Security Driving is a decision-making process that requires the driver to manage time and distance, and anything that slows that process down can and often does become an emergency. Whether driving the boss to work, in a low-risk environment or driving an armored vehicle in a high-risk environment, understanding the basic principles of managing time and distance is life-saving knowledge.
Our frame of reference for measuring time and distance is the speedometer which supplies information in units of miles and hours – MPH. The driver does not have an hour or a mile to make life-saving decisions; in a vehicle emergency, Miles Per Hour is an irrelevant unit of measurement.
An Explanation
To make sense of a vehicle emergency the security driver needs to convert MPH to Feet Per Second (FPS). Traveling at 40 MPH the driver is moving at the rate of 58.8 Feet Per Second (FPS). Converting MPH to FPS requires some elementary grade arithmetic; you need to multiply the MPH number by 1.47. Driving at 30 MPH the vehicle is moving through space at 44.1 Feet/Second,( 30 MPH times 1.47) at 60 MPH the vehicle is moving 88.2 Feet/Second ( 60 MPH times 1.47).
Distance at Speed Examples
At 20 mph the driver travels 29.4 ft/sec
At 30 mph the driver travels 44.1 ft/sec
At 40 mph the driver travels 58.8 ft/sec
At 50 mph the driver travels 78.5 ft/sec
At 60 mph the driver travels 88.2 ft/sec
As mentioned above any delay in the decision-making process adds exponentially to the level of difficulty needed to survive the event, in actuality, not delays of seconds but delays measured in tenths of seconds. As an example; at 30 mph, in .2 seconds, the driver travels 8.8 feet, at 60 MPH in .2 seconds the driver would travel 17.6 feet.Why two-tenths of a second? Because that is how much time it takes to blink your eyes. When you are driving 60 mph, literally in a blink of an eye, you move 17.6 feet.
Any training that can speed up the decision making process – by as little as a blink of an eye dramatically increase the chances of surviving the emergency.
MPH |
Distance Travelled In The Blink of an Eye |
20 |
5.88 Ft |
25 |
7.35 Ft |
30 |
8.82 Ft |
35 |
10.29 Ft |
40 |
11.76 Ft |
45 |
13.23 Ft |
50 |
14.7 Ft |
55 |
16.17 Ft |
60 |
17.64 Ft |
65 |
19.11 Ft |
70 |
20.58 Ft |
This post is brought to you from the International Security Driver Association (ISDA) Membership. ISDA is an association comprised of protection professionals, who represent all slices of the profession, Corporate, High Net Worth, Private Security, Entertainment, Government and Law Enforcement from all parts of the globe.
The members share their knowledge and experience for the education and benefit of the membership and the Protective Services Community.
The website is an essential resource for anyone at any stage of your EP career. Whether you are exploring a career in executive protection, new to the profession, honing your expertise, or an established security executive, ISDA offers its Members benchmark educational, networking, and marketing programs, as well as access to the ISDA Knowledge Center. The Center is the gateway to the industry’s most extensive collection of educational information and resources for the Protection Professional.
