Why do cops speed? Because they can. Think it's funny? Not anymore—speed's killed way too many of our law enforcement brethren for it to be funny now.
Below 100 was launched by Law Officer and targets areas that have proven deadly and are primarily under the control of the officers themselves. Following the use of seatbelts and body armor, the third tenet of Below 100 is: Watch Your Speed.
The reality of LODDs is that nearly half of fatal crashes involve only the police vehicle and the most common primary collision factor is speed. Consider what that means in terms of officer culpability: A lot of officers have lost their lives because of their own driving decisions.
No one wants to be critical of a fallen officer, but the highest honor is true remembrance. We must honor the fallen by training the living.
The reality of police work is that sometimes we have to drive fast. Anyone who thinks Below 100 says otherwise is wrong. However, when Below 100 was being developed, we looked at thousands of LODD summaries and it was clear that speed was claiming a lot of lives. It had become a deadly cultural norm.
During a break in Below 100 training in Idaho, a 25-year veteran of policing in two different states approached me and said no one had ever told him to watch his speed. Candidly, my first thought—although I didn't say it—was, "Are you kidding me? That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"
Over the next few weeks, that officer's comments kept playing in my head and I knew some message was trying to get through. Finally, I realized the significance of his words. We really don't watch our speed when we're working. We don't pay attention to the speedometer because we don't have to. We drive. I thought back on my decades in a patrol car and realized the only time I ever looked at a speedometer was when I was pacing another vehicle for speed enforcement. Otherwise, I just drove in "cop mode."
Off duty, I did watch my speed. I actually looked at the speedometer and was aware of how fast I was traveling. Honestly, it was a different mindset. Now I understood the importance of what that officer had said. Most of us cops don't watch our speed.
As I was going through this speed epiphany, I asked other long-term law enforcement folks if they functioned in the same way when it came to speed. The answer, universally, was in the affirmative.
Ever heard someone say they were "driving by the seat of their pants"? The premise is that G forces moving your rear end around on the seat tell you when you're reaching the limitations of the vehicle. However, the quality of today's cars and their computer enhanced handling sometimes work against someone who just "drives." Add the adrenaline factor along with "because we can" and there's a deadly combination.
About a month after this came together for me, I was in Indiana presenting Below 100. During the speed portion, I conveyed the information outlined above. On the break, I was approached by a long-time EVOC instructor who said, "You've really got me thinking."
He shared that he routinely covered up the speedometer during driver training and told trainees they shouldn't be looking at the speedometer. The logic? It would teach the trainees to "feel" the car and learn when they were reaching their limit. The problem with this, as mentioned above, is that modern cars can mask warning signs that would otherwise tell a driver to slow down. The EVOC trainer realized he might be unintentionally instilling a bad habit.
Could it be that the combination of cop culture (we don't have to watch our speed), combined with well-intentioned (but misguided) training, is contributing to speed-related officer crashes?
It's time to embrace a new perspective. Speed must be situationally appropriate and we need to have an awareness of our speed, not just a "feeling." Just as important: We need to get real about this terrible killer and have those all-important courageous conversations. The price associated with doing otherwise is just too high.
