when they should call a chase off or where they need to be in a chase line thanks to emergency vehicle training.
“As we teach the newcomers in police work how to drive, we want them to understand their 100% threshold level and when they reach that, they need to back down,” Batton said. “We don’t want drivers pushing it… We say drive about 80% of her level because we don’t want officers or anyone getting hurt.”
When the officers each got into their vehicle with Batton, who rode through the course set up at New Palestine Intermediate School, the other officers watched and shouted out when an officer hit an emergency cone or didn’t do the ride just right.
Deputy Marshal Jessy Walley, who is also a member of the Hancock County Joint Tactical Team, said most of the traffic accident reports they take are from people backing into one another, and it’s good for officers to remember that.
“That’s why it’s best for us, and you see us mostly backed into a space so you can see everything and be able to pull out safely into traffic,” Walley said. “There really are certain ways to navigate, and you just need to make sure you position your vehicle in the best operating manner at all times.”
Walley has been through the high speed training as well, and he said that and refreshers on the little things about driving like they were doing is a good lesson for officers.
“These types of training are important, 100%,” Walley said.
Batton noted he’s hoping to hold another emergency vehicle operations training class next year at the ILEA track and invite several county departments. He also wanted to remind local drivers whenever they see emergency vehicles heading their way with lights on to please respect the movement.
“As our county is growing, we’re getting a lot of day time traffic and, no matter how loud our sirens are or bright the lights are, people become distracted when we really need for them to be paying attention,” Batton said. “When you see one car with lights, keep in mind you’re likely going to see two or three more.”
