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NAPD TACTICAL POLICE DRIVING COURSE
The NAPD Tactical Police Driving Course is a 24 hour program designed to advance the driving skills and knowledge of police officers. One third of the course is classroom (spread over three days) with two thirds devoted to hands-on driving. It is not a racing program, nor is it abusive to vehicles. Speeds rarely exceed 45mph and average approximately 30mph. However, the training is intensive. It is a pass/fail course requiring students to meet qualification standards on five separate driving exercises and pass a written test to gain certification.
STUDENT RECERTIFICATION
The 24 hour Tactical Police Driving Course certificate is valid for three years. If those three years elapse without refresher training, the individual must attend the 24 hour course again in order to be recertified. However, the certification can be maintained by passing an NAPD 8 hour refresher course within those three years, and within a three-year basis thereafter.
Although three years are allowed between recertification, it is advisable to schedule half of the personnel for refresher training every year. This method keeps your NAPD instructors active every year while helping to regulate class size.
RECOMMENDED STUDENT CLASS SIZE
Class size should correspond to the available number of NAPD certified instructors. NAPD recommends a teaching ratio of one instructor to every five students. Even so, a class of more than twenty students may (and often does) require additional time to complete the prescribed activities for each day.
NAPD LAW ENFORCEMENT SUV DRIVING
The NAPD Law Enforcement SUV Driving Course is a 16 hour program designed to equip police drivers with the mental and physical skills needed to safely control an SUV or pickup truck. Unlike the NAPD Tactical Driving Course, which is better suited for cars, the SUV course was specifically developed for higher center of gravity vehicles.
The handling dynamics of an SUV are different; they are bigger, heavier, and more susceptible to rollover behavior than a police car. Understanding these properties is a vital part of learning the proper driving skills to control them. The NAPD SUV course accomplishes these goals through a combination of classroom teaching and hands on driving exercises.
The SUV course driving activities are challenging, yet safe, and non-abusive to vehicles or tires. Exercises cover backing skills, accident evasive maneuvers, controlled braking, cornering techniques, proper methods for acceleration, braking and steering control. Duty vehicles can be used with all on board equipment and normal loads (properly secured, of course). Tire pressures should be set to vehicle recommendations.
Student level certification requires qualifications on all driving events plus passing a written test.
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