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Finnish Donuts,
Tractors
and
Snowbanks
Rob Griffiths
, Dyfed Powys Branch
Five IPA members from Brecon Roads Policing Unit were offered a chance to do a Winter Driving Course in
Finland. Owen Dillon, Mark Jones, Rob Griffiths, Julian Clegg and James Luckhurst arrived at Heathrow with
only 8kg of hand luggage, which caused a bit of juggling to pack all our winter gear within the weight limit.
Some of us decided to wear most of our winter clothing, to the delight of others when the captain decided to
turn the heating on.
F
rom Helsinki we had a four hour drive
, cramped into a Hire car,
to our first stop over at Savonlinna, which is only 70km from the
Russian border. We were hosted by IPA member Jarmo Puustinen
who showed us to our rooms in his home,
after a quick exchange of pleasantries
despite our 3am arrival.
The next morning we were given an amazing
breakfast prepared by Jarmo’s wife Hanne.
We then had a tour of Jarmo’s house which
had its own sauna, cinema and a 7000kg
wood burning stove which was the main
feature of the house, and provided all the
heating. It was very impressive to say the
least.
We had a day of activity organised for us.
After dressing in winter clothing we headed
out to meet the local constabulary in a
nearby car park. When the two Police VW
transporters arrived, we left our hire car,
jumped in the police vans and were
given a tour of the area; taking in the
scenery and stopping by the world’s
biggest wooden church.
We then made our way to a wooded
area at the side of a frozen lake. We
trudged through the woods in knee
deep snow, not having a clue where
we were going. We arrived at a wooden
hut with a fire blazing in an open wood
BBQ. We were treated to traditional
Finnish sausages cooked over the
wood fire, fresh brewed coffee and
what were described to us as
“Finnish Donuts”.
Soon after lunch, two officers
arrived on snowmobiles who had
been on patrol locally. They drove
across the frozen lake to join us.
Local journalists interviewed us
and took photographs, promising
that we would be in the next day’s
local newspaper.
After exchanges of stories and experiences, we cleaned up and were taken
to the local police station for a tour. We then retuned to Jarmo’s house,
where his wife had prepared a traditional Finnish stew to warm us up ready
for the next stage of our trip to Pieksamakki.
After saying our goodbyes, we set off for a 2 ½ hour drive north to a
hotel which looked like something from the soviet era. After a quick
change of clothes we hit the town of Pieksamakki, where only Molly’s
Irish bar was open.
Next day was an early start to attend the Finnish Police Driver Training
School, where we were met by Harri Niinioja and his colleagues. After a
safety briefing it was straight into the cars and out on the track.
After a few laps to get familiar with the cars, our speeds soon increased
and it was only a matter of time before the tractor appeared to pull our first
casualty from the snow bank surrounding the track. No names mentioned
Owen Dillon.
We went onto learn about car control in the snow, and how to escape from
an overturned car on their specially constructed test rig. After a long day it
was back to the hotel for a quick change and back out to Molly’s Bar.
The next day we were back on the track, training in tactical contact before
finally putting our skills into practice in a race; doing timed laps.
All too soon it was time to say our goodbyes and a four hour drive back to
Helsinki, for an overnight stay, a quick tour of the city for gifts, and our
flight home.
We would like to thank Jarmo, Hanne, Harri and all the staff at the Finnish
Police Driving School for their hospitality, and for what must be one of the
best driving courses we have ever done.
Rob Griffiths, Julian Clegg, James Luckhurst, Mark Jones
and Harri Niinioja (left to right)
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Article
POLICE WORLD
Vol 64 No.4, 2019