Driver Training Moves Front and Center in Oklahoma City

Jan. 08--When you see a police car, ambulance or fire truck speeding down the road with its lights flashing and siren wailing, it can seem chaotic, but they have rules to follow like any motorist.

Sgt. Keith Cornman, coordinator of law enforcement driver training for Oklahoma City police, said officers can't even activate their lights and sirens unless they are stopping someone or responding to a call where there is risk of injury or loss of life.

"Even though we are allowed to violate traffic laws when responding to an emergency call, we still have to drive very safely," Cornman said. "People may not realize that officers have to abide by certain laws. We have our own policies and procedures that tell us how we are supposed to operate our vehicles."

Chief among those rules is that police vehicles "will be operated in a safe and courteous manner," according to city policy.

Oklahoma City police, fire and Emergency Medical Services Authority ambulances all must activate their lights and sirens if they anticipate needing to exceed the speed limit or use other emergency driving techniques.

Firefighters and ambulance drivers have additional rules to follow given the size and limitations of the vehicles they drive.

A recent fatal wreck involving an ambulance in Oklahoma City illustrated what can happen when those rules are violated.

An ambulance driven by emergency medical technician Benjamin Samples on Dec. 10 was going 80 mph on NW 10 near May when it slammed into a car driven by Fidel Mesa-Solis.

Solis died in the crash. Samples was fired and is charged with negligent homicide. Samples has denied driving recklessly.

Investigators said Mesa-Solis was turning left ahead of the ambulance, which had swerved into oncoming lanes to get around traffic. EMSA policies require drivers to stay within 10 miles per hour of the speed limit and slow to 15 miles per hour if they have to veer into oncoming lanes.

Investigators said Samples was driving double the 40 mph speed limit on NW 10 at the time of the accident.

Officials with EMSA and Oklahoma City's police and fire departments said they try to avoid such incidents through training.

Cornman said driving is one of the main skills new officers have to learn.

"They get a total of 88 hours of driver's training during the recruit academy," Cornman said. "Most of the training is behind the wheel learning the vehicle dynamics, evasive maneuvers and braking maneuvers."

Oklahoma City began requiring annual in-service driver training in 2006.

"If you don't practice it, you lose those skills," Cornman said. "We're the only agency I know of our size that does a full day of in-service law enforcement driver training."

Tony McCarty, a paramedic supervisor for EMSA with 35 years experience, said ambulances weigh about eight and a half tons. Learning to drive such a large vehicle is challenging. They are top-heavy and prone to roll if not driven carefully.

"We have a good majority of our people who come to us having never driven any kind of large vehicle," McCary said. "It's a huge transition. You can't look in a rearview mirror. You have to use your side view mirrors. You can't look over your shoulder to check your blind spot. You have to use our convex mirrors."

In addition to driver training all new employees get during their academy, ambulance drivers get refresher training annually, EMSA officials said.

Driving a fire truck is an even bigger transition. A ladder truck weighs 77,000 pounds (38.5 tons), fire Lt. Derak Stewart said.

"Brand new guys who come on the job, they get a couple of years of practice driving," Stewart said. "You take them to a parking lot and let them get used to it. You can't drive on an emergency before you have three years on."

Stewart said experience is key. Maneuvering a fire truck is tough in the best of circumstances. It's not a skill to be learned on the fly.

"I've got close to 10 years on, and there are still things you come across that you've never thought of before," Stewart said. "It's continually a learning experience."

Whether driving a 77,000-pound fire truck or a nimble police cruiser, some of the challenges are the same.

Stewart, McCarty and Cornman all said their chief concern when they turn on their lights and sirens is safety.

"When I was on the back of the rig riding as a firefighter, I was thinking about my goal on scene," Stewart said. "Now as a driver, I try to tone that adrenaline down as much as I can to have a clear head to get everywhere safely. If we get in a wreck on the way, we are doing no good to the person who has that emergency."

Copyright 2012 - The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City