TaxMasters Sponsors Texas DPS Trooper Driving School
TaxMasters sponsored and participated in the Texas State Trooper School held at MSR Houston north of Angleton, Texas on the afternoon of May 11, 2009. TaxMasters Patrick Cox (CEO) and Alex Clamon (VP of Sales) had the honor of being chosen to drive get-away cars for the DPS Officers to pursue.
“They kept telling me to slow down,” said Clamon. “But there were cops on my tail!”
Drivers, volunteers, and instructors helping out at the event include Alex Clamon, Patrick Cox, Wes Cunningham, Sydney Davis, Michael Mills, Holly Murphey, James Rogerson, Brian Svaton, and Larry Svaton.
About the Driving School
Texas State Trooper School is designed to help DPS (Department of Public Safety) Officers learn to drive more effectively and safely at high speeds. The officers go through several exercises, including pursuit simulations and in-car instruction from knowledgeable racing drivers. The object of the exercises is to help the officers gain comfort and experience in travelling at high speeds in their standard issue cruisers.
There are several aspects of high-speed driving that people don’t fully comprehend unless they’ve done it. Perhaps the first thing you notice is that a car does not feel totally in control like it does at lower speeds. Whereas your typical daily commuter feels always solid, responsive, and as if it is “on rails,” as they say, at high speeds a car feels less stable, less grounded, and like it’s sliding and roaming even when traveling in a straight line. This sensation is very similar to driving 50 mph on gravel roads.
The second thing you realize is that you have to look and think a long way out in front of you and make steering corrections surprisingly early. At 60 mph (right around 90 feet per second), it’s comfortable for us to look ahead one hundred yards, which gives us a little over a second to react and a little over two seconds to make whatever maneuver we decided on. But when you increase speeds to 100 or 120 mph (60 yards per second), you must look and plan 200 yards ahead at a minimum. Traveling at 120 mph means that anything 60 yards in front of you or closer is already in the past. If you haven’t already planned for it, it’s too late at that point.
Another aspect of high-speed driving is learning where the grip ends and the slide begins when cornering. This is different for every vehicle and varies depending on the type, age, and tread of the tires you are running. Because street tires tend to go from grip to slip faster and more dramatically than purpose-built racing tires, it is vital for the officers to know how a car feels when it is nearing the slip point. Also, learning to apex a corner correctly can drastically improve exit speed when coming onto the following straightaway. Depending on the situation, an officer of the law will always benefit from being able to out-drive a fleeing suspect.
Driving effectively at fast speeds requires drivers to think, plan, and react far differently than we do at lower speeds. It requires knowledge and experience that you can only get by doing it. That is why the Texas State Trooper School is so vitally important and valuable for our DPS Officers. This program introduces them to high-speed maneuvering and teaches them to drive more effectively and efficiently. With a better understanding of their vehicles and their own capabilities and limitations, the officers will be better prepared not only to pursue suspects at high speeds, but also to better identify the point at which a high-speed chase becomes a serious public safety risk.
If you are interested in receiving driving instruction, sponsoring an officer driving school, or becoming a member of MSR Houston, visit the MSR Xperiences site today.
