Catapulted Dummy Tests Driver’s Skill

This would be a useful addition in ALL driver's ed courses, especially if the driver was given no warning. From Popular Science, Aug 1935:

So that the driver of a radio car will know what to do if someone darts across a street in front of his speeding machine, instructors of a police school at Hendon, England have devised an ingenious training method. The student is required to drive along a test course, and at some unannounced point a concealed catapult hurls a stuffed dummy in front of the car. Observers rate the driver on his ability to stop or swerve in time to avoid hitting the pedestrian. The catapult is operated by a spring, and a jerk on a rope releases its trigger. All drivers of London's police cars receive this training.

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Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 12, 2009
Category: Cops | Motor Vehicles | Cars | 1930s

Comments

No Dirty Jake, it's a prerequisite for being a cop.

Posted by Madd Maxx on 02/12/09 at 08:06 AM

Is "Jerk on a Rope" similar to "Soap on a Rope" or "Dope on a Rope"?

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 02/12/09 at 08:35 AM

No Expat, it's closer to a "Freak on a Leash"

Posted by DownCrisis on 02/12/09 at 08:37 AM

Thanks DC. I thought it was about getting catapulted into the main stream.

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 02/12/09 at 09:08 AM

Nothing is ever mainstream around here. And that's why we like it!

:lol:

Posted by DownCrisis on 02/12/09 at 11:19 AM

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