Class #92 Driving Range

This week Josh and his classmates have been at the driving range. It is basically a huge parking lot where they set up cones and use old cop cars to practice. They have learned how to use their cars, operate the lights and sirens while communicating on the radio, call for backup, and navigate the cones. The cones are in the shape of buildings, alleys, parking spots, and anything else you could imagine having to drive around. Some of the courses require the instructor to ride in the vehicle with the student driver and student passengers in the back. Other times they are in the cars by themselves while the teacher gives commands over the radio.

Monday: the first day was mostly a practice day for a few different courses. One of the courses is in the shape of a half circle. They have to drive into the course, get up to 25 mph, and make the circle without hitting any cones. It took most of them a few practice tries, but by the afternoon,  they were able to qualify on the courses. They have minimum speed requirements, and they are timed. Some of the hardest parts have been getting up to speed fast enough to still be able to make the coming maneuvers.

Tuesday: the second day was mostly practicing the precision course. At one point, they have a short stretch of road where they have to get up to 30 mph before making a sharp right or left turn! They have to back up through parts of the course when they cant see the cones behind them. There are a lot of sharp turns, and some tight parking spots. They don't have enough time to inch their way in. They had to learn to trust their instincts and just go for it. On this day, they also completed the serpentine course. They had to weave through a line of cones and then back up through the same line in a short amount of time. It was tough to learn when to turn your wheel in order to clear the cones, but this was one of the most fun courses for most of them :)

Wednesday: the third day started out with emergency response. They were responding to a call with backup following them. They just had to drive the 2 minute course as first the lead, and then as backup.  They also had to qualify on the precision course during daylight and at night. There were places they had to speed down an 8 ft. "alley" then back up, forward again before turning right or left. They have to complete the course without hitting more than 4 cones. This day they also had to drive in the skid car. It is a car with wheels on the outside. When they get up to speed and hit the button, the wheels drop down, lifting the car up. It simulates skidding on ice or snow. They had to retain control of the vehicle while "skidding". If they were going too fast, the car would end up spinning in 360's. This was definitely fun for them to play around in. Josh had a bit of an advantage having grown up with 9 months of winter most of his life :)

Thursday: the fourth day they had to qualify during daylight and at night again. For this course, there were some stretches that they had to get up to high speeds, trying to keep up with the suspect. They were in pursuit of a vehicle (being driven by the teacher in a newer/nicer car), and they had to stay on the radio with dispatch the whole time. Josh did really well! He loves driving anyways, so when he is allowed to go fast it makes it that much better :) The lights and sirens get your adrenaline rushing immediately. Even though there is no actual suspect, it is a very effective simulation.

By the end of the week, they had a few cars broken down. They were rough on transmissions, lost brakes, fried multiple headlights, and a few other things. I would say it was a successful week :)