Street Survival – April 29th

by Dave Rich

The hard work of countless volunteers was evident the last Sunday in April as the club held its first Street Survival School in the parking lots of The Hartford Life Insurance Company in Simsbury.  The event was a resounding success with twenty three youthful drivers taking advantage of this opportunity to learn a bit more than what is taught in traditional driver’s education.

It was pretty much non-stop all day for the students upon arrival at 8:00 until wrap up at 4:30.   Needless to say, with us getting underway this early on a Sunday, we had a few bleary eyed students, especially those who traveled up from Long Island that morning.   Everything was in place and ready by 8, the result of the work of the many volunteers who had arrived an hour earlier.

Immediately following registration, the students paired up with their instructor/coach and spent time looking over their vehicle, checking tire pressures and attending to general safety concerns.  A brief classroom period preceded the morning driving sessions which involved; straight line braking, braking and turning, and a low speed slalom course.

During the lunch break, 2 drivers from UPS provided their insights on what it like to drive a tractor trailer on our busy highways along with a few suggestions for everyone, students and parents alike.  We all had the opportunity to get a firsthand view from the truck driver’s seat, with special attention given to potential blind spots.  Also during the mid day break, a donated airbag was intentionally “set off,” giving all a much greater appreciation and respect for the device.  This will most definitely dissuade any of us from putting our feet up on the dashboard.

The real fun stuff happened in the afternoon with a skid pad in the lower lot and the emergency lane change challenge in the upper lot.  Nearly 6000 gallons of water were used to keep the skid pad wet while the students learned understeer and oversteer under the watchful eye of their instructor.  The emergency lane change course saw many cones end up under cars as the students learned their car’s behavior with rapid steering wheel inputs.

The accolades we received from both parents and students reinforced our belief in the value of this program.  This will undoubtedly become an annual event for the club, hopefully helping our teens through the dangerous early driving years.  This year the Street Survival Foundation expects to have 50 such schools across the country.  More information on the program is available online at www.streetsurvival.org.

This event was possible only through dedication and passion of the many volunteers and the generosity of many donors and sponsors.  A very special thanks to The Hartford for use of their facility, to UPS and the driver’s, to all who stood out on the courses all day long shagging cones, to all who put countless hours in planning and chasing supplies, and lastly the instructors who were “on the run” all day long.

Read the Journal Register article by Mike Covello (pdf)