It’s a bright Thursday morning on Interstate 95. I’m hammering my black Phaeton down the left lane at an indicated one hundred and twenty-three miles per hour. In the back seat, my brother and sister-in-law are sound asleep. Next to me, my wife idly flips through the pages of a month-old magazine. “I think the Wilderness Lodge is the worst hotel at Disney… of the acceptable ones, you know,” she says. Before I can respond I notice that we’re closing in on what looks like a high-speed multiple-car freeway accident. In progress.
There are five lanes. The middle three are occupied by a tractor-trailer which is slewing sideways in true action-movie fashion. The right lane is unreachable at my current closing speed, so I dismiss it. The left lane and most of the shoulder is filled with cars swerving left and right before colliding into the mass of stopped traffic. The “pop-pop-pop” of the hits arrive through the double-pane glass just a moment after I see each set of rear wheels leave the ground upon impact.
With a solid shove of the left foot, I’ve engaged the ABS and there’s a scream from behind me as my sister-in-law is simultaneously awoken by the sudden deceleration and choked by her safety belt. Down to 70mph or so, foot off the brake, and now we’re in the thick of things. I choose to drop two wheels off the left shoulder and thread the gap. There’s a solid SLAM that fills the cabin as the tractor-trailer finally makes contact with something.
A blue Buick LeSabre ejects itself from the mess backwards and crosses our path in an eyeblink. The driver’s mouth is open; his hands are off the wheel. In a flash he’s upside-down and tumbling across the grassy median. Back on the throttle to lift the nose, climb the shoulder. I pick up the phone to call 911 and report what’s just happened.
This incident was the masturbatory fantasy of every “driver training” and “active safety” advocate: a mildly skilled vehicle operator avoids a deadly accident in a [conveniently European] sedan while SUVs drive mindlessly into a steaming pile. A couple of problems with the scenario…
First, my car, passengers, and cargo totaled well over 6000 pounds. The only inputs I applied were hard braking and slow steering. I could have done the same thing in an Escalade. The second is that it wasn’t skill that got me through; it was luck. I happened to find the empty spot, but that spot wasn’t empty a moment before and it wasn’t empty a moment afterwards. Only timing and the hand of Chance/Fate/insert your chosen Deity saved me from hitting stopped cars at seventy miles per hour. Had I closed my eyes and slammed the brakes, I might have made it through just as well.
There is no convincing evidence that skill-based driver training reduces automotive-related fatalities in this or any other country. While a recent IIHS study claims that mandatory ESC will reduce fatalities, the biggest benefit appears to come from reducing the risk of oscillation-based rollovers. Put it another way: if the reaction of every driver in this country to a potential accident were to simply stand on the brakes and prepare for impact, fatalities might well be reduced.
The Active Steering now available in BMW and Audi products recognizes this. When a panicky driver saws at the wheel, Active Steering drastically reduces the size of the input, thus ensuring that the car hits nose-first rather than with a far less well-protected door or B-pillar. Nor is this technology aimed exclusively at bumbling untrained Americans; the oh-so-superior European market apparently orders it as often as we do.
No amount of stricter licensing, pre-license training, or post-license testing can adequately prepare the average person for the wide variety of dangerous situations he or she is likely to face in a lifetime of driving, nor can a few open-lapping days or skidpad sessions significantly increase a driver’s readiness to cope with an on-road challenge which may happen years or decades afterwards.
If training doesn’t save lives, what does? Drive less, drive slower, drive sober, take the bus, ride the train. But if you must drive, don’t kid yourself that being a racer, autocrosser, or self-proclaimed “good driver” will save you. Had I been unlucky that sunny day in Florida, I had the comfort of knowing that I, and my family, would have met that impact in a 5200-pound, multiple-airbag, comprehensively crash-engineered premium automobile—precisely the type of car derided by others as a “rolling padded cell.”
When your family’s life in on the line, it won’t be the reflexes of the moment that decide who lives and dies. Instead, it will be that dimly remembered moment of purchase, months or years previous.
[Ed.'s Note: If you disagree with Mr. Baruth's views, we extend to you an invitation for a counterpoint editorial. Please keep it to fewer than 800 words and keep it professional. If we receive more than one article, we will condense the most salient points into one article. Send it to editttac@gmail.com, sil vous plait. Carry on.]
168 Comments on “Editorial: The Truth About Driver Training and the Myth of Active Safety...”
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Wait…. You were doing 123 mph, narrowly avoided dying, and determined that it wasn’t skill that saved your life? OBVIOUSLY, you were doing 123 mph!!
