My column Friday about the need for more hands-on training for young drivers prompted a lot of response from readers, many of whom suggested some good resources.
Perhaps the best is a full-day seminar that will be coming to Commonwealth Stadium’s parking lot in Lexington on Aug. 2. It is the Tire Rack Street Survival program, which costs $60, can take as many as 30 students.
The program was started as a non-profit organization in 2002 by the BMW Car Club of America and puts on seminars around the country coordinated by local volunteers and supported by local sponsors. Sponsors for the Lexington session include the Sports Car Club of America and Kentucky Children’s Hospital.
Gail Morgan Reynolds decided to organize the Lexington session after taking her son, Don Morgan, 17, to one in Louisville last year. “We were just so impressed,” she said. “It was such a good course.”
To sign up for the course, go online to www.streetsurvival.org and look for the Lexington course information under the “school schedule/registration” link.
Reynolds is still looking for experienced volunteer instructors, as the goal is to have one instructor for every two students. She said additional classes may be scheduled in the future, depending on demand and the ability to schedule dates when Commonwealth Stadium’s lot is empty, or find another suitably huge expanse of asphalt.
Other Street Survival sessions planned in the region including Carmel, Ind. (just north of Indianapolis) on June 21; Columbus, Ohio, on July 12; Chattanooga, Tenn., on Sept. 13 and Oct. 18.
Another non-profit program is Driver’s Edge, which offers a two-day course that’s free. But the only course planned in our region is Aug. 23-24 in Nashville, Tenn. Registration for it will open soon at the organization’s Web site, www.driversedge.org.
The Mid-Ohio School in Lexington, Ohio, north of Columbus, offers a teen defensive driving course, along with many other courses for people who want to learn to race cars. The teen course costs $350. For more information, go online to: www.midohio.com.
Among the other solutions: BMW offers a one-day course for teens at its Performance Driving School in Greer, S.C., for $495. And while it’s nothing like hands-on experience, a company called Road Skillz (www.roadskillz.com) sells a DVD for $19.95 that covers the most common mistakes young drivers make and how to survive them.
May 28, 2008 at 3:22 pm
There has been some confusion expressed about the role of The Tire Rack® Street Survival program as compared to the more traditional driving schools.
I would like to stress that The Tire Rack® Street Survival program does NOT replace traditional driving instruction, like that offered by driving schools that teach basic driving skills, safe driving, and traffic laws. We recommend young drivers have as much of this type of instruction, and as much time behind the wheel as possible, BEFORE attending our program. This is why we require drivers to have held a driving permit for a minimum of three months prior to attending.
Our goal is to give young drivers the opportunity, in a safe environment, to experience and learn how their car will react when they encounter the kinds of potential road hazards that often result in accidents, due to driver inexperience.
Gail Reynolds, Lexington Registrar