Editor's note: Reporter Olivia Ingle is participating in the Missouri State Highway Patrol's six-week Community Alliance Program, which was open to 20 Troop F community members. The program is meant to inform people of the functions of the Highway Patrol, which has served the public for more than 80 years.
Everything Missouri Highway Patrol troopers do during a traffic stop is for the safety of themselves and the safety of the people they stop, Sgt. Paul Reinsch says.
Thursday's MSHP Community Alliance Program course included a presentation of the troopers' stop and approach techniques, an explanation and demonstration of RADAR and an Emergency Vehicle Operation Course (EVOC) demonstration.
MSHP's Emergency Vehicle Operation Course is located at the Ike Skelton Training Center on Militia Drive.
The course is there for MSHP recruits to learn the techniques used to drive fast and maneuver a car through obstacles.
Each Community Alliance Program participant was given the opportunity to ride along with an EVOC instructor as he navigated the course. The course is similar to a Missouri road. It has straight-aways and curves. There are orange cones set up to challenge the driver even more.
During my ride along on the course, I was told a Crown Victoria MSHP car can reach speeds of 90 plus miles per hour. The Dodge Chargers are even faster.
The 10-minute or so ride was rough. I wore a helmet, as well as a 5-point harness in the passenger seat.
After the high speeds, sharp turns and quick stops that left the car's tires screeching, I concluded that the troopers' jobs are quite difficult. I'm not sure I could ever drive like that, and that was merely training. Imagine being a trooper on an actual pursuit with real-life obstacles.
Thursday was week two of the six-week course. Next week, we will discuss crime control techniques, such as search and seizure, crime scene collection and the use of canines.