Part of skill is knowing the speed required for a given road condition. Then again, 123 mph is a speed suitable for a racetrack or possibly uncongested German Autobahn, not a busy 5-lane American highway. Had you been doing the speed limit or slightly over, your driver skill WOULD have helped you rather than blind luck, because you would’ve been braking from a sensible speed.
I’m one of the biggest critics of current speed limit laws, the limits are entirely too low and in some cases absolutely absurd. But 123 mph in a, what, 70 mph zone? That’s reckless endangerement.
I am most DEFINITELY one of “those people” who would argue to the ends of the earth that driver training makes you a safer driver. Studies show 96% of all accidents are due to driver error. Training reduces errors. It’s THAT simple.
And for the record, I’m now 11 years without a single ticket or accident, with a proper driver training course, winter driving course, and several years as a stockcar racer under my belt.
I can’t believe you’re discussing how ESC and ABS saved your family’s lives when you were doing twice the posted speed limit. Am I missing something here?
Jack, I’m glad you’re safe, but WOW, this is a complete pile of unscientific nonsense.
RF, why is this appearing?
???
Couldn’t agree with tigeraid more. The title of this article could reasonably read, “I drive like an a-hole and only blind luck saved me from toasting my own family.”
@ Jack: I’ve enjoyed several of your articles for TTAC, but this is way, way off base.
@ RF: I’ll be done clicking-through on Baruth pieces for a while.
That is why you say oh God. I have to disagree with you only because I nearly killed myself in a spining on ice going 65 MPh. My father taught me how to control a car in a spin and I credit that with saving my life. If anything with only the drivers ed course that I received I would be dead.
And if you hadn’t survived and the story was “Jack Baruth dies in auto accident” I would say you got what you deserved. And, in the process of killing yourself you happened to kill or maim anyone in the pileup you hit, I would hope that they or their survivors sued your estate for every dime that you had.
Huh? Is this real or fiction?
And I agree: RF, why is this appearing?
If you encountered the wrong person, if someone did 123 MPH and harmed their family, there would be ‘roadside justice.’
This doesn’t read like an editorial, or like anything else I’ve ever read at TTAC. This reads like a troll.
There’s a time and a place for everything, including 123 mph driving.
Next to the Cross Bronx Expressway, I-95 in Florida is probably the worst place possible on a limited access highway.
123mph with a 6000lbs car is the recipe for death. Escape death=Final destination
Jack Baruth:
There is no convincing evidence that skill-based driver training reduces automotive-related fatalities
then…
if the reaction of every driver in this country to a potential accident were to simply stand on the brakes and prepare for impact, fatalities might well be reduced.
Assuming arguendo that your claim is true … why not just make the training to “simply stand on the brakes and prepare for impact”?
In fact, I very vividly remember learning “Stomp, Stay, Steer” in Driver’s Ed for how to safely panic-stop a car with ABS.
Jack Baruth:
No amount of stricter licensing, pre-license training, or post-license testing can adequately prepare the average person
I think this is false, and you seem to undercut this claim yourself when you say:
Drive less, drive slower, drive sober,
I took Driver’s Ed in high school about ten years ago, and that’s exactly what we covered. We also discussed the importance of wearing seatbelts, which unequivocally save lives.
this is the problem with speed. i put to you that if you had been going 60 or 65, the result might have been diferent.
Assuming that your reaction time is always at its best- it rarely is, I nearly rearended someone because i was swatting a mosquito – the only other important variable is distance, which is eaten up by speed.
I understand that it is difficult to keep to a reasonable speed. the car i drive is perfectly happy at 130 mph, as is yout VW. But, as Scotty famously said, “Ya canna break the laws of physics”.
The other serious problem with excessive speed on public roads(and 123 mph IS exessive), is that other drivers on the road occasionally come out of their somnobulance and will not be be expecting you to be there. They might, for instance, change lanes for no reason, with no warning, without looking. Happens all the time. I prefer to give the knuckleheaded drivers as much room as possible so they dont hit ME.
My guess is that you drove slower for a little while for a few days and noticed more about the road environment. This is your brain telling you something. Are you listening?
Actually, what saved him was the pile of electronics in the Phaeton (56 computers on 3 CAN buses) right when the left wheels left the shoulder. A Phaeton is unfazed by that. The Escalade probably would have rolled over several times.
I’ve driven the same car at 200 mp/h down the Autobahn, courtesy of someone at VW who took the 250 km/h limitation out of the computer. But I was alone, and it was a stretch of the Autobahn without speed limit.
I believe this was intended as an editorial that common sense saves more lives than technology or advanced driver training. The latter have more to do with corporate marketing and personal ego than anything else, and may actually promote risk-taking.
