Using Racing Drivers to Teach Driver Safety - Part 1

I have recently noticed a media trend regarding this question of using Racing Drivers to teach Driver Safety. I have been on both sides of the debate throughout my career. My own experience progressed from a racer, to a driver instructor and racing school owner. Now it continues as a driver training equipment supplier, instructor trainer, and driver training service provider employing instructors to work for me, primarily outside the public sector.

Motor skills training (if that is what you're teaching) needs experienced instructors that know vehicle dynamics inside and out. The instructors have to be very good drivers to answer, persuade, motivate and often times demonstrate physically what they can't communicate cognitively. Some Racing Drivers make excellent driving instructors as they have had to master not only driving, but communication on many different levels from PR, to working with data, to dealing with cranky car owners, crew chiefs, media and fans.

The real and great trainers I know are easy to use in hybrid training as they are presentable, professional, and know their craft well enough that given an assignment they learn quickly. Most of them are masters at turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse.

As a Racing Driver Instructor in the early 90's, I was involved in a study in Oregon. It is out there on the web somewhere, but in short we used a curriculum of skills-based training dealing with the issue of SKID CONTROL.

Want to know how the study turned out? Come back for Part 2 next week, and as always, we are interested to hear your thoughts and comments.

The Danger of Inefficient Training

The Driver Training industry faces a sobering message as we enter 2011. Once again we see an increase in Law Enforcement traffic related crashes with fatal results. The statistics show a dramatic rise in these incidents which now far outweigh the number of deaths caused by gunfire. Needless to say, all is not well in the Municipal driver training industry.

What happened? While we do not know the details of all these accidents, we do know that in the last 20 years Police and Fire/EMS driver training has become more exposed as a needed and mandatory training segment. Considering the amount of time spent in their vehicles, driving is in many cases the number one component of risk for injury or death to Police officers.

Even with the raised exposure to driver training, we have to wonder if the curriculum being offered is as good as it could be? With more driver training AND more accidents, is the offered curriculum doing more harm than good?

It may be time to reevaluate and move driver training into the 21st Century. Electronic dynamic safety technology (ESC/ESP/TC/electronic brake force distribution and more) allows vehicles to help the driver when mistakes are made. Does this mean all the electronics will take the place of thorough driver training? No, we don’t think so. However, Driver Training in the 21st century may need to move from motor-skills based, to improving how the driver thinks and communicates with the new, smarter modes of transportation.

A very interesting future awaits us. Hopefully, we will be a part of it, and not caught still sorting out driver training curriculum from the 20th Century.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts…

Dane