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Veteran IndyCar driver Scott Goodyear is partnering with the Tire Rack Street Survival program, a national non-profit teenage driver safety initiative.
“His expertise and knowledge of advanced driving techniques will prove to be invaluable in educating and preserving America’s most precious resource – our youth,” says Matt Edmonds, Tire Rack’s vice president.
The Tire Rack Street Survival program teaches teenagers the skills they need to stay alive behind the wheel, he explains. Unlike traditional high school driver education programs based on classroom theory and simple maneuvers, this particular endeavor is designed to improve driver competence through hands-on experiences in real-world driving situations, according to Edmonds. The students learn from knowledgeable, enthusiastic and cool “driving coaches” about how their actions govern a car’s responses, the limits of their vehicles and how to avoid getting into wrecks from the get-go.
“Usually the first time a young driver has their car skid or slide underneath them, they’re on their way to their first accident,” Goodyear points out.
With more than 25 years of experience racing at 240mph, Goodyear still finds driving on the road with inexperienced teens frightening, he says. When it came time to teach his own teenage son how to drive and prepare for unexpected events on the road, he enrolled him in Tire Rack Street Survival. Goodyear’s full support came shortly after his son successfully avoided an accident by executing a maneuver he had learned from the program’s instructors.
“Few people realize driving is one of the most dangerous things they do,” observes national program manager Bill Wade. “A car traveling at just 4 mph has more energy than a bullet. That’s a lot of responsibility.”
Working with regional members of the BMW Car Club of America, Sports Car Club of America, and other like-minded enthusiast organizations, the organization utilizes local volunteers to support a national effort aimed at reducing the amount of crashes involving young people.
Each year more than 5,000 Americans ages 16 to 20 die behind the wheel. Nationwide, a teenager dies in a wreck on an average of once an hour on weekends and nearly once every two hours during the week – meaning that every week more than 100 families will lose a child.
Formed by the BMW Car Club of America Foundation in 2002, Tire Rack Street Survival is built upon the premise that “safe driving is learned by doing.” It teaches young motorists to avoid accidents by thinking and looking ahead. The program is unique in that it offers students instruction in their own cars so that they learn the limitations of themselves in their every day vehicle.
Classes are typically held on weekends in cities and towns across the country, and are open to permitted and licensed drivers ages 16 to 21. The cost is $60 per student; some insurance companies offer premium discounts to graduates. Last year, 1,555 students from 72 schools participated. Eighty classes are planned for 2009 with more to come.
For more information, call (864) 329-1919 or visit www.streetsurvival.org and www.bmwccafoundation.org.
