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Diary of a Motorcycle Officer
Passing the State of Georgia Police Motorcycle
Training Course (POST)
Written by Master Patrol Officer Wiley A. Gammon,
Jr.
Lilburn Police Department, Georgia
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DAY 1 (BRAKE, CLUTCH,
AND THROTTLE)
PARKING AND ALIGNMENT
SLOW CONE
WEAVE
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DAY
2
BRAKE AND ESCAPE
OFFSET CONE WEAVE
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DAY
3
140-DEGREE PULL-OUT
CLOVER LEAF
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DAY 4
(ON AND OFF-ROAD IN THE RAIN)
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DAY 5
(TIMES RUNS AND FINAL EXAM)
LILBURN, GA -
When I first joined the Lilburn Police Department as a Reserve
Officer in 1992, my dream was to become a Motorcycle
Officer. At that time, the Department didn't even have a
motorcycle, but that didn't stop the dream. It took three
years, but the Department finally ordered their first Harley
Davidson Police Motorcycle in 1995.
What was the Chief's first
rule concerning the new motor? No Officer will ride the Motor
on duty, until they complete the State of Georgia POST (Peace
Officers Standards & Training) Police Motorcycle Training
Course.
No problem, I signed up along
with one of our full-time Officers in September, 1995. It
was a week I will never forget!
DAY 1
First, our three instructors gave all of us a rundown on how
the 5-day, 40-hour course was laid out. They described what
was expected of us. As I looked around the room, I tried to
guess how much "in the saddle" experience all these guys had.
There were 17 of us in the class.
Next we watched a couple of videos on motorcycle
safety. That was followed by a discussion on the pros and cons
of different types of helmets.
The instructors told us that
the entire course boils down to three things:
brake, clutch, and
throttle. All three must be used in the proper
combination, in order to get through all of the
obstacles.
So far ... so good. I
felt confident ... OK, maybe a little cocky. I've ridden
motorcycles since I was 14. I have completed the Safe Rider
Course (civilian) offered by the Georgia Department of Public
Safety. For three years I have been riding the same model of
motorcycle as I would be using in the course. (Harley Davidson
FXRP). Everything looking good!
Mid-morning, we moved outdoors
to the motorcycles. We saw the entire course of obstacles set
out before us. Some looked easy, some impossible. Some
students began to panic already. The instructors said
they would have us going through all of them by Friday.
The first order of business
was to put rubber garden hose and duct tape on the crash bars and
saddle bags of our motors. It protects the chrome when we drop
the cycle. As we looked at each other, most of us figured we
would not drop ours.
PARKING AND ALIGNMENT
Time to
begin the hands-on portion of the course. We started with
something easy, parking and alignment of the motors.
All of the motors were lined up even, side-by-side, with all front
wheels turned to the left lock.
Enter the "domino
effect." With the motors only 18" to 20" apart, disaster is
not far away. When one rider loses the delicate balance of his
motor, six or seven more generally topple over with
him. After the third time of picking up the
650-pound motorcycle, I decided this class was not going to be the
piece of cake I once thought.
SLOW CONE
WEAVE
After lunch, the
instructors decided to try a simple maneuver through cones. It
is called the slow cone weave. Seven cones are placed
in a straight line, 12 inches apart. The object is to ride
back and forth through the cones to the other end without
running over or knocking down any cones. We are told not to
look down at the cone you are driving past or you will hit it.
You are to look ahead ... where you want to go.
It is amazing
how many students looked directly at the cone beside their front
tire, and ran over it. Thankfully, I had some practice at this
type of riding and was able to successfully negotiate this first
obstacle.
Periodically, to
clear the students' minds and to cool off the motors, we rode at
about 30 mph around the outer perimeter of the course. This
also gave us a close-up view of the obstacles. Our stress
levels began to climb. By the end of day one, I was
exhausted.
DAY
2
The
instructors began the day indoors, telling us we would be broken
into groups. Each group will practice on a different part of
the course until we have covered all of it. A hand goes up and
a question is asked about the obstacle that resembles a
lollipop. The instructors said that it is one that gives most
students the hardest time, and it would be covered later in the week
... not today. A collective sigh went up from all of
us.
