ABSTRACT
This paper reports a preliminary qualitative analysis of 46 police drivers, 20 advanced and 26 standard level, who were interviewed about police driver training, emotional reactions to driving and risk taking. The transcriptions were searched for evidence of perceived invulnerability amongst police drivers. The data were studied for differences in attitudes to police driver training and in reports of invulnerability between standard and advanced police drivers. Advanced police drivers were more satisfied with the content of their training if not with the frequency, while standard drivers felt that they did not receive long enough on response driving and vehicle control skills. Advanced drivers displayed a higher sense of invulnerability than standard drivers, as they were less likely to acknowledge mood effects on driving and held a more positive opinion of aggression in driving. Advanced drivers felt safe when taking risks, describing them as 'calculated risks'.
