Greeting Friends!!
I’m writing because we have a really fantastic, FUN, exciting and FREE opportunity for valley teen drivers NEXT WEEK and I need your help in spreading the word and getting teen drivers, ages 16-20, to the event. : )
The Ford Motor Company is bringing their national Driving Skills for Life Summer Camp to the desert next week on Wednesday and Thursday, June 25 & 26.
Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) was established in 2003 by Ford Motor Company Fund, the Governors Highway Safety Association, and a panel of safety experts to teach newly licensed teens the necessary skills for safe driving beyond what they learn in standard driver education programs.
The Coachella Valley Summer Camp will offer four sessions that can accommodate 50 students each — so 200 students/parents have an opportunity to participate in this intensive 4-hour program that combines instruction with behind-the-wheel experience.
Students drive specially modified Ford Mustang cars and receive hands-on defensive driver training by some of the nation’s top professional driving instructors.
They’ll learn how to control a skid and how to avoid accidents by using the space around them. Ford’s instructors come from backgrounds such as a Hollywood stunt man, high performance driver trainers, and various racers from several racing series. They’ll learn exciting driving techniques that could help save their lives.
The program will take place at the Riverside County Fairgrounds in Indio on June 25 and June 26. The morning sessions run from 8:30am-12:30pm and the afternoon sessions take place from 12:30-4:00pm.
The program is open to licensed drivers ages 16-20.
Students register online and bring their paperwork to the program site.
Parents are invited to come along as well, although priority for the driving slots will go to teen drivers.
Students register on-line for one of the four sessions — at www.drivingskillsforlife.com
Check out this YouTube link to see an actual program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYOlfKsCy60
Did you know??
** Vehicle crashes are the No. 1 killer of teenagers in America. Nearly 6,000 teens die annually in such accidents, according to the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Because of inexperience, many teens lack the skills and knowledge required to be safe drivers. Statistics demonstrate that teen involvement in crashes declines considerably as young drivers gain experience.
** DSFL helps young drivers improve their skills in four key areas that are critical factors in more than 60% of vehicle crashes including:
1. Hazard Recognition
· Approaching and turning left at intersections
· The point of no return
· How to scan for trouble
· Minimizing distractions
· Safety zones
· Minimum vision lead time
2. Vehicle Handling
· How acceleration, deceleration, braking and turns affect vehicle balance
· Shifting loads gradually
· Adjusting to a vehicle’s size and weight
· Conventional braking systems versus anti-lock braking systems
· Emergency braking techniques
· Contact road patches
3. Speed Management
· How to stay in contact with the road
· Driving at a speed that doesn’t endanger or impede others
· How to recover from skids in front- and rear-wheel drive vehicles
· Using proper signals and covering the brake
4. Space Management
· Maintaining space around, ahead of and behind your vehicle
· Learning how to adjust speed
· Maintaining a safe distance between vehicles
· How to avoid being rear-ended and avoiding a head-on crash
FREE Program Elements
DSFL is a FREE comprehensive program that includes learning tools such as:
- Web site, www.drivingskillsforlife.com, includes four study modules and a quiz, car care videos, several interactive games, and enhanced curriculum noting the importance of eco-driving to personal safety and the environment.
- Educator packet that can be used by students and parents at home, as well as educators in the classroom and community settings. This FREE packet includes an in-depth DVD concentrating on each of our four driving skills, a letter for parents, a letter for educators, a leader’s guide, brochures, and cards. Materials are available in English and Spanish. To order materials, click here.
- Ride-and-drives where teens get behind the wheel and go through exercises on the four DSFL skills. These are great opportunities for teens to gain experience, with a professional instructor at their side, in the four primary skills – hazard recognition, vehicle handling, speed management, and space management.
Please forward this information to any teen drivers you know — especially those home from college for summer break! : ) Share with your families, friends, neighbors, employees, and business peers.
Kim McNulty
Program Manager
CVEP Career Pathways Initiative
office: 760/863-2524
cell: 760/413-5990
email: KMcNultyPS@aol.com
web: www.cvep.com/careerpathways
0 Responses to “Driving Skills For Life”