Once
outside, we started each day by practicing parking and
alignment. More toppled motors. Next we went to work on
different obstacles. Some returned to the slow cone
weave. Others worked on brake and escape, the
three-step lane change, the offset cone weave and
there was one or two brave souls that worked on figure
eight's.
BRAKE AND
ESCAPE
I started
with the brake and escape. The cones were set up in a
"T" shape. The object is to ride along the leg of the "T" at
35 mph, toward the wall of cones at the top of the "T". At a
certain point, you must brake, make a hard right turn, an immediate
hard left turn to get around the wall, and then accelerate out of
the obstacle. You must do this without locking the
brakes (and leaving skid marks) or hitting any
cones.
You learn to use both front and rear
brakes in this obstacle. After a few attempts, I negotiated
this one fairly well. I Tried the slow cone
weave ... Still OK there. Next I tried the
three-step lane change. Cones flew everywhere!
This obstacle is akin to changing lanes on an interstate highway in
heavy traffic. This one took some practice. More cooling
off around the perimeter.
I kept working on the lane change until I
was more comfortable with it. Next I tried putting together
all three obstacles I had learned. I moved from one to the
second, to the third, just as we were expected to do on
Friday. I made it through all three. Not pretty, but I
made it. I continued to work on these three into the
afternoon.
OFFSET CONE
WEAVE
Late in the afternoon, I tried a new obstacle,
the offset cone weave (two lines of five cones each, offset
from one from the other). You start at one end and work your
way to the other end through a series of back and forth "U"
turns.
As I went
through this obstacle, I was repeatedly picking up either the motor
or the cones. Whew! I just thought I was exhausted
yesterday. At the end of day two, I
began to have some doubts about how easy passing this course was
going to be.
DAY
3
Day 3 started
off with more pep talks from the instructors before we headed
outside. Once outside, we practiced parking and
alignment. We were getting better, no dominos
today.
140-DEGREE
PULL-OUT
We broke off into groups, and I started at
the 140-degree pull-out obstacle. In this obstacle
your rear wheel is on a base line. The motorcycle is pointed
to the right at a 45-degree angle to the base line. You must
make a HARD left turn of approximately 140 degrees, without hitting
the wall of cones in front of you ... or dropping the
cycle.
To accomplish this, you
have to lean the motor over, almost to the point of dropping it, and
then use the brake, clutch,
and throttle to power
your way through the turn. My confidence was fading
FAST.
Try #1 - I dropped the motor. The
instructor said not enough throttle. OK, try #2 - I dropped
the motor again. This is getting old. On try #3, I
revved it up good! I started off and plowed right through
the cones. I decided right then that I preferred going through
the cones to picking up what seemed to be a 900 pound motor
today. I took a break.
Some other students were already trying
the clover leaf (a.k.a. the intersection) and the dreaded
lollipop. Before I practiced any more, it was time for some
cool-off laps. I noticed my clutch slipping. I know what that
means.
For the next hour and a half,
I was down on the sidelines as my motor was being worked on by the
on-site mechanic. The clutch was wearing out. He work
diligently, trying to make last until Friday.
CLOVER LEAF
When I ventured back on the
course, I tried the clover leaf. Let me say
right now ... I have never picked up a motorcycle so many times in
such a short period of time as I did with the clover
leaf. Talk about huffing and puffing.
I was thrilled when the
instructor called for cooling off laps. One instructor led us
on three laps around the perimeter then he left the course entirely
with all of us following in single file. He headed straight
for the tree line. We bumped up over curbs, rode down a hill,
and followed a narrow path deep into the woods.
We rode for about 30 minutes
in the woods before the trail took us back to where we
started. My nerves were frazzled by then.
The instructors told us that
in-the-line-of-duty, we may be called on to take our motors on
any number of unconventional terrains. We needed to know the
capabilities as well as the limitations of our motors.
