If you want to sharpen your skills and ensure better safety on the road – you might need security driver training. But what do these courses entail, what can you get out of them, and how can you ensure you’re finding the right one? Keep reading as we break down security driver training and why these skills might help you save a life.
What Is Security Driving?
Security driving describes a set of techniques that ensure the safety and security of the driver and their passengers. Often referred to as defensive driving or executive protection driving, it involves using advanced driving techniques and strategies. These skills and techniques can help you minimize risk and better respond to potential threats and emergencies.
The key aspects of security driving include:
- Risk assessments
- Route planning
- Defensive driving techniques
- Vehicle selection and maintenance
- Evasive maneuvers
- Close protection integration
Before and during travel, security drivers will assess potential risks and threats. They will take into account factors like destination, route, current security situation, and more before making their plans.
When it comes to route planning, a security driver will carefully and with great consideration plan the safest and most efficient routes. They will take into account traffic conditions, potential hazards, and alternative routes in case of emergencies.
Defensive driving techniques teach drivers to anticipate and avoid potential accidents or confrontations on the road. That can include scanning roads, maintaining safe distances, and learning how to react quickly.
The vehicle you chose is a key part of protection driving as it can help or hurt your maneuverability, speed, and safety. A professional driver or close protection agent also has to know and do regular maintenance and inspection to ensure optimal performance.
Evasive maneuvers are used when faced with a threat or attack. These techniques can include breaking, swerving, or accelerating to escape danger and protect your passengers or assets.
Finally, there’s close protection integration, which means that security driving is part of a larger, more complex suite of services.
What Makes a Good Security Driver Training
The primary goal of security driver training is ensuring the safety of the driver and the passengers. That means the driver has to be able to handle any situation they encounter while transporting their clients. These measures can include anything from maneuvering through traffic, navigating unfamiliar or potentially dangerous terrain, and avoiding potential threats.
Through effective security driver training, the driver will be better prepared to handle these challenges with calm, confidence, skill, and precision. A great training course should give them the availability to think under pressure and make sound, split-second decisions.
Key Lessons
Depending on the course and syllabus, there are many key lessons to learn on your road to becoming a professional protection driver. Here are just a few of them.
Staying Alert
Staying alert and always aware of your surroundings is crucial for ensuring the safety of the passengers and their assets. One of the most important things is to get adequate rest before getting behind a steering wheel. Fatigue can impair your reaction time and impede your decision-making abilities, increasing the risk of accidents.
Being Prepared
Your primary responsibility as a protection driver is to ensure the safety of your passengers and assets. The only way to do that is by being prepared and ready to handle any potential security threat or emergency that might come up during transit.
Preparation involves staying informed and aware of potential threats and risks in the areas you’re driving through. That can include but isn’t limited to, knowing about high-crime areas, reading incident reports, and being aware of potential protests and demonstrations.
Another way you can ensure you’re prepared to handle anything is by thoroughly planning your routes in advance. You should consider factors like traffic patterns, road closures, and other security risks.
Reducing Risk
Learning how to reduce risk as a security driver involves a combination of preparedness, vigilance, and proactive measures. The key strategies that go into reducing risk include:
- Risk assessment
- Advance planning
- Vehicle inspection
- Defensive driving techniques
- Security training
- Situational awareness
- Communication
- Coordination
- Emergency Preparedness
- Professionalism and discretion
You will be able to learn many, if not all, of these strategies during your security driver training. However, there will be some things to avoid, as well.
What to Avoid in Your Security Driver Training
Hollywood movies and exciting chase scenes have given industry newcomers a false sense of what security driver training actually is. That is why many go through training believing they were short changed because it wasn’t as thrilling as what they’d seen on screen.
However, teaching some of the techniques that you’ve seen in movies would actually be doing clients and drivers a disservice. Many of these improper maneuvers, like crashing cars or pushing through an ambush, would put the drivers’ and their clients’ lives at risk.
When looking for the best protection driving courses, it’s important to look into the entire syllabus. It’s also important to remember that defensive skills are much more valuable than offensive skills.
Finally, trusting trainers and industry professionals is key as they’re the ones who have your safety in mind if and when they decline to teach you certain obsolete or dangerous techniques.
The EPI Protection Driving Program
The EPI Protection Driving Program is designed for protection specialists, close protection agents, security drivers, chauffeurs, bodyguards, and anyone looking to improve their driving skills.
The expertly designed training program combines driving, protection, and etiquette like no other program out there. Not only that, but the approach allows students to receive a solid foundation of both hard and soft skills necessary for effective and proficient driving.
During a two-day course, students will receive hands-on training behind the wheel. Once they complete the program, graduates will be left with a comprehensive and versatile set of skills. These newfound skills will allow them to overcome potentially dangerous situations and thrive in everyday situations.
The Executive Protection Institute (EPI) is dedicated to developing and delivering custom programs for all of your personal and client-based needs.
We have a history of developing and providing custom programs all over the world and can provide any of our established courses at your preferred location in order to facilitate all of your logistical needs.
Final Thoughts
Security driver training is not just about mastering the art of driving; it’s about mastering the art of protection and ensuring the safety of both yourself and your passengers. These courses equip drivers with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate potential threats and emergencies with confidence and precision.
Don’t wait to start and apply for the EPI Protection Driving Program today!