Snellville Police Receive Decision-Based Drivers’ Training

SNELLVILLE, GA – It’s called a driving simulator and it allows a police officer to be put into everyday driving and emergency response situations without actually being out on the road and in their vehicle. Not only that, the simulator is mobile and it comes, literally, right to the doorstep of the Snellville Police Department to provide the training.

On Wednesday, several officers took part in decision-based public safety driver training presented by Local Government Risk Management Services, a service organization of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association.

The simulator is the key component of the training program. Drivers first attend classroom training that covers applicable Georgia requirements on regular, as well as emergency response driving, vehicle handling characteristics, physical driving conditions and driving techniques to use during emergency response situations.

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After the classroom training, comes the actual hands-on training in the simulator. One student observes while the other sits in a realistic driver’s seat where they are put through a series of driving situations from a list of more than 80 available scenarios. When a driver makes an incorrect decision, the instructor can back the program up and replay it showing the driver the situation, discussing driving techniques that would apply, and then can have the driver repeat the same scenario using the techniques learned.

The primary LGRMS Instructor is Mike Earl who started with LGRMS on June 1, 2011. He has been in law enforcement for 27 years and has over 2,300 hours of law enforcement training. His career has included working as a patrol officer, investigator, detective, special crime attack team, DUI Task Force officer, and training sergeant. He is a Georgia POST general instructor and a firearms, defensive tactics and TASER instructor.

ACCG and GMA’s risk management workers’ compensation and property/liability self insurance funds are financially supporting this program because of the unique and high risk driving situations that local government employees, specifically public safety personnel may be involved with on a daily basis.

Snellville Police Department officer Aaron Devries takes a turn on a decision-based public safety driver training simulator presented by Local Government Risk Management Services, a service organization of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association. Photos courtesy City of Snellville