Racerchick Nika on Skid Row
The Skid School Experience:

The first snowfall of the season evokes fear in this racerchick's heart. Not because the reality that Spring & sports car weather is five months away - but rather that this time brings out the city's worse drivers. It's bad enough all the snow tire procrastinators will be caught off guard! The majority of drivers out there have not had any icy highway driving instruction or skill ... yes, that makes the first snowfall scarier than Halloween night.

Now thanks to a few courses and clinics offered, I can venture out before Ground Hog's Day and drive the Toronto streets once again. One such course is Toronto Wheels section sponsored Drivability Car Control Clinic. Run by former racing champion Gary Magwood it's hard to find a more talented and enthusiastic promoter of safe driving. We know Gary is a brave man - heck he taught this racerchick to race!! (Shannonville 1994 in case he forgot) Recently on an almost Spring-like day, I hung around his latest "skid school".

Again the group seemed split equally between genders and ages. The instructors were by far, some of the most experienced racing talent out there, including our favorite racerchick Kelly Williams. Now I am a graduate of this clinic and I have taken a refresher course to help lose bad habits I have picked up over time. Starting from scratch, Drivability allows the student to learn at his/her own pace while keeping their dignity as pylons fly everywhere, at first attempts of accident avoidance. (I'm speaking from experience here) Myths of threshold braking being effective are thrown out along with pylons and proper techniques are instilled vigorously. This Car Control is not easy but is certainly effective. 

Speaking with Nel - one silver haired dynamo - I asked her why she took this clinic. Her response as she beamed with her certificate in hand - was to overcome her fear of driving on icy roadways. Rather than finding driving a chore or anxiety filled, she opted to take that fear and overcome it. Now she was in control of the car not the other way around. Kudo's to you Nel!

 For another student Cindy the course was the perfect birthday present from a family member. I asked her if she had learned anything - and her response was quick - definitely. To become comfortable in the drivers seat - to anticipate what problems lie ahead and then react to them accordingly, now that is the sign of a good driver. Gary can't stress enough the importance of good vision training - keep our heads up and our eyes focused not down the front of our hoods but far enough in the distance to be aware of any difficulties. 

Now the Drivability skid school came through Toronto for just two weekends - there are other alternative places to go for training. One that we've heard great things about is the Car Control School in Minden Ontario. Racerchicks was lucky enough to speak with the brains behind the school, Ian Law. A racer himself - he has developed a one-day program that includes classroom, tech talk and in-car exercises.

Nika: why do you feel a person should take the course? What are the benefits?

Ian: We strongly believe that drivers should take this course for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, they can become familiar with what their vehicle is or is NOT capable of doing. They also gain a tremendous amount of confidence in their own abilities after being trained. This relates to the fact that most drivers don't have a clue how their vehicle will react in an emergency situation until it's too late. Just knowing how the vehicle will react can take that "surprise" out of the situation and reduce panic. Secondly, what we teach drivers (i.e. brake & steer for collision avoidance) is NOT a human automatic reaction. Panicking and "freezing up" is more the norm, so we take this thought process of brake & steer to avoid and turn it into a reaction, so it's automatic. Thirdly, the techniques we teach are based on performance driving techniques which is the ultimate in car control. Simple things such as sitting behind the controls properly can make a very noticeable increase in control. Using the controls as SMOOTHLY as possible will make a world of difference to control. Fourthly, and probably the most important, training the drivers where to look. This also sounds very simple, but the majority of collision are caused by the simple fact the driver(s) were looking in the wrong place. Fifthly, gaining confidence. A lot of drivers are very timid and over cautious and actually causing more safety concerns than they realize. Sixthly, we dispel a lot a myths that exist in the motoring world such as, "all season" tires, about ABS brakes etc. that give the public a false look on what really is occurring with their vehicle. This improved knowledge and the experience of driving at or near the limit of their vehicle with their new skills definitely improves their skills noticeably. This is related back to us by our students time and time again. When we do receive some of these comments from the students and you see the big smile on their face at the end of the day, it sure makes all the work worth while. 

Nika: do you see the scope of driver training - improving or not? 

Ian: Yes, I can see it improving, but only slightly and not nearly enough. I believe the "regular" driving skills don't pouches the skills that "racers" do to teach certain aspects of car control (i.e.. how do you know until you've done it) and I think they don't want to invest the extra time and cut into their profit margin (i.e.. teach them just to pass and move on to the next batch). 

Nika: What do you feel is the most important lesson a young driver should take?

Ian: I think experience is the best teacher. You can show someone what is required, but it does not mean they can do it until they practice it over and over until it is second nature. They have to feel what the vehicle can and will do, not just see what will happen. 

Nika: What does your school offer?

Ian: We offer the "car control" aspect of safety. Drivers can learn what the traffic signs mean, where to stop, how to signal etc. from any driving school. What they really need to learn is what they and their vehicle are capable of when that emergency situation will arise, and it will, for everyone. 

We have found a secondary benefit to our course in that many of our timid drivers have begun to see that driving can actually be fun, once they realize they are in charge of their situation. There have actually been drivers who have decided to go on into competition driving after they have done our school. Luckily for them, we offer our Advanced School which is geared (nice pun) for competition driving. Then they can move on to our "Track Days" where we show them the techniques to drive competitively and safely. Our Winter Schools helped many drivers over come their fear of ice & snow, by showing them all is not lost because you are ice. 

For more information on Ian Law's Car Control School click on www.carcontrolschool.com or e-mail Ian at ianlaw@ianlawracing.on.ca. For information on Gary Magwood's Drivability Car Control Clinic - you can e-mail him at juskiddn@kos.net. 

I am a firm believer we are building safer cars but not building safer drivers. Most driving schools focus on the importance of parallel parking - as the chief instructor of the Drivability car control clinic Gary Magwood asked - "when was the last time someone died parallel parking?"