Secret Service allows unpaid volunteers to drive in president’s motorcade

The Secret Service regularly relies on unpaid, volunteers to drive vehicles in the president’s motorcade, a practice critics warn posses a serious safety threat.

The bulletproof vehicles at the front of the motorcade are staffed with Secret Service agents and the convoy is followed by local law enforcement and an ambulance.

{mosads}But the New York Times reported Friday that the motorcade vans used to transport staffers and reporters are often driven by young volunteers who lack any specialized training.

The White House declined to comment on the practice, according to the Times. The Secret Service defended the use of volunteer drivers, saying it has been practice since the 1980s.

The drivers are “briefed by the Secret Service agent responsible for the motorcade prior to any movements,” a spokesman told the paper.

White House officials told the paper that Secret Service agents are not responsible for protecting the staffers and reporters who accompany the president, leaving the task of transporting them to volunteers.

But one former Secret Service agent called the practice troubling.

“You are face to face with a young person who is just completely full of themselves and enthralled,” said Dan Emmett. “We were more concerned with that than an attack on the motorcade.”

“If the motorcade ever comes under fire, it’s going to be a problem,” he warned.

The Times report highlights one such driver, Natalie Tyson, a 24-year old graduate student, who was part of the president’s motorcade during a recent trip to San Francisco.

Tyson told the Times that she had a phone interview before being approved. She claimed to have received little information about what to do in the event of an accident or emergency and was told to just follow the vehicle in front of her.

After her volunteer stint, she was able to meet the president and post photos of his armored limousine on Facebook.

The president’s motorcades often race at speeds reaching 80 miles per hour, according to the report. Motorcades often are moving on roads closed off to other traffic. Despite that fact, there have been a number of fatal accidents involving the president’s motorcade dating back decades.