BRAKES Driving School Aims To Keep Teens Safe

The people at BRAKES Driving School are on a mission to make your teen driver safer behind the wheel.

It’s a scary proposition handing over those keys to your son or daughter. No matter how much time you spend coaching them, no matter how many times you tell them what they should and shouldn’t do, there’s just no way to know how they’ll react to situations once you’re out of the car.

BRAKES (Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe) was started by NHRA drag racing star Doug Herbert, who lost his sons Jon and James in a highway accident back in 2008. Since then, Herbert has since made it his mission to keep other parents from suffering his pain.

Herbert created BRAKES the very same year that he lost his sons, as a non-profit designed to provide free driver education for teens. The Teen Pro-Active Driving Course is offered at no charge to teens ages 15 to 19, to teach them skills they just don’t learn in a typical driver’s ed class. The class includes…

Accident Avoidance using a slalom course to teach elevated steering control; a Distraction Exercise to teach increased focus and concentration; a Wheel Drop-Off Recovery Exercise to teach the proper method of retaining control when the vehicle drops a wheel off a highway shoulder; a Panic Stop Exercise to give teenagers safer and more controlled responses when braking in an emergency; a Car Control and Recovery Exercise that teaches the skills necessary to maintain or regain control in wet or icy road conditions.

Classes are held monthly at the Zmax Dragway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, with vehicles provided by KIA. Just because you don’t live in the Charlotte area doesn’t mean your teen won’t have the chance to participate.

The BRAKES team travels around the country, offering classes sponsored by local communities who want to get involved, show their support, and help make our roads safer for everyone.