Tactical Driving

Vehicular ambushes, where malefactors attempt to use their vehicle(s) to pursue or stop another vehicle for the purpose of capturing or harming its occupants, is a principal technique used by terrorists, kidnappers and criminals around the world. Tactical Driving, comprising both Defensive Driving (no contact) and Offensive Driving (contact) techniques, is the skill necessary to effectively combat vehicular ambushes. Every person that may be a potential target for a vehicular ambush should have a basic familiarity and understanding of Tactical Driving techniques. Anyone responsible for providing close protection or chauffeuring for a potential target should be skilled and practiced in the art of Tactical Driving.

Trident Capabilities

TridentCMG personnel learned Tactical Driving skills from the best instructors available to the military Special Operations community. Subsequently, during their military service they underwent repeated training to ensure that these skills remained sharp and became completely engrained in their thought processes and muscle memory. These skills were further sharpened during actual use of these techniques in field operations, under high-stress conditions and in the most fluid operating environments. TridentCMG personnel have been successfully refining and teaching Tactical Driving skills and techniques around the world for more than a decade.

Comprised of both classroom and open track instruction, students will first receive a PowerPoint presentation covering a wide scope of supporting information. Each course begins with a discussion of the various types of vehicular ambush threats. Students learn important points to consider when selecting a vehicle, including understanding the strengths and limitations of different vehicle sizes and types. For permanent vehicles, suggested modifications are discussed to improve handling and reliability. The effect of vehicle armoring on handling and performance is reviewed. Non-contact evasive maneuvers are reviewed along with high-speed and low-speed vehicle operation, acceleration and braking techniques, and skid control on various surfaces and conditions. The classroom portion of the course concludes with a detailed examination of response options to each of the various threats discussed at the beginning of the course, as well as motorcade security, motorcycle threats, roadway improvised explosive device (IED) threats, and driving while under gunfire. The final classroom segment deals with crash survival techniques, escaping from a crashed or submerged vehicle, basic emergency medicine for crash or threat-induced injuries, and escape and evasion strategies for crash survivors.

The practical instruction takes place on a suitable open track where students learn to put their classroom instruction into practice. This Defensive Driving (non-contact) segment includes maneuvering a vehicle through obstacle courses during a simulated emergency, high-speed driving techniques, practicing vehicle control during high-speed and emergency braking, evasive strategies and maneuvers, ramming and barricade breaching, and taking control of a vehicle when the driver has been injured. The Offensive Driving (contact) segment includes minimizing damage to your vehicle when practicing Offensive Driving techniques, using your vehicle as a weapon, practical strategies and techniques to intimidate or disable an attacking vehicle, and handling multiple attacking vehicles.

Upon conclusion, all students will have a thorough understanding of Tactical Driving techniques and decision points. Course graduates will be sufficiently skilled to respond successfully to any of the common vehicular ambush threats.