Drivers Ed:

How Safe Is It, Really?

 by Russ Radcliffe

    Many if not most Porsche owners have chosen to purchase their car partly because of the promise of superb handling and performance. But clearly the only opportunity to responsibly experience this thrill is on a track, not the public highways.

            So the Porsche Club of America, through the local chapters, offers driver education programs specifically tuned toward giving Porsche owners an opportunity to safely learn the details of optimum driving technique in a structured program beginning with technical inspections, direct instructor demonstration and supervision, etc. The program emphasizes safety, and punishes those who demonstrate reckless behavior. There are no prizes, no stopwatches, no racing, only the satisfaction of doing better.

            OK, but really, what are the chances of an accident?  Of course, there are no guarantees. But for those who approach driver-ed with the proper attitude, a recent 5-day session at Watkins Glen represents a typical experience. This included the three-day Zone One 48 Hours (the third day is for instructors), followed by 2 days with Connecticut Valley, June 28 through July 2, 2002.  To keep the math simple, I’ll use round numbers. For the first instructor day, about 100 instructors (or instructor candidates) drove about 200 miles each, a total of 20,000 hard driving track miles. For the next four days, about 200 drivers drove about 100 miles each, also about 20,000 track miles a day, for a grand total of 100,000 miles in five days.  The temperatures were in the mid 90’s for the whole 5 days, a risk factor for accidents because of driver fatigue and dehydration, and because of increased tire pressures from overheating, decreasing adhesion.

            Nevertheless, there were no fender-benders or other contact damages for the entire three- day Zone One event, through approximately 60,000 miles of spirited driving. This type of safety experience is in part a tribute to Chris Kirby, Chief Instructor for Zone One who retired this year after more than 20 years of emphasis on safety first. Kudos, Chris.   High temperatures continued through the Connecticut Valley session, with no mishaps the first day. On the second day, two mishaps occurred in high run groups with sheet metal damage, one car drivable, one not. There were no damages to cars in the instructor-supervised groups for the entire five days!

            Want an even easier, safer entrée to a track experience?  Try the Taste of the Track Sampler this October 25-27 at New Hampshire International Speedway, sponsored by North Country Region PCA.  I’ll see you there.

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