During a training session Saturday, reserve officers with the Island County Sheriff’s Office driving a special “skid car” repeatedly ran over pylons, lost control and wiped out in dramatic fashion.

But after a few laps around the course at the Navy’s Outlying Field, the drivers learned to slow down and remain in control of the vehicle. Which, of course, was the goal the exercise.

Sgt. Rick Norrie, the instructor for the skid car, explained that it teaches people to drive well in hazardous situations — like when a road is slick with ice, rain or tent caterpillars — or at high speeds.

“When officers respond to a call, they get pumped up. They get tunnel vision,” he said. “The idea is to control the environment out here so that the techniques become second nature later on.”

The “skid car” is an innovative contraption. It’s a car rigged with hydraulic-powered outriggers which lift the wheels slightly, making it look like a police car with training wheels. When the hydraulics lift the tires, they have a smaller area of contact with the ground, which equates to less control and a whole lot of skidding.

With a controller, Norrie can lift the back tires, front tires or all four tires up and down. All tires lifted creates an effect “like driving a boat,” as one reserve deputy described it. Norrie sits in the passenger seat and talks the drivers through the course, pointing out problems and explaining different techniques.

The one drawback to the job, Norrie says, is that he gets a little sick to his stomach from all the skidding around in circles.

The skid car itself is shared by seven counties, including Mason, Kitsap, Clallam, Jefferson, San Juan and Whatcom, but the idea for getting one originated in Island County.

Betty Kemp, the county’s risk manager, said she noticed that deputies and other county employees were getting into “a lot of little fender benders,” especially in times of inclement weather. She figured the best way to lessen the number of claims was to get extra training for the drivers.

Kemp found out about the skid car program, so she wrote a grant proposal for the county’s risk pool. It’s basically an insurance company with 28 counties in the state as members. She was successful in getting a $25,000 grant to purchase the car.

Now the goal, Kemp said, is to get every county employee who drives a county vehicle to go through the training.

She’s already gone through the training. “It’s really a humbling experience,” she said. “It doesn’t look hard until you get in there. I spun around once big time and almost took out the fence.”

Saturday, Kemp watched as the deputies skidded around the track. Each time the driver fish-tailed or spun out, the passengers laughed hard enough for spectators to hear.

“I’m going to have to get a new set of tires before we’re through,” Kemp said with a smile.