BRISTOL, Tenn. — Teenagers who want time behind the wheel with professional instructors have one more chance this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, where a free driver training program runs its final session Sunday, Oct. 18, from 8 a.m. until noon.
The course is run by B.R.A.K.E.S., short for Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe. More than 200 people took part in its Saturday session at the track.
The training is hands-on. Pro racers, stunt drivers and instructors, some of them current or former police officers, put new drivers through drills built around the five most common causes of crashes for teens. Exercises cover hard emergency stops, recovering from a skid, swerving around a hazard and keeping a car under control.
Students also get pointers on sharing the road with tractor-trailers and on what to do when an officer pulls them over. Parents are part of the program, too, so they can see how their teen reacts when a car is pushed to its limits.
Organizers pitch the course as a step past standard driver’s education. The focus is on real situations a new driver is likely to face, avoiding a wreck before it happens and making the right call in a split second, with the goal of building calm, confident reactions rather than panic when something goes wrong on the road.
The nonprofit, a 501(c)3, was started in memory of two brothers, Jon and James, by a family that wanted to spare others the same loss. It counts more than 175,000 teens and parents among its graduates, and it brings its course to tracks and arenas across the region, including stops in Spartanburg, Roanoke and Richmond.
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