Death Car

[jon@harrison.ne]

Speaking as a 66 year old who has never had an auto accident I don't think anybody should be driving on the street fast enough to benefit from high performance driving lessons. Do they benefit you when you are coming fast around a tight curve totally in control as you were taught and there right in front of you is a : big buck,horse dung spread all over the road by the last guy (I've been told this is a huge danger in Amish country),loose gravel,oil,a moving van stopped,or another car out of control coming toward you in your lane (take your pick and there are many more I didn't list). I'll probably get skewered in this forum but if it makes just one of you think the next time he goes out for a little "spirited driving" it will be worth it.

[WarrenG]

Originally Posted by jon@harrison.ne

Speaking as a 66 year old who has never had an auto accident I don't think anybody should be driving on the street fast enough to benefit from high performance driving lessons. Do they benefit you when you are coming fast around a tight curve totally in control as you were taught and there right in front of you is a : big buck,horse dung spread all over the road by the last guy (I've been told this is a huge danger in Amish country),loose gravel,oil,a moving van stopped,or another car out of control coming toward you in your lane (take your pick and there are many more I didn't list). I'll probably get skewered in this forum but if it makes just one of you think the next time he goes out for a little "spirited driving" it will be worth it.

Try reading the post before replying it might help. The classes I noted stress car control in all situations including emergencies like you describe. They are not to teach you how to drive fast in perfect conditions. They specifically cover collision avoidance when the unexpected is encountered on the road, collisions both with the thing directly in front of you and those hazards that might be encountered when attempting to avoid the hazard on the road. The short answer is YES, they train you for the exact conditions you describe.

[rdorman]

Mid-Ohio has a program like that called the Teen Defensive Driving Program (they have one for adults as well). Teaches kids how to control cars under situations I had to learn on the street. The county that Mid-Ohio is in requires teen guilty of certain violations to take the course, the repeat incident rate is down 80% as a result of the course. Both of my kids will be taking the course.