If you've read the first three issues, you may have noticed they don't all sound the same.
One was about technology. One was about training strategy. One was about leadership and accountability. That's intentional. My career has taken me across all of those lanes, and the EVOC Insider reflects that. I've moved a long way from the driving instructor spending every evening teaching parallel parking and three-point turns.
This issue is about why I started this newsletter in the first place.
The fuel pump, 1999
The inspiration hit somewhere around 1999 when I was relatively new at the Ontario Police College.
I can still picture it — end of the day after a busy traffic stop session, four to six instructors standing around the fuel pump, and I asked what felt like a simple question:
"Why doesn't every police service conduct traffic stops the same way? Why do some say offset, some say call in the marker before the stop and some after, siren at some services and never a siren at others?"
A bit of context: there are somewhere between 40 and 50 police services in Ontario, and every officer must attend OPC to receive their basic constable training. The majority of the instructors are on loan from those services — everything from agencies with over 5,000 officers down to services with 10 or 20. A wide range of perspectives stood around that pump.
The response I got had only one consistent element.
They all laughed.
Then they said, essentially, that every service is its own empire. Each one wanted to do things their own way because they believed they had unique challenges. The OPC had lesson plans, but the instructors brought their experiences with them, and every organization had "their way."
What I also recognized that day was that there was no real mechanism for Police Vehicle Operations instructors to expand their knowledge beyond the 60 days at OPC at the start of their career. After that — largely nothing.
Switzerland
I arrived at OPC as an advanced driving instructor with no ties to any one police service. I considered myself Switzerland — neutral, but genuinely invested in the outcome. Over the years I worked side by side with dozens of seconded officers from across the province, and I distilled their insights in a way that shaped my views on policing, instructing, and driving for the next 26 years.
I still consider myself Switzerland. My goal has always been to remain neutral while working to elevate police driving everywhere.
That day at the fuel pump was when I decided I wanted to do something about it.
From workshop to newsletter
By 2001 I was full time at Peel Regional Police with a supportive supervisor who gave me room to try. We hosted a one-day Police Driver Training workshop — I'd love to find the original file folder on that one.
Since then, I've tried to host PVO workshops, seminars, and training days every year. Our most recent was in April 2025. I've found these gatherings to be one of the best ways to expand knowledge through shared experience, networking, and honest conversation about driving, technology, vehicles, training, and leadership.
I should also mention the first ALERT International conference I attended in 2003 in Charlotte, North Carolina. I had found my tribe. I've been fortunate to attend six to eight conferences since then, and in 2015 I had the privilege of hosting ALERT's 25th anniversary. The highlight of those conferences — beyond the track sessions — has always been the exchange of ideas over a drink in the lounge. Many of those conversations proved valuable long after the conference ended.
(This year's ALERT Conference is in Atlanta — link below.)
Why this newsletter
The EVOC Insider is my attempt to create that same exchange online. A place where instructors, coordinators, and leadership can engage in meaningful dialogue — not just consume content, but contribute to it.
That starts with you.
In two days, you'll receive a short survey from the EVOC Insider. I'm asking for your honest, thoughtful input on what you'd like this newsletter to become. Every response matters. Help me build something worth reading.
If you found this useful and want future issues, you can subscribe here:
https://evoc-insider-e5d7ed.beehiiv.com/
Hugh Anderson EVOC Trainer | Author of Emergency Vehicle Operation Instruction: 5 Steps to Enhancing Your EVOC Training Grab the book on Amazon
