Digital Paper Test 3 6-17-14 issuu.com rndigitaltest docs digital_paper_test_1__6-17-14.pdf Jun. 2014 Volume 100 | Page 5

The News Saturday, January 1, 2014 • 5 Virtual car helps cops avoid real crashes By John Ruch [email protected] www.rockdalenews.com/multimedia/516/ C Luckily, the scenario was just a game of sorts. The chase was not on the streets of Conyers. It happened inside an air-conditioned trailer parked behind City Hall, where officers are training on a virtual-reality driving simulator machine. Like a race-car game in a video arcade, the device features a steering wheel, pedals and full dashboard — including a key in the ignition and working air-conditioning vents. Three video screens give realistic peripheral vision and feature virtual rearview mirrors. The simulator is provided for CPD Officer Scot McGinnis straps in for a driving simulation training session. www.rockdalenews.com/multimedia/516/ free by the Georgia Municipal ficers on duty is vehicle colliAssociation to local govern- sions,” Trotter said on the mornments that use its liability and ing of May 28, when the News workers comp insurance. The was invited to observe McGinngoal is give police officers, am- is’s training. Trotter drives the trailer around bulance drivers and firefighters Georgia, extra training The number one cause of training varin avoiding car crashes. death for law enforcement ious departments whose David Trotter officers on duty is vehicle patches of Local Govcollisions. decorate ernment Risk — David Trotter the trailManagement er’s walls. Services, an exHe trained cop who operates the device, told the News that Rockdale County Sheriff’s Ofthe training reduces insurance lia- fice deputies in April. Then he bility by improving public safety. pulled the trailer behind Conyers “The number one cause of City Hall on May 1 to train city death for law enforcement of- officers through June 5. “ “ onyers Police Officer Scot McGinnis is in hot pursuit of a fleeing carjacker. His cruiser’s lights flash and siren blares. He carefully dodges careless civilians who run stop signs or dart into the road on bicycles. Suddenly, a car appears in his path, pulling in front of him from behind a parked van. The windshield shatters as the police cruiser slams into the car broadside. Game over. McGinnis told the News he already had extensive emergency driving training when he joined the force five years ago. He’s already been in two high-speed pursuits of robbery suspects, one of them at speeds of nearly 110 m.p.h. on I-20. And his training “came in handy in the [recent] snowstorm,” he said. “I don’t really know what to expect from this” specialized training, McGinnis said before the test. But he later mentioned he had a leg up: “I play a lot of video games,” including “World of Warcraft.” Before driving the virtual car, however, Trotter gave McGinnis an exam on traffic laws and de- Darrell Everidge/The News fensive driving techniques. McGinnis took an early classroom course on those. When it was time to use the simulator, the first step was to buckle a real-life seat belt attached to the seat. “You wear your seat belt in the patrol car, right?” Trotter asked with a skeptical tone. McGinnis said he does, but the fact is, many officers don’t follow that basic safety step. Trotter mentioned last week’s death of a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy in a crash that ejected him, possibly because he was not wearing a seat belt. “I just trained that officer about a month ago,” Trotter said. It’s one