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| 11/12/2008 4:13:00 PM Email this article • Print this article | |
Student Drivers Learn Street Survival
By Jamie Saine
A teenage driver speeds down the road, going 60 miles an hour. She suddenly switches from the left lane to the far right; overshooting the lane she takes out four or five bright orange cones, sending some flying and dragging others under the car. Luckily, this time instead of hitting cars or construction equipment, people laugh, put the cones back and she gets another chance. Thirty young drivers, ranging from the just-licensed to 21-year-olds, attended a Street Survival driving school on November 8 at Watkins Glen International.
Street Survival was founded by the BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA) Foundation to teach kids how to handle their own cars in high-pressure situations, said Seth Berlfein, of the Genesee Valley Chapter.
"Basically it's a car control clinic," he said. "Whereas drivers ed teaches students how to drive a car, we teach them how to handle a car and avoid accidents."
Students spend some time in a classroom but most of the day in cars. Exercises included a lane change scenario, quick breaking practice and a figure eight, but none of the courses are simple or straightforward.
"One side is bigger and one side of the '8' is smaller to have [students] experience over turning and under turning," said Ryan Lake, of Watkins Glen International.
Though the racetrack is not affiliated with the school or BMW CCA, it volunteers its space for the school each year.
"Honestly, what better place to have a driving school than a race track," Lake said. "It's a great program."
Space in the annual class is limited and this year there were eight people on the waiting list, said Diane VanDelden, local program coordinator. Street Survival is a national program, but the Watkins Glen location attracts drivers from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. More than half the students, including VanDelden's son, come from Trumansburg. This is VanDelden's second year organizing the program and she expects to stay in the position until her 13-yaer-old begins driving.
"I just stepped up to the plate because I have a new driver," she said. "It's a great program, I didn't want to see it disappear because no one wanted to take over."
VanDelden said the course is good for young drivers because traditional drivers ed is often not enough. High-stress, life-threatening situations aren't addressed in everyday driving, she said, but they are at Street Survival.
"Under normal conditions we teach our kids to drive on public roads," Van Delden said. "[This is] not something we or drivers classes can teach our kids on public roads."
An instructor, some of whom train racecar drivers, rides with each student at all times. The different exercises teach students not only how to react to a situation, but also how their vehicle, whether it's a compact car or a pick-up truck, is going to react to their actions. As students ran through the different stations on Saturday, they frequently sent cones flying on the first few runs but were able to better control their vehicles after a few tries.
"In the morning they're kind of sitting there looking like 'Oh, why do I have to be here, this is going to be boring,'" Berlfein said. "Once they get into the afternoon they're just grinning from ear to ear. Just to see their confidence level as the afternoon goes on is amazing."
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The Youth Leadership Corps is a new Youth Council program to connect teens (14+) with their community through volunteer service while also doing workshops for leadership building and event/outreach planning. After two compelling opening productions, Glimmerglass Opera began its second weekend with an all-time favorite, Mozart's comic masterpiece "The Marriage of Figaro." Don't let the title fool you; with the libretto by genius collaborator Lorenzo da Ponte, this opera is presented in Italian with English projected titles. The show was a truly remarkable achievement-a seamless, clearly delineated, musically excellent, and emotionally telling performance-matched only by some unscheduled thunder and lightning theatrics outside.  |
