Online Registration now open for Teen Driving School

[MNbiker]

Online registration is now available for the Paul Weidner Memorial Teen Driving School, scheduled for Sunday, June 7th. Previously, only mail-in registration was available for this event, but the process was a bit cumbersome. Note: anyone who has already submitted a mail-in application need not register again.

Click here to register online now! (http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/frmEventDetail.Show?psevent_id=9739)


WHO:
Licensed drivers of teenage status (18 years old or younger with a valid divers license). School is limited to 24 students.
Advanced registration for students nominated by MAC.
Students under 18 yrs will need to have a Waiver signed by guardian ( copies are available by emailing Dave Kral at d.kral@comcast.net (d.kral@comcast.net)), which must be completed and returned to Dave.

WHAT:
We're looking for 24 brave students, referred by club members, to attend the school this season. Students need not be related to a member, but we want the membership involved here, to spread the word out beyond just family to others who might benefit. Sign up will be 1st come, 1st served, until the event is full. Driving challenges will include a variety of braking and avoidance elements, and car control exercises. We will also be using a wet skid pad for some exercises.

WHEN:
June 7th, 8:00 registration
8:30 Class Starts and runs till 4:30
Lunch will be provided

COST:
Donation of $20.00 to help cover the cost of the facility plus any addition donations will be accepted and given to the Paul Weidner Fund.

WHERE:
Dakota County Technical College
1300 East 145th St. (Cty Rd 42)
Rosemount, MN 55068

WHY:
Our intent for this school is not to bore the students to death with Drivers Ed - they've already passed that, and passed their state test. This is going to be a driving EXPERIENCE, an attempt to speed up the practical experience learning curve a little. The end result will be a more aware, confident, and experienced driver - better able to deal with the challenges of driving on public streets and roads by being more aware of their surroundings, and of what they and their car can and CAN'T do.

[SUV-ETR]

I'm bummed I can't help with this, as we'll be out of town at the Bleythville ProSolo. But I threw together some additional details that may be useful to prospective parents/students:

The main premise of the school is that the best way to survive real-world emergencies on the street is to know ahead of time what a car feels like in extreme situations. And the best way to gain that experience is by practicing these sorts of maneuvers in a controlled, safe environment, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. But the most important part (well, for the kid anyway) is that it will also be a TON of FUN.

The Minnesota Autosports Club has been hosting sanctioned, precision driving competitions called “autocross” in Minnesota since the 1960’s. These are solo time trial courses against the clock. They are laid out with traffic cones, and are designed to be sufficiently twisty to keep you within speeds seen on public roads (under 60mph or so). While some members have purpose-built race cars, the majority of us race the same normal passenger cars we plan to drive to work on Monday morning. We have over 200 members, and brought home nine trophies from the SCCA Solo National Championships last summer, including a National Champion in one of the women’s classes.

This will be our club’s first time doing this particular kind of school specifically for kids, with more emphasis on the safety side than the go-fast side. But we’ve been hosting performance driving schools as a club for years, so we're very confident it will be a success.

Parents/students need to provide a car that is in good mechanical shape, and not a roll-over risk. Aside from SUV’s and trucks, almost any passenger car will work just fine. One car may be shared between two students without a problem.

As you may expect, this sort of event could never be entirely risk-free. But other than perhaps a bit of extra tire wear, there should be VERY LITTLE RISK of any accidents or damage to your car. All people on site (whether driving or not) will need to sign a liability waiver. Students under 18 yrs will need to have an additional waiver signed by a legal guardian. Loaner helmets are available, but if you happen to have a Snell-rated motorcycle helmet, you may prefer to use it.

The event’s namesake is a friend we lost recently in a tragic (non-driving) accident. He was our best ambassador to befriending newcomers to the sport and showing them the ropes. The club wanted to honor him, while adding some public service credentials to our charter.

Neal