Hazard perception—the ability to successfully detect and respond to hazards in the driving environment—is the only specific driving skill that research has shown to lower the risk of a motor vehicle crash, yet law enforcement driver training largely fails to teach it. Moreover, the way law enforcement driver training is typically conducted may actually increase the likelihood that an officer will be involved in a crash. Law enforcement driver training and standards must incorporate the development of officers’ hazard perception skills to improve officer and community safety. This can be accomplished by teaching officers a research-based training methodology called commentary driving, which has been proven to improve hazard perception and decrease the likelihood of a crash.

Brett Cowell & Hugh Anderson– National Policing Institute

Brett Cowell, MA is a Senior Program Manager at the National Policing Institute. In this role, he provides comprehensive project management for a portfolio of national training and technical assistance projects focused on preventing officer injuries and fatalities and increasing organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Brett’s portfolio includes the National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety (NLERS) Program under BJA’s VALOR Initiative, the COPS Office Critical Response Program, the COPS Office Supporting Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, and the Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Near Miss reporting system, the only national near miss reporting system for the law enforcement profession. In his spare time, Brett serves a first responder with over 12 years of operational experience at a volunteer fire and rescue department in Northern Virginia.

Hugh Anderson, Peel Regional Police

Hugh Anderson is a Police Vehicle Operations Specialist with Peel Regional Police, where he trains officers in  emergency vehicle operations. He began training instructors in 1998 at the Ontario Police College and has since worked across law enforcement, corporate, and novice driver training.

Hugh serves as a subject matter expert on the National Policing Institute’s hazard perception curriculum for the National Law Enforcement Road Safety Program, and is co-presenting on hazard perception and commentary driving alongside Brett Cowell.

He is the author of Emergency Vehicle Operation Instruction: 5 Steps to Enhancing Your EVOC Training and publishes EVOC Insider, a newsletter on advanced training techniques, instructor development, and leadership in police driver training read by EVO instructors worldwide.