Situational Awareness Training for Light Rail: Looking Out for the Other Guy
Published on February 3, 2020
Situational awareness training is perhaps the most critical and most neglected aspect of preparing a mass-transit vehicle operator to get out on the road. Why is situational awareness so vital to transit operators? Just look at this dash-cam footage released by Houston’s METRO (Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County) According to reporters in Houston, … Continued
Simulation Training Progressions: Tactical/Practical Fire and Rescue Training
Published on January 20, 2020
It’s well established that there’s a nationwide shortage of both professional and volunteer firefighters. As one Connecticut fire chief recently noted, “age is also a concern. [Our] average volunteer now is about 50 years old.” Communities across the country need to increase the size of their firefighting forces, decrease the age, and train everyone … Continued
Using Simulator Technology to “Extend Your Senses” in Mass Transit
Published on January 6, 2020
Simulator technology has proven to be a game-changer in training transit vehicle operators. Although we’ve seen these benefits throughout the transit sector, rail transit operators may reap some of the greatest rewards. Nigel Lindsey-King is a transit training professional and former Superintended of Surface Transportation Training for the Toronto Transit Commission. He has decades … Continued
Pump operations simulator benefits Hill Air Force Base firefighters
Published on December 20, 2019
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — Earlier this year, Fire and Emergency Services at Hill Air Force Base received three new fire trucks to enhance the department’s ability to respond to fires and other emergencies. Now, the addition of a new, high-tech pump operations simulator will serve to improve the training base firefighters receive by … Continued
High-Speed Pursuit and Citizen Safety: Protecting People from Themselves
Published on December 16, 2019
According to data from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), roughly 12,000 people were killed in police chases between 1979 and 2013. That’s roughly one death per day and is almost certainly an undercount (according to a 2015 investigative report, NHTSA’s figures for many specific states—including Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota–showed fewer … Continued
The High Cost of Police Pursuit
Published on December 9, 2019
We already know that police pursuits are extremely dangerous to both bystanders and officers, but they’re also extremely expensive. In Canton v. Harris (1989) the Supreme Court found that, under certain circumstances, inadequate training resulting in injury or death can be the basis for liability under U.S.C. Title 42, S. 1983. Although that particular … Continued
Police Driver Training: De-escalate at Every Step
Published on December 2, 2019
Officers are expected to be on-the-spot social workers. That demands monumental presence of mind—which is completely at odds with the realities of the street, where a million things are happening at once. Chuck Deakins—FAAC Training Group lead subject matter specialist (SMS)—points out, “When I go into a physical training or martial arts environment, what’s … Continued
Police Scenario Training Instructor Development
Published on November 11, 2019
Chuck Deakins has spent years helping law enforcement agencies integrate modern simulation-based police scenario training systems with their existing programs. At some point in every “train the trainer” session, he finds himself saying the same thing: “Stop talking, start training.” Deakins–a 30-year veteran of law enforcement often asks instructors to remember how they learned to … Continued
Law Enforcement Training Solutions & The Millennial Police Force
Published on October 22, 2019
There are nearly 76 million adult Millennials in the U.S. today. This makes them the single largest living generation, both increasingly culturally influential and a dominant player in the workforce. Any field that cannot attract and retain them will face a decreasing capacity to meet their mission, and increasing costs as their team’s age. All … Continued
Situational Awareness Training Beyond Police Use of Force
Published on October 14, 2019
Most of the time, when we talk about “situational awareness training” we’re strictly imagining use-of-force situations for law enforcement. But situational awareness is much larger than just split-second shoot/don’t shoot decisions. Situational awareness guides how an officer initially assesses the scene—and thus allows them to quickly determine if a suspect is non-compliant or simply hearing … Continued