On Monday, March 4, 2002, at 12:08 AM, J C wrote:
> That was definitely one of the more... shall we say...
> amusing experiences I've had at an autocross and it
> was my first ride in the back of a police car <hehe>!
> At the finish his partner said "and that's why I don't
> let him drive". They both had blast.
Yeah, but you weren't on course the first time they
turned on the sirens. I wasn't expecting to be chased!
:-)
Seriously, though, I think the most fun I ever had with
cars involved police cars, and police officers even. And
getting chased. And chasing the cops, too.
Am I the biggest road hazard you ever heard off? Maybe,
but not on that day. The local (to west central florida)
miata club autocrossed on a police training lot, and one
day we convinced them to give a bunch of us a 1-day version
of their police driver training program. The first thing they
do is put you in the cruiser with two officers and have you
chase a guy through a very tricky course. One of the officers
is videotaping, and the other guy? He's screaming at you,
yelling at you about how you're driving, what you're about
to hit, how slow you are.... It's supposed to simulate the
distractions during a real chase. It works, too :).
And it's kinda fun just plowing along in the crown vic with
the sirens blaring, even if I did learn that the vic just can't
catch a miata in the city :).
The biggest difference from what we do? When a new recruit takes
their test they have to complete the course (chasing a "rabbit",
of course, with as many distractions as the trainer can create)
in a certain time, and the cones represent *bystanders*. So if
you hit one cone you fail the entire driving class, which can
derail your plans to become a cop.
-- Glenn
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