Ayrton Senna and Dale Earnhardt would probably still be alive today if they had never learned how to race and simply stuck to driving Corollas at 50mph.
don1967:
yes, drive as fast as u can on a track. If you crash, you wil not endanger others. Driving too fast on a public road is dangerous and irresponsable.
PS, i know its fun to drive fast. Driving at 110 on the NJTP is an almost mystical experience. Nevertheless it is wildly dangerous, and puts yourself and others at grave risk.
Hey Jack your experience happens at a Nascar race every week. Cars driven at high speed come up on an accident and some get through and some don’t. Since we can assume most of the drivers have the same skill set I would think that luck determines who crashes and who gets through unharmed. You were lucky.
Jack – driver training is not about sharpening reflexes – its about judgement. I am very happy that you are safe but you clearly need more driver training as doing 123 MPH on any Florida highway shows not only a remarkable lack of judgement on your part but also a a certain amount of distain for the safety your fellow motorists.
To address your tirade against active safety, let me give you some facts:
In 1937 the rate of road fatalities was 14 per million miles driven, in 1969 is was 5.18 and in 2006 it was 1.42 (which was a 0.2 improvement over 2005).
The truth about active safety is that its clearly doing its job.
Huh?
I agree with previous posters, why was this article published? The concept that driver training has no effect on an individual’s ability to avoid an accident is patently untrue.
I have taken two BMW driver training courses and can attest to the fact that the info and techniques I learned improved my driving skill. One important aspect is “feeling” the dynamics of the car and understanding the effects of various inputs. Like riding a bike, the techniques are not forgotten (as the article states) but become an integral part of your driving style.
Two weeks ago, I encountered an out-of-control car on a snow-covered two lane road. The car was skidding sideways towards me from the from the oncoming lane. If I had simply hammered the brakes, there would have been a collision, ABS or not. I accelerated gently, moved over onto the shoulder and missed the car by a few inches. Without driver training I would not have had the ability OR CONFIDENCE to carry out such a counter-intuitive manouver.
To imply that a driver is basically a passenger in an airbag-equipped cocoon is not only false but a highly dangerous concept.
C’mon guys, give RF a break. The guy needs some sleep & family time! Plus, anything other than a GM-hate-rant is a welcome change around here.
The article was dumb though. 123mph on I-95. And then you talk (lecture) about safety? Really?
One of the most simple and most effective techniques in driver training can be trained right here:
If you come up to an accident, don’t look at the accident. Don’t look at what you are trying to avoid. Look for the empty space and keep your eyes on it. You will subconsciously steer there. If you fixate your eyes on what you are trying to avoid, you will most likely hit it.
I agree with Mr. Baruth. Most of driver training courses fail to simulate real life situations. Main benefit is better judgement but, that fades as time goes by.
On one occassion I remember most of the participants where hesitating to simply “stay” on the brake with ABS.
Of all the Active Safety features perhaps the most important is ESP on big commercial vehicles.
Accidents on European roads involving buses and coaches are less than with… airplanes during the last decade or so.
First time I drove a BMW with Active Steering, I thought it offers nothing just destroys the feedback.
When I was doing slaloms at an old soviet airport in Germany with almost double the speed compared to that of an identical car without active steering and with half the effort needed, I had to re consider. Of course, the steering did not have a great input-who cares when it can save lives?
If you can,contact you local BMW dealer, arrange for a couple of 3-series (one with Active Steering and one without) and try the following: At an empty parking lot with ice or snow accelerate (first without Active Steering) up to 60 miles per hour. Then hit the brakes without holding the steering wheel. Repeat with the one equipped with Active Steering. Even on a just wet surface Active Steering is doing an incredible “job”. It keeps the vehicle straight even without hands!
Yes, I agree, it is the purchase that is important, and the manufacturers SHOULD assume that we are unable to perform WRC tricks.
Wow!
As quoted earlier and paraphrased here – ‘You canna beat Newton.’
But, a Phaeton with 56 computers and better physics (lower CG, lower profile tires…) sure as hell gives you a better chance to survive than a high, rolly Escalade or ML55AMG – regardless of the number of computers involved…so I’ll take the active safety bit – along with sensible general physics of the vehicle (i.e.: non-SUV)
Of course, in the “all it takes is money” department – an asshole driver with 56 onboard computers is still…an asshole driver.
Stay the hell out of RI, Jack. I got a kid to raise!
Maybe the argument is that someone doing patently unsafe driving conditions (123 in a 70 mph zone?) can still get out a crash through dumb luck.
I’m imagining the next part of the story: When the police arrived, I told the officer at the scene about the accident. “I was driving 120 mph or so down the highway when I saw the trailer starting to jackknife…”
The reports I’ve read about ESC show a 10%-30% reduction in single car accidents with Mercedes and Toyotas. Any others.
