[Shotimes] Re: (OT) Followup - The Driver's Edge
Ron Porter
ronporter@prodigy.net
Sun, 3 Aug 2003 18:38:27 -0400
Thanks, Joseph.
Don't know if it made the national news or not, but last week there were 8
young teens in a minivan in Fowlerville (far NW suburb of Detroit), and it
was driven by a kid who just got his license a few days earlier. Kid lost
control, and hit trees. Four kids are dead, and all got injured.
Weird accident, the van slid on it's side, and hit a tree with the
windshield, which caved it in back to the middle seats. No alcohol involved,
but speed was a factor.
Ron Porter
-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of van Oss
Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2003 6:04 PM
To: TechSHO@topica.com; Shotimes
Subject: [Shotimes] Re: (OT) Followup - The Driver's Edge
My son Patrick (16) and I went to the course yesterday in Chicago. Wow!
There was little lecture. They moved surprisingly quickly to cars. The
school uses Camaros (3.8L auto) for the skid exercise on wet pavement, and
BMW 325s for an exercise in ABS braking and evasion. Each kid gets two
tries at each exercise. It's enough. Patrick managed the Camaro well
enough to slide but not spin. He now officially has more BMW seat time than
his old man. He'd previously done ABS stops with me, but it was good to
have a professional corroborate what I taught him.
There was a powerful video about teens killed in a car accident --- standard
scare tactics in any driver ed course, so Pay ignored it, right? Well, then
a pretty young girl stood up, setting aside her crutches, and spoke about
what it was like, being in the back seat of that car. It was an
extraordinary moment.
If you have a teen driver, Driver's Edge is something you should do. Yes,
it's only a half day and yes, the behind-the-wheel time is only a few
minutes and yes, it's free and yes, it's no more than a foretaste and yes,
you'd need a day or two at a professional driving school to really start
building true skill. DE was about opening eyes, and it accomplished that.
There's another SCCA autocross in La Crosse on September 13. Pat will be
able to participate and that will be the next step in his driver education.
Then, some time on Lake Onalaska this winter. I'm looking forward to seeing
his reaction to the contrast (same car) between BFG R1's on dry clean
pavement, and all-season radials on ice.
Joseph van Oss
----- Original Message -----
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-----
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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