[Shotimes] (OT) Followup - The Driver's Edge

Sun, 3 Aug 2003 17:33:43 -0400

Hey Mr.van Oss, did your son attend this session in Chicago?

Here is someone who attended the Chicago session with his kids after getting
the good review on the Minneapolis session.

Sounds like a worthwhile deal if one of the sessions is within driving
distance for yourself & your teenagers.

Ron Porter 

-----Original Message-----
From: Bernard M Chachula [mailto:Chachula@earthlink.net] 
Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2003 12:48 PM
To: 911/993/996
Subject: [911] RE: NPC - The Driver's Edge

I attended The Driver's Edge (http:www.driversedge.org) program this weekend
(in Chicago) with my daughter and son.  Were we impressed?  Yes, very
definitely!  But before I get into that, let me say that, but for Jon Beatty
and my membership in Rennlist.com, I would never have known about this great
program.  To Rennlist.com and Jon, my deepest thanks.

As Jon said, in part, below, The Driver's Edge is a hands-on driving
awareness program run by a non-profit corporation of the same name.  Our
program started with a compelling, emotional, retelling of a multiple
fatality teen-driver car accident that happened a little over a year ago in
Nevada.  Powerful enough stuff, but we then met "Ashley," a bright young
lady who survived the crash that killed two of her friends and caused her to
lose her right leg.  With an opening like that the audience of about 90 kids
was ready to listen for more.

The program's motto is "Know Yourself; Know Your Limits."  As Jon described,
below, the combination of chalk talk and behind the wheel exercises kept the
kids engaged the entire morning.  The message was plain: test your limits
and the limits of the BMWs and Camaros made available to you.  Learn about
ABS and how to recover from a spin.  See if you are as good as you think you
are.  As if the training wasn't enough reward, prizes were given away,
including a digital camera.  Everyone got a car kit, t-shirt, and souvenir
cap.

The 8 or so professional drivers definitely were more credible than the
typical fare of Spanish or History teacher trying to teach driver's ed in
high school.  I was told by the organizers that a road show event costs
about $25K to put on.  Given the small number of lucky students
participating, the value per pupil of about $450 is certainly believable.

Like Jon, I'm pretty impressed with this program, but I don't have the
slightest financial interest in this not-for-profit company.  I'm just
interested in my kids having the very best training and the best equipment
to survive the road.  This program was a great first step in my kids getting
a solid appreciation for the type of decisive action it takes sometimes to
avoid an accident.

The Driver's Edge website contains a list of remaining venues.  If you have
young drivers, I would wholeheartedly recommend the investment in time to
see that they attend.

Bernie Chachula
1988 Carrera Coupe
Rennlist Member 030610-3538

-----Original Message-----
From: Jon Beatty [mailto:jon@minnetonkasoftware.com]
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 12:26 PM
To: 911/993/996
Subject: [911] NPC - The Driver's Edge

I apologize in advance for no p-car content but I was so impressed with
the Driver's Edge teen driver training my 15 year-old attended
yesterday, I just had to pass the word.  If anyone has a new(er) driver
in the house, 15-21 years old, you MUST get to one of these schools.
They set up 2 exercises, one was a skid-pad car control exercise using
Camaros and the other was a braking and evasive lane change exercise
using BMW's.  Yep, that's right, they supply the cars and some
pro-drivers as instructors.  A mix of chalk talks and getting the kids
behind the wheel makes for a pretty fast 4 hours but, in the words of my
son "I learned more in 4 hours than I did in 30 hours of driver's ed",
it has nothing but an up side.
Check them out at:

http://www.driversedge.org/

Sponsors are paying the tab and they include Bridgestone, AAA and Sprint.
Think I might have to buy a new set of Bridgestone shoes for my C4 (P-car
content?).
Jon

------------------------------------------------------
Jon P. Beatty               Phone:      (952) 449-0187
Minnetonka Software, Inc.   FAX:        (952) 449-0318
17113 Mtka. Blvd. Suite 300 Internet:   jon@MinnetonkaSoftware.com
Minnetonka, Mn. 55345

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