Police aim to get new patrol car drivers trained in defensive driving

SINGAPORE – The police plan to put 350 officers through defensive driving training to improve their confidence behind the wheel of patrol cars.

This is intended to impart safe driving techniques to the less experienced drivers in the Protective Security Command unit, to help them anticipate danger and thus lower the odds of getting into an accident when driving a

fast response car

or police van.

A tender was called on Oct 17 for a three-year contract to provide theory and practical sessions packed within one-day, eight-hour courses. 

The participants will receive one-to-one coaching with the instructor for the practical session.

Such courses conducted by external trainers have been held before, a police spokesman said.

Areas covered include lane discipline, driving on slopes, expressway driving and scanning for potential dangers on the road, as well as how to anticipate and react to situations.

The Protective Security Command is responsible for location patrols around Singapore, providing security at events and protecting key infrastructure, among other duties.

The unit is staffed by a mix of full-time national servicemen, and uniformed and civilian officers.

The police spokesman said the course is meant to “sharpen the driving competencies of new drivers and enhance their level of road confidence”.

At the end of the course, the trainer has to provide a report on the participants’ driving behaviour.

Mr Winson Ow, a driving instructor certified by FIA, the international association for motoring organisations, said: “It is good to put police officers through such training, as it can help them be better drivers when they are on duty. I would recommend that all drivers go for defensive driving courses to sharpen their skills.

“We all drive faster in real life than when we were learning to drive. Defensive driving courses teach drivers to account for the higher speed and to react correctly to dangers on the roads.”

Mr Ow said it is difficult to conduct such courses in Singapore because of a lack of suitable venues.

Typically, the courses he conducts need sufficient space for drivers to safely get up to speed and perform manoeuvres such as emergency braking and high-speed lane changes.

Suitably large locations like the Changi Exhibition Centre can be expensive to hire, he said.

There are defensive driving courses available for individuals. ComfortDelGro Driving Centre, for example, conducts a one-day, eight-hour course that costs $250.