NCJ Number
50223
Journal
Canadian Police Chief Volume: 67 Issue: 3 Dated: (APRIL 1978) Pages: 13-15
Date Published
1978
Length
3 pages
Annotation
BENEFITS OF A PRECISION DRIVING COURSE FOR POLICE, FIRE, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL AGENCIES ARE DISCUSSED. CURRICULUM FOR SUCH A COURSE IS OUTLINED, AND EXPANSION OF SUCH COURSES IN CANADA IS URGED.
Abstract
PRECISION DRIVING COURSES DIFFER FROM DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSES, WHICH EMPHASIZE ONLY ACCIDENT AVOIDANCE. PRECISION DRIVING EMPHASIZES DRIVING IN DIFFICULT PLACES, SPECIALIZED MANEUVERS, THE PECULIAR PROBLEMS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATION, AND VIOLATOR PURSUIT. SUCH A CURRICULUM FOR A 10-12 HOUR COURSE IS OUTLINED. THE NEED FOR SUCH COURSES IS DOCUMENTED BY NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL FIGURES FOR 1976, WHICH INDICATE THAT IN THE UNITED STATES ABOUT 20,000 EMERGENCY VEHICLES WERE INVOLVED IN MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS, 190 OF WHICH WERE FATAL. WHEN THE U.S. PARK POLICE INSTITUTED A PRECISION DRIVING COURSE IN 1973, ITS ACCIDENT RATE DROPPED FROM 44.7 PER MILLION MILES DRIVEN TO 8.17 PER MILLION MILES. A VIRGINIA REPORT ESTIMATED ECONOMIC LOSS FROM EMERGENCY VEHICLE CRASHES AT $4.5 MILLION PER YEAR BETWEEN 1972 AND 1974. CANADIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ESTIMATE THAT ABOUT 40 PERCENT OF THEIR EMERGENCY MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS ARE DUE TO DRIVER ERROR. EXPANSION OF PRECISION DRIVING COURSES IN CANADA IS URGED. REFERENCES ARE APPENDED. (GLR)