I wish they had a program other than the "ball rolls out between the cars, so you better be alert" typical drivers training program when I was a kid!

As a new driver, (and really, as a race driver) the biggest challenge is aligning reality and perception. The reality of how fast the car and tires can take that corner on that day, versus the perception of the same.

A new driver will have less accuracy to his or her perception, and often that perception is grossly affected by outside influences, like races on TV, movies, and a general lack of respect for the laws of physics. Add to that the affects of drugs and drinking, and the components of disaster are there.

Most disasters are caused by a combination of events. Remove just one, and disaster can be averted.

Traditional driver training drones on with numbers and safe following distances, then pounds it home with gore pictures, but it all falls on deaf ears, as numbers and pictures are so far from reality.


Driving a car in a safe environment at speed was an eye opening experience. Experiencing the car at and over the limit did much for making me a more aware street diver. I learned that the differences between road surfaces can be dramatic, and that there is a huge importance to tires, tire condition and inflation.

Once I started racing, I was a changed man. After a race, you could pour me into the passenger seat, and drive home 5 miles an hour under the speed limit, and I was fine with it! And my street driving has certainly toned down as well.

But it didn't happen all at once. As I said earlier, it takes a combination of events to cause a disaster, and changing just one can change the end result. Giving novice drivers a real concrete feel for the reality and percetion issues can be that one element. Kids will party, and they will drink and smoke, and often drive as well. But if we can help them remember that cars can't go through corners at the same speed as they see in the movies and on TV, they might have that one element that will be needed to avoid disaster.



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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]