Police Drivers - Why always drive in second gear at 30 mph?
Discussion
Why do Police-trained drivers always drive in second gear at 30mph? Or not far off 
I appreciate that it might give good acceleration(if you are somehow unable to change gear quickly) and -possibly- engine braking (engine for go, brakes to slow though), depending on the car, but driving for sustained periods at 3500rpm at 30mph in a run-about panda car does seem unnecessary (an wasteful of fuel) to me. In a higher-geared 250bhp pursuit car it would make slightly more sense.
In the same way as 'milking-the-cow steering' and 'task separation', it strikes me as being 'a rule' invented in the early days of motoring (3 speed boxes and poor brakes?) rather than 'a tool' to aid good driving.
Any thoughts?
I appreciate that it might give good acceleration(if you are somehow unable to change gear quickly) and -possibly- engine braking (engine for go, brakes to slow though), depending on the car, but driving for sustained periods at 3500rpm at 30mph in a run-about panda car does seem unnecessary (an wasteful of fuel) to me. In a higher-geared 250bhp pursuit car it would make slightly more sense.
In the same way as 'milking-the-cow steering' and 'task separation', it strikes me as being 'a rule' invented in the early days of motoring (3 speed boxes and poor brakes?) rather than 'a tool' to aid good driving.
Any thoughts?
Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 16th October 14:09
If you're 'making progress' then 2nd gear at 30mph is reasonable - as you note, it improves the responsiveness of both acceleration and engine braking when the engine is higher in its rev range. Certainly if you want maximum acceleration from 30mph, 2nd is a better place to be than 3rd as you accelerate through the gears. This is certainly how I was taught on my course - you make full use (minus 10%) of the rev range. If it'll rev to 7,000, you change up just past 6,000 rpm. I have to say, when on a call, fuel efficiency comes some way down the list of S's:
Safety
Systematic
Smooth
Speedy
Save some fuel?
When not response driving, In most cars I'd accelerate to 30 in 2nd, then hold 30 in third. 4th just doesn't ahve the resonse at those engine speeds.
Away from police driving, that's just one of many reasons I'd never buy an ex police car - they've had 1st and 2nd ragged to bits.
Safety
Systematic
Smooth
Speedy
Save some fuel?
When not response driving, In most cars I'd accelerate to 30 in 2nd, then hold 30 in third. 4th just doesn't ahve the resonse at those engine speeds.
Away from police driving, that's just one of many reasons I'd never buy an ex police car - they've had 1st and 2nd ragged to bits.
MC Bodge said:
The other is a serving officer who has passed the course for using sirens/passing through traffic/redlights etc. (whatever that is called). I and others have asked him why he does it in the past and he has said that that is the way to drive. We were not convinced.
This sounds a bit like someone who's just passed their course and is now a bit more confident in ragging the arse out of their car as they drive it... If this is going down to the shops then I'd say it's probably not justified.That said, my car gets used "to it's full potential" and it will do 70 in 2nd gear, thatnks to a high revving engine - Not that it does it too often away from the track!
I am a Police Response Driver, And just to add to this i would say that as previously stated, I use 2nd gear when i want to make progress, for acceleration etc, Any other time i am driving to the same speed as other road users and going from A to B i use the gears accordingly, i would happily use 3rd gear if the road dictates this.
There are various reason why police teach the way they do, Mainly is to be in the right gear at the right time for the situation, If your friends does this in his own car, It is obivously because he/she is happy to drive in that style.
W1LL
There are various reason why police teach the way they do, Mainly is to be in the right gear at the right time for the situation, If your friends does this in his own car, It is obivously because he/she is happy to drive in that style.
W1LL
Thanks for the replies, folks.
Of course I appreciate that during a 'pursuit' using the gear for optimum performance makes sense. I too have had cars that would do 70+ in 2nd, but surely, for a routine A-to-B journey, shifting up earlier and being in 3rd gear before 30mph (say 25 mph -so long as the car isn't labouring, of course) is fine?
I'm not a highly-trained driver, just an interested one who likes to ask "why?"
Cheers.
WeirdNeville said:
that's just one of many reasons I'd never buy an ex police car - they've had 1st and 2nd ragged to bits.
So, it is confirmed that some Police drivers do race their engines in 1st and 2nd gears? Is this due to the 'rule'-based nature of much of their tuition rather than an interpretive approach?WeirdNeville said:
When not response driving, In most cars I'd accelerate to 30 in 2nd, then hold 30 in third. 4th just doesn't ahve the resonse at those engine speeds.
Why accelerate to 10/15 in 1st(?) and 30 in 2nd as-a-rule when not in a hurry? Obviously I don't know what your police car is, but in a low-spec panda car that does seem excessive, but does seem to be used by Police drivers.Of course I appreciate that during a 'pursuit' using the gear for optimum performance makes sense. I too have had cars that would do 70+ in 2nd, but surely, for a routine A-to-B journey, shifting up earlier and being in 3rd gear before 30mph (say 25 mph -so long as the car isn't labouring, of course) is fine?
I'm not a highly-trained driver, just an interested one who likes to ask "why?"
Cheers.
Edited by MC Bodge on Sunday 14th March 19:25
MC Bodge said:
A couple of police drivers I know seem to do it and I've noticed Police cars going along with the engines racing in 1st and 2nd gears.
Going back quite a few years but we used to have Cavalier SRi's at work and we had "defensive" (there's a misnoma if ever there was one) driving training from ex-Police driving instructors and we spent most of it with the cars within a few hundred RPM of their rev limiters. I thought it was bonkers - there's no acceleration available from that engine speed.
Edited by Deva Link on Sunday 14th March 20:41
vonhosen said:
Some might, but that doesn't mean all do.
On the basis of my limited sample size and that I was told that it was the correct way to drive as taught to the Police, I hypothesised that they all do it The replies are providing evidence (albeit anecdotal) to dis-prove, or not, the hypothesis.
Edited by MC Bodge on Sunday 14th March 22:32
Deva Link said:
we had "defensive" (there's a misnoma if ever there was one) driving training from ex-Police driving instructors and we spent most of it with the cars within a few hundred RPM of their rev limiters.
I thought it was bonkers - there's no acceleration available from that engine speed.
That's a more extreme case of what I'm getting at. I thought it was bonkers - there's no acceleration available from that engine speed.
Exactly how much 'response' is required? High revs don't necessarily give you a lot of response and how much effort is it to shift down anyway in the event of needing to accelerate anyway?
Bear in mind also that modern brakes are very effective in slowing a vehicle through all wheels, rather than just the driven ones. Engine braking is not that helpful compared to using the brakes in the event of needing to slow a vehicle.
MC Bodge said:
vonhosen said:
Some might, but that doesn't mean all do.
On the basis of my limited sample size and that I was told that it was the correct way to drive as taught to the Police, I hypothesised that they all do it The replies are providing evidence (albeit anecdotal) to dis-prove, or not, the hypothesis.
Edited by MC Bodge on Sunday 14th March 22:32
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