So many Halton police cruisers have been involved in crashes that the force has instituted mandatory driving training for its officers.

In the first six months of this year, police cars were involved in 70 accidents, at a cost of $158,780 in damage to the cruisers — including four write-offs. Accidents are up 18 per cent from the same period in 2010 and 23 per cent over 2009.

Most of this year’s crashes, 41 of the 70, were classified as preventable.

“I don’t know if embarrassment is the term,” Sgt. Dave Cross said of the police force’s response. “Certainly, it has caused us to institute this online driving course in an effort to curb that (crash numbers). Any collision is certainly a concern to us as a service.”

He stressed that the number of preventable crashes is down 5 per cent from last year.

The main reason cited was police drivers hitting something while reversing, often out of a mall parking spot. Others included going too fast for the conditions, following too close to other vehicles and making improper turns.

None of the collisions occurred when cruisers travelled through red lights with their emergency lights on.

Cross said officers can be issued tickets for offences such as improper turns, though he said he didn’t know if any of the officers in these crashes were ticketed. A supervisor has to attend and investigate all accidents involving police vehicles, Cross said.

“If they are deemed to be at fault and there is a charge to be laid, in fact a charge would be laid.”

Four vehicles had to be written off — three Crown Victoria police interceptors and one plain car. In two of those cases, the cruisers were going too fast for the conditions.

The mandatory online training course, which takes about 90 minutes to complete, focuses on managing distraction and improving self-awareness to more easily identify and avoid hazards while driving.

This fall, training sessions will also consider safety at traffic stops. In two recent cases, patrol cars were rear-ended while officers were investigating a traffic violation.

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Driver training at the Ontario Police College is part of the training officers receive when they join Halton police. This includes experience driving on a simulator.

crush@thestar.ca