The bureau ruled that the officers were engaged in emergency or urgent duties. Explaining the numbers Sgt. Randy Lentz, a driving instructor at the police academy, says immunity has little effect on street officers because, he says, most know little about the law or how it is applied. The division has one of the state's most comprehensive driver-training programs for officers, Lentz said, but he could not account for the division's recent increase in cruiser crashes. Karl Barth of the traffic bureau said it may be attributable to a rise in the number of minor accidents, often involving other police vehicles or objects such as utility poles.
Accident reports show that officers crash into each other once a month on average.
He and other supervisors estimate that the public causes 50 percent or more of cruiser-related accidents. The division does not keep such statistics. The Dispatch analysis of 1996 crashes shows officers at fault 60 percent of the time. Controlling a cruiser goes beyond driving ability, Barth said. Over the blare of sirens, officers are expected to navigate crowded roads, maintain communication with dispatchers, get to scenes quickly and keep their adrenaline in check.