Cops are in the Top 2% of Shooters in the Nation

That’s probably not a headline you’d expect to see. That’s because it’s not true. However, for sometime now, police motor officers have been said to be in the top 2% of riders in the country. I imagine that includes professional racers from various sports, as well as the average rider. Assuming that is true, there are some very good reasons cops are such good motorcycle riders.

First, they go to an intensive, multi-week motor school that teaches technical riding in a way most riders will never even hear about, let alone learn or practice. If they graduate, they then get to practice their riding almost everyday, for many hours each day. Not just riding around town like civilians get to do, motor cops get to drag race after speeders, drive slowly and precisely for motorcade operations, and get follow on training almost every month. Now, not all motor cops get these things, but most seem to. Not surprisingly, they get to be pretty sharp on those bikes.

Guns are a little different. They might get a good start with some intensive schooling up front (quality varies tremendously, whereas motor schools are much more similar), but then follow on training is usually pretty rare. In addition, firearms training is by its nature, pretty far removed from its use, where motorcycle training and practice is very similar to its use. Most cops don’t really care much about their guns and so they put little effort into them.

Civilian shooters on the other hand, choose to put a fair bit of effort into their firearms training. They go to all sorts of schools, enter competitions, and generally put a lot of time and effort into their training. At least on the range, the results are very different from their police bretheren.

So, for all you skilled shooters out there, how well do you drive? A poll sometime ago showed that 80% of Americans view themselves as above average drivers. That has not been my experience on the road.

Like motor officers, police officers are some of the best car drivers in the country, and for most of the same reasons that motor officers are. They get a formal driving school, they do it every day under hazardous conditions, both slow speed and high speed, chases, PIT’s, etc. They get way more relevant practice than civilians do, and in much greater quantities.

As a civilian or police officer, you are much more likely to need superior driving skills, instead of a gun, to save your life. So, maybe you should go get some training? I learned to drive a little late in life, since growing up in NY made getting my license young a costly hassle. I was almost out of my teens by the time I got it. Most of you probably had yours years before that.

Thankfully, I was able to make up for it with lots of excellent training and experience. Before I became a cop, I went to BSR ((Bill Scott Raceway, a famous driving school) to prepare. A friend who had been through many driving schools also helped me immensely. I then went through the NYPD’s driving school which focused on precision driving and tight spaces. DS sent me through FLETC’s basic driving course which is similar to how BSR does things. Then DS sent me to BSR multiple times a year and I was certified as an anti-terrorist driving instructor. I went to several other formal driving schools with DS as well, like VIR and and then through the FBI’s course. As an FBI agent, I went through a multi day course from Kansas City PD as well. In total, I’ve been through 15 or more driving schools, each one lasting from 2 days to one week.

When I was young, that training saved me from crashes many times. Partly because of the techniques I had learned and partly because I was young and my judgement wasn’t as good. As I have gotten older, I have had far fewer instances where I needed my training. Maturity can be a good thing sometimes. Nonetheless, though my decision making has improved, it is very comforting to have almost 30 years of serious driver training to fall back on if needed.

Maybe the next time some recreational competition shooter wants to make fun of police shooting ability, he should take a look at how he drives. We all like guns, but cars are much more likely to cost you.