This article originally appeared in the April 2009 issue of Grassroots Motorsports as Publisher Tim Suddard’s “Starting Line” column.
As racers, we sit secure in the knowledge that of course we’re the best drivers on the planet. We understand car control. We know our cars’ limits. We can put our SUVs within an inch of any Jersey barrier or traffic …
ive always liked these type of storys, not the tragic loss of life thats just a shame and my prayers go out to them. but the principle of regaurdless of how good we are or THINK we are we are not in control of the driver in the suburban doing 90 in the rain, or the teenager chatting it up on the cell phone while checking her make up. we have to leave a margin of error and sometimes even that isnt enough and sometimes there is absolutely nothing we can do but pray. i try and share these storys with my friends and others that have kids or dont but its absolutely amazing at the resistance that is met to taking these types of classes. my neighbors daughter is going for her permit and shes so nervous about driving she couldnt even put the truck in gear. hopefully the more people hear about these classes the more can be changed. heck, even i want to take one of these classes. sometimes going back to the basics can teach ya something. so keep em coming.
I appreciate this column a great deal. My wife and I were t-boned by an 18 year old in an F-150 that ran through an intersection with 2 stop signs on it. My wife was driving, but my racing experience wouldn't have prevented the wreck. My 12 week old son was in the car with us. Everyone walked away (I limped-scheduled for hip surgery next month). This was an event that brought home my own driving habits, and the things I do that put others at risk. I don't want to have to live with the idea that I took out someone else's kid because I was doing something stupid. No matter how good a driver I am, I can't control all the variables at the track, let alone on the street. Thanks for the excellent reminder.
I tought at a street survival school last Sunday. It's just great to see the students noticably improve in just a few hours.
I've instructed with Street Survival for several years now, and while it's tremendously gratifying to pass on what we know and see the development of students throughout the day, it's frustrating how hard it can be to recruit students for the program. Very few 16-21 year olds think they can benefit from it at all, and very few parents understand that it's not a racing school. So I appreciate the recent ramp-up in efforts to promote this program.
so true so true. looking back at the way i used to drive when i was 16 i am probably lucky to have lasted this long :P My fiance always jokes about how i drive around town: slow like a turtle, always plenty of distance. She drives like a hellion always right up on top of people.
Leave the hot footing for the track and autocross. The only thing that scares me driving anymore is what the "other" guy is doing. And if more people realized what they were doing and paid more attention things would be a lot safer. Nothing scares me more than the thought of driving on the Washington dc beltway (495), where the speed limit is 55, and people do 90...weaving in and out of traffic, while eating a burger, while talking on their cell phone. Ive actually seen people READING the paper on the freeway....i cringe.
I am a Highway Patrol Officer and a regular attendee at HPDE. I had this same type of conversation with myself and my father just 2 weeks ago.
I have been to 100's of collisions andalmost all of them had the same common denominator. Drivers not paying attention and or being in a hurry, and it is not always the guilty person who is involved in the collision. Many times the Bad Driver drives away untouched but his/her actions caused other drivers to react which results in a collision.
It took me a few years into my carrier before I really learned what it meant to be a good driver on the street. It takes car control, a high visual horizon, your eyes need to be moving and checking the mirrors and most important, it takes patiance and respect for everyone on the road. If we get in a hurry on the street we might get where we are going a little faster but its not worth it if I put others at an increased risk of a collision.
I hope to see more and more street survival driving schools so our young drivers can really learn how to be a good driver.
I'll go ahead and confess that I've only been driving for 5 years, but seeing as how I'm only 21, I don't think I need to explain why.
I couldn't agree more with most of what I've been reading in the article, and the comments. Just this morning I was on my to work behind a white neon. We were driving along and passed a crosswalk where this gentlemen decided to make a full-out stop. I obviously wondered what in the world he was doing because I've driven that road literally hundreds of times and there is no stop sign at that intersection. From this and even past experiences, misterturbo, I must agree, "The only thing that scares me driving anymore is what the “other” guy is doing." There's been countless times that I could've been in a wreck by no-fault of my own, (of course in my earlier years, I've gotten very lucky a couple times by noone's fault but me) but by my good graces nothing's ever happened if I can do a safe job preventing it.
Do not get me wrong, I'm a car-guy like the readers of your magazine and I always like instances of "Spirited Driving" but I prefer to keep it on the track and in controlled environments than on the street where there are more variables involved. The best way to get teenagers to listen though is to get other teenagers to talk to them. Let's be honest here, everyone was a teenager once, they should know that teenagers don't listen to anyone but other teens.
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