Sometimes, the best way to prevent accidents is to cause some.

For two days this week, deputies at the Decatur County Sheriff’s Department have tested their mettle against the Indiana Public Employers’ Plan’s (IPEP) interactive driving simulator. The simulation is designed to give law enforcement personnel and emergency drivers a safe way to get drive training.

Upon entering the climate-controlled trailer and getting briefed on their upcoming missions by driving instructor Tom Clarkson, the DCSD deputies sit down in what at first might look like a high-tech, state-of-the-art arcade game.

Clarkson is a retired law enforcement officer who worked with the Indiana State Police and the La Grange Police Department. He now goes around the state giving law enforcement departments the opportunity to better their driving skills.

“This isn’t the milkman teaching you to drive,” Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Darin Lucas said.

Three screens inside the trailer create a 190-degree atmosphere around the driver. While Clarkson controls the driving situations, conditions and obstacles from behind the deputy via a computer system, the participants are given some time to get accustomed to the feel of the pedals and steering wheel. It’s not always easy to get acclimated, Clarkson explained, due to the absence of immediate feedback and momentum shifts that occur in moving vehicles.

“Simulated miles per hour is a little different than actual miles per hour,” Clarkson said.

On Tuesday, DCSD deputy Chuck Ford took the device for a spin, engaging in a scenario in which he was required to race to an accident at an airport. On his way, he was forced to dodge dogs running across the street, cars not following the rules of the road and other emergency vehicles while dealing with things like sun flares and changing road conditions. Following Ford’s simulation, Clarkson took him through the scenario and played it back for him from a bird’s eye view, pointing out things he did well and things he could have improved in a step-by-step critique. Each deputy or law enforcement officer who goes through the machine gets a similar play back.

The deputies encountered everything from normal traffic stops to burglaries to plane crashes, in the hopes that they could learn how to handle dangerous situations better.

Lucas said it was a good experience for the deputies at the DCSD. He added that all of the deputies he had spoken to about the simulator had said it was a beneficial experience, especially because of the variables they come across during the different scenarios.

“Other drivers don’t always know what to do,” he said.

When a civilian driver is in the way of an emergency, there are a variety of ways to deal with them and a number of ways they could become a hindrance.

Both Ford and Lucas noted that after leaving the simulator and getting into their own cars, they were much more aware of everything around them.

“A little paranoia is a good thing when you’re driving a police car,” Clarkson interjected.

That paranoia can put officers and deputies on edge while driving through the simulation, but the most frequent mistake Clarkson said he sees drivers make is over-driving or hitting the gas pedal a little too hard based on the virtual conditions.

The training also offers tips on things drivers might not think of, including tactical positioning of vehicles at emergency sites and when exactly to use sirens and lights. Ford noted that the 190 degrees of screen that surrounded him in the simulator helped him stop his tunnel vision when driving.

“It keeps you looking around,” he said.

According to Lucas, the state of Indiana recently mandated that every emergency vehicle driver undergo training like that offered by the IPEP simulator. The DCSD has been giving its deputies the opportunity to train on the machine for years, he added.