Moms Live Life on the Driver’s Edge

Aug 12 2008 by Sherrice Gilsbach

8/12/08

Nonprofit Organization Teaches Smart Driving

By: Sherrice Gilsbach

It’s not too shocking that tight curves, squealing tires and smokin’ brakes have never been part of my kindergarten carpool routine (I wouldn’t want to spill the coffee). But I recently got to live out one of my fantasies, zipping around a racetrack during a Driver’s Edge class.

I’ve always dreamed of taking some of my mommy-madness out on a finely-tuned performance car within the confines of a safe and pedestrian-free track. So it seemed like Christmas when MotherProof.com’s Chief Mama Kristin Varela invited me, the rookie, to join her team of seasoned professionals in a private Driver’s Edge training session!

Driver’s Edge, a nonprofit organization, is aimed at giving teenagers real-life driving skills, which are taught on a test-course instead of in a classroom. Forget those boring driver’s ed courses of the past. The Driver’s Edge teachers are talented professional race car drivers with one goal: to reduce teen driving deaths. The Driver’s Edge team agreed to help an ever-so-slightly-older-than-usual crowd get up to speed on advanced driving skills and techniques.

The lesson began with Jeff Payne, founder/CEO of Driver’s Edge and a 20-year veteran of international motorsports. He wrangled our group of severely Chatty Cathys to our desks for a four-page, 21-question pop quiz.

The questions were geared toward increasing awareness of driving dangers. The quiz also outlined what I can do to reduce my risk of being seriously injured or killed in a collision. The test managed to bring back the test anxiety that plagued my college career. Needless to say, I was anxious to get out on the track, so I put my mental pedal to the metal and raced to the finish.

Our test course had four complete challenges: a voluptuously curvy track (it’s sexy, unless, of course, the rookie is driving), evasive lane change, panic braking and, finally, a slippery slope for skid control training.

One of our instructors took to the course to give us an idea of what a successful lap should look like. All I saw was a BMW-shaped blur that whipped around corners with tires whining in agony. My jaw dropped as he completed the loop in roughly 25 seconds.

I instantly freaked out. This often happens when fantasies are realized; they never quite match up to that delicious scenario my mind bakes up. I was pretty certain I was in over my head here. I couldn’t find an easy escape, so I stayed put to watch Kristin, our Chief Mama, take her turn. Her pace was dizzying and her accuracy impeccable.

“Crap!” I thought. All of the moms are awesome drivers. At this moment I began to wonder if this event was part of an odd hazing ritual, one where the rookie (moi) would provide comic relief to the pros.

Fellow MotherProof reviewer Lori Hindman and I were matched up with Mike Speck, a top instructor at a world-renowned high-performance driving school where he’s taught many professionals (including NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr.). As if that bio isn’t intimidating!

Instructor Mike: “GO! Go! Go! Pedal to the metal…Go! Off gas! Quick to the right, slow left. Good. Did you feel the way the car reacted?”

This fast-paced, intense verbal instruction continued through each obstacle. Suddenly, I noticed something…I was getting better! Could it be that after only an hour of instruction, my muscle memory (a term I learned from Mike — see, I catch on quickly) was already kicking?

The answer is a resounding yes!

Driver’s Edge taught me to be in control of my vehicle, and eliminated my fears of dying as the result of some “random” accident. I know I’m directing the vehicle now, and I’m confident that I will be able to avoid many (of course, not all) dangerous situations instead of panicking and losing control. What a weight off my shoulders! Oh, and I won the “Most Improved” award, too — how cool is that? Those Driver’s Edge guys are so thoughtful!

Thank you to our Driver’s Edge friends and to all of the MotherProofers as well. I enjoyed this hazing/initiation ritual, and I’m glad that next year someone else can take the rookie seat! For parents with 15- to 21-year-olds in need of some behind the wheel help, the Driver’s Edge National Tour presented by Bridgestone is touring the country through October. For more information, visit www.driversedge.org.

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