ABSTRACT
Previous research has suggested that police drivers construct narratives of themselves as being highly aware of hazards, able to minimize their own culpability in accidents and to create a sense of expertise and impartiality as police drivers (Dorn and Brown, in press). This paper investigates whether these perceptions of expert hazard awareness skill are reflected in driving performance. A comparison of police driving behaviour with non police-trained driving behaviour under two risky simulated driving situations is reported. Fifty-four male police drivers and 56 non police-trained drivers drove along a simulated scenario partitioned into three sections: (1) a 'rural' section representing single lane country roads with little traffic, (2) a 'link' section, representing a stretch of open road from rural to urban driving with occasional traffic during which the overtaken manoeuvre was conducted, and (3) a built-up 'urban' section including traffic lights, pedestrians, a single and dual carriageway and heavy traffic. Participants were required to complete two tasks to test for hazard awareness; firstly to overtake a slow-moving bus in the 'link' section under hazardous road conditions, and secondly to follow a lead vehicle travelling at 55mph on a 30mph speed limited busy urban section. Results for the overtaking task showed that police drivers were more likely to cross the central division of the road at safer locations compared with non-police trained drivers. Police drivers also showed significantly increased lane position variability in the link section compared with non police-trained drivers. Significant driver group differences in speed choice at particular hazards in the urban section during the following task were also found. In comparison with non-police trained drivers, police drivers also reduced their speed on approach to pedestrians at the roadside in the urban section. Results are discussed with reference to police driver training instructions and the use of simulator technology in the assessment of police driving skills.
