One of the best behind-the-wheel driving programs teenagers will ever experience will take place in two sessions at FedEx Field on May 8.
Not only is this one-of-a-kind program free-of-charge, it is seat-of-the-pants exciting and could help save teen lives, maybe even yours.
The numbers speak for themselves. Drivers aged 15-24 are 20 times more likely to be involved in a fatal car crash than the average driver.
Automobile crashes are the leading cause of teenaged death, far outnumbering deaths from drug use, guns and other violence. A young driver is killed in a car crash every 62 minutes and every hour of every day someone is killed by a teen driver.
Over 8,000 young drivers were involved in fatal crashes last year, 300,000 more were injured and more than 1.6 million were involved in vehicle crashes. In fact, an entire classroom full of teenagers is killed every day by auto crashes. Sixty-two percent of teenage passenger deaths occur in accidents in which another teen was driving.
Drivers aged 15-24 account for more than 25 percent of all auto-related fatalities.
These are statistics that Driver’s Edge, a non-profit youth driver-education program, is determined to change. The program was developed as an innovative effort to address the growing number of youth-related driving crashes and fatalities.
“It’s unfortunate that we live in a country where we are not taught how to drive. We are simply taught how to pass a test. Learning the fundamentals of how to operate a vehicle is not going to prepare a young driver for all the hazards they face in everyday life,” said Jeff Payne, president and founder of Driver’s Edge.
Mr. Payne has spent 19 years in the automotive industry as a professional driver and instructor. He has trained thousands of drivers in a variety of programs including performance driving, defensive driving, anti-terrorist training, along with other teen-related driver education programs.
His list of clients includes such celebrities as Tom Cruise, Charlie Sheen, Walter Payton, Jon Bon Jovi and Emilio Estevez.
The District is one of 13 cities where this life-saving program will be offered in 2004. Comparable programs would cost about $450 per person, but Driver’s Edge is being made available at no cost to students, thanks to grant monies and the support of companies such as Bridgestone/Firestone that have made the 2004 Driver’s Edge National Tour possible.
The program is offered in two 41/2-hour morning and afternoon sessions, each with about 75 students. Instruction involves classroom as well as actual defensive driving on specialized road courses set up on the FedEx parking lot.
Here students are taught white-knuckle skills in evasive lane changes, panic braking maneuvers, and skid control. Classroom instruction reinforces what is experienced on the driving courses.
At the beginning of the program, students are given a test designed to measure their driving knowledge. At the end of the session, a similar test is given to determine how much they learned. On average, students answer 33 percent of the questions initially and 80 percent at the program’s conclusion.
Driver’s Edge then follows up with students 6, 12 and 24 months after the course to monitor their driving habits. The Driver’s Edge national tour made its first-ever stop at FedEx Field last year.
Says D.C.-area resident Mary Plunkert: “When my daughter found out that I had enrolled her in this program, she just about went ballistic. At this point in her limited driving experience, she was still very self-conscious and timid. She did not want to do this ’stupid driving thing’ with a bunch of people she did not know.
Afterward, she could not stop talking about it. She had so much fun and gained so much self-confidence. She actually thanked me and apologized for being such a brat in the beginning.”
Space in both the morning and afternoon sessions is limited. Students may register to attend the FedEx Field event by calling Driver’s Edge toll-free at 877-633-EDGE or online at www.driversedge.org.
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