The instructors told us
that by now we should have tried all of the obstacles. By
Thursday we should have started putting the finishing touches on
most of them. Several of us looked around the room at each
other as if the instructors had lost their
minds.
DAY 4
I woke up and it was pouring down
rain. I was thinking we would be inside all day.
WRONG. The instructors told us to put on our rain gear.
We would practice on the course for about an hour, then we would
ride to a local park. We would ride through the park,
on and off the roads - in the rain. Some of the
confidence I had left got
smaller.
When we moved outside, one instructor led
us single file through all the obstacles. There were dropped motors,
crumpled cones, and 17 soggy students; but we all eventually made a
slow pass through all of the obstacles and then we headed for
the
park.
As we maneuvered through the park, I had
a death grip on the motorcycle. It was still raining, and I
did'nt want to fall. We practiced on obstacles in
the park for about three
hours.
The rain was letting up so we headed back
to the training center for two more hours of practice on slick
asphalt.
Once we were back at the center, it was
time for what was becoming a daily visit to the mechanic.
After the adjustment (about 30 Minutes) I was back to the track
for more
practice.
Then the unthinkable
happened. One of the best riders in the class went over his
handlebars as he and his motor tumbled end over end, down the
pavement. Everyone was quite concerned for his neck and
back. As he was loaded into the ambulance, he told everyone he
would be back for the final test.
DAY 5
We started the
day inside. The instructors gave us the agenda for the day. We
would spend all morning practicing on the course. After lunch,
each student would make two complete runs through the course.
All times from all students would be compiled and a median time
would be determined.
Now comes the final
exam. Each student must complete the course in the median time
or less. Each cone knocked over adds two seconds to your
time. If you drive outside the boundaries of any obstacle
or drop the motor, it is considered a "CRASH," and that run is
terminated.
We would get three tries to
make the time a thereby pass the course. After all of the
students have completed their test, the instructors would hand out
diplomas and winged wheel pins to wear on your uniforms - to all who
pass, that is.
We moved outside and began to
practice. I gave all of the obstacles a try, spending more
time on those I was least comfortable with. Then I decided to
try a slow run through all of them as I would do for the test.
I made it.
After the cooling off laps, I
made one last visit to the mechanic before we started the timed
runs. We all breathed a sigh of relief when the student who
had the accident arrived after his overnight observation and
release. He said he intended to take his test with the rest of
us, and he did!
I glanced at the lollipop
obstacle and saw three of my classmates riding in the small
circle at the same time. Hard to do.
After lunch, my palms were
sweaty as the instructors lined us up in the order we would do the
timed runs. Everybody did their first run, then
we started at the top again for the second. We took a 20
minute break while the instructors got set up for the final
tests.
We were told that the time to
beat was 3 minutes, 10 seconds. We would each take two tries
to pass the test. Anyone who did not pass would be given a
third try. All others were allowed to opt out of their third
run. You only had to pass one run to pass the
course.
Five students took their
turns, then it was my turn. I toppled a couple of cones which
added to my time, but no "crashes". I made it all the way
through in 3 minutes, 5 seconds. I passed. As it came time for my second run I was more
relaxed. I completed that run in 2 minutes, 55
seconds.
The student who had the
accident passed with flying colors. Only one student failed the test
and did not get credit for completing the class.
We moved back inside for one
final time. The instructors congratulated us on passing.
We were all "high-fiving" each other. The instructors handed
out the diplomas and the highly coveted pins. We were all
ecstatic, and the ride home took no time. We had met the
challenge.
When people ask me about the
class, I reflect on that week of my life. I tell them that
during that week I lost at least three nights' sleep and five
pounds. I rode in blazing heat and in pouring rain. I
tell them that it almost as difficult as getting my four-year
college degree.
I had to use one week of my
paid vacation from my full-time job; and I did all of this, at the
age of 40 years, for a job that does not even pay me.
When they see the pride on my
face, they ask, "Would you do it again?" With little
hesitation I answer, "YES"!
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NATIONAL RESERVE LAW
OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
P.O. BOX 6505 SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
78209
(210) 805-8917 FAX (210) 804-2463 E-MAIL
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