[VIDEO] U.S. Secret Service Adds 10 GM Vehicles to Fleet for Training and Research

Protecting the leader of the free world and other high-ranking U.S. politicians and their families is no easy task.

That’s why Secret Service agents have to be ready for anything, and General Motors recently sent 10 of its vehicles – including two C8 Corvettes – to the federal agency’s James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland to allow agents to experience driving a diverse array of vehicles.

Besides the Torch Red and Black C8s, agents drove three SUVs (Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe with a police package) and four Cadillac CT4 and CT5 sedans, including twin-turbo CT4-V Blackwing and supercharged CT5-V Blackwing versions that feature manual transmissions.

“Not everyone is able to operate a manual shift,” explains Mark Armstrong, a driving instructor at the RTC for 10 years. “Having that platform here will enable us to give instruction on how to drive manual vehicles for overseas trips.”

Agents never know where they might be sent to perform their duties, places like foreign field offices where driving skills and vehicle types might vary, so the experience gained at the RTC might be the difference between life and death one day.

“Experience with different types of vehicles can help instructors teach students how to adapt their driving techniques based on the vehicle they are operating,” said Scott Simons, the special agent in charge of the RTC. “Because each vehicle handles differently in any given situation, exposure to new cars will challenge instructors and give them an opportunity to develop more realistic training scenarios.”

Source:

U.S. Secret Service / YouTube

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