Thames Valley Police Driving School

Perry visited the Thames Valley Police driving school but the idea needed to be run past our senior officers at HQ. It was only when I started asking people did I fully understand the 'Stig Effect'.

I had made some prior plans to try and give him a varied look at our training and methods. The first day was spent with me whilst I trained two students in the fine art of high speed road driving to the 'Police System'. Perry was an interested spectator who raised some very valid points with both the students and myself. The following morning was at our airfield facility at Upper Heyford. He experienced the fine art of J turning, a tactic we were teaching to a group of officers from our Royal Protection Unit. The final exercise was a timed run through our track based roadway, we all had a go, students, instructors and of course The Stig. Needless to say Perry turned in an unbeatable time.

The following morning I left Perry with one of our Roads Policing Officers, a chance for him to see what we teach put into practise. To sum up his time with us, I saw his friendly outgoing nature pull in everyone he came into contact with, a nice bloke with exceptional car handling skill and what I suspect is rare in a race driver: a real commitment to road safety, he genuinely wants everyone to be a great driver.

Mike Harris, Police Constable 2957, Thames Valley Police Driving School