A funny thing happened on the way to the bank. I know, it’s a bit cliche, but I really was driving to the bank. I approached an intersection and had the green light, I noticed the black Mercedes in the left only lane across the intersection with its left blinker on who also had the green light, I looked in the review mirror for a brief second and looked back at the road in front and the Mercedes was smack dab in front of me. The driver thought he could make the turn before I got to the intersection. Things got a bit interesting.
The Mercedes saw me and realized he wasn’t going to make it passed me so he stopped dead in his tracks. Instincts took over, I maneuvered to the right between his front end on my left and the traffic stopped at the red light on my right, and then back left - narrowly missing the light pole and mailbox. Back on the street and passed the intersection I continued on my route asking myself what just happened.
My heart was pounding and I ran through the scenario that just played out and I had to chuckle a bit – it was a emergency lane change maneuver I had learned several years ago at the Scotti School of Defensive Driving (SSDD), which is now Vehicle Dynamics Institute. I had the privilege to go through the protective driver training course. I don’t know if I would have had the same outcome if I hadn’t taken the training.
Being trained to get out of sticky situations while behind the wheel is an important skill for the executive protection professional and is often overlooked. Sure anyone can drive the boss around town, but when confronted with an emergency - whether it’s the little old lady who walks on to the street in front of you or a full on ambush – will you be able to get you and the protectee out of the kill zone safely?