The real-world ABS data that caught my eye was several years back comparing GM cars with and without ABS -no difference in accident rates. More driver training needed to take full advantage of ABS was the conclusion.
The second is that it wasn’t skill that got me through; it was luck.
An hones man is rare. An honest piston head even rarer.
Thanks.
It may be a pipe dream but to me the answer seems to be training in the vehicle you purchase. A Chevy express van will act differently then a Mazda 3 in a panic situation.
Learning how your car handles in an emergency is the important part. Car makers should offer this training as a paid premium option at purchase.
# Bertel Schmitt :
February 21st, 2009 at 10:23 am
“One of the most simple and most effective techniques in driver training can be trained right here:
If you come up to an accident, don’t look at the accident. Don’t look at what you are trying to avoid. Look for the empty space and keep your eyes on it. You will subconsciously steer there. If you fixate your eyes on what you are trying to avoid, you will most likely hit it.”
That’s true. I learned that reading a mountain bike magazine years ago. It works avoiding rocks in the woods, and it translates perfectly to cars.
Also, some driver training in slide/skid control would go a long way to saving lives in the winter. I know that, for me personally, doing pickup truck donuts and powerslides in snowy parking lots has saved my bacon at speed at least twice.
The second sentence (123mph) says it all and completely discredits any advice you can give us and say that high performance trained drivers would not have been better off.
You have no standing to criticize those of us who race or autox when you drive so completely recklessly (50mph+ over the posted speed limit) with your family in the car. It was plain dumb you were going so fast and plain dumb luck you even survived.
What is incredulous is that you seem to feel more knowledgeable by saying that advanced driver training would have not helped one bit in that scenario. First off, I race and instruct high performance driving and my training would never have let me drive that fast with my family in the car on any public road. Second, my racing and instructing experience teaches me that anything can happen whether you are on a race track and even worst…on a public road (such as a pile up)…and driving that fast is not only completely dangerous, but also illegal, dumb and did I say dangerous.
I think you missed two major points in this supposed “editorial”. Did you analyze why there was a pile up in the first place? I’ll bet it was b/c of unskilled drivers driving too fast. Second – did you know that one of the first concepts we teach students at speed is to limit the 3 factors of input in a car (brakes, gas, steer)…if you do one at 100% you can’t do the others. That means hard brake with little to no other inputs and slow steering input when you are going so fast are the tenets of advanced high performance driving. I’ll stop now as the irony is killing me.
Seriously, I don’t see how this “article” is anything other than a blatant troll job not worthy of rebuttal.
“If you come up to an accident, don’t look at the accident. Don’t look at what you are trying to avoid. Look for the empty space and keep your eyes on it.”
Very true. I did a group exercise at a seminar years ago where about a hundred people were first asked to simply mill about in tight quarters. It looked like bumper cars at first. Then we were told to keep walking, but always focus on the empty space ahead of yourself and walk into it while ignoring the people and obstacles. You would be amazed at the rapid smooth and yet quasi-random flow of people which ensued. Hard to get if you haven’t done it, but a revelation if you have. Later in life I traveled to Japan on business quite a lot. The lessons of that exercise allowed me to cruise through Shinjuku train station in Tokyo at rush hour as fast as a native.
Jack’s article brings up another point: Many of the advocates of better safety through better training are from the old Car & Driver school of thought. C&D used to advocate higher speed limits for drivers with high performance drivers training, the idea being that their Best & Brightest readers would be allowed to drive faster thanks to a weekend at Bondurant. Get your high speed thrills on the racetrack, not on the roads you share with the rest of us. Alright, now I will wait for the show-me-more-data Greek chorus. (Oddly enough, that chorus also is generally against the gov’t gathering ever more data on people!)
As always, thanks to everyone for reading and responding.
The purpose of the opening story was fairly simple: I wanted to “innoculate” the discussion from tales of skill-based, accident-avoidance derring-do by plucking one of the most outrageous, albeit factually correct, tales from my personal quiver and throwing it up for your amusement/horror. In other words: You think you drove out of a crazy situation? Well, beat this one! :)
Typically, when we discuss the impact of driver training on accident and fatality rate, the immediate response from some percentage of the participants is going to be to talk about how their personal awesomeness and skill kept them from having an accident. What I would suggest in response is that the more training you have, the faster you tend to be going when you have the accident.
And while it’s not covered in the article (800 WORDZ YO) there’s some evidence to suggest that ESC simply “trains” people to enter dangerous situations at a higher rate of speed.
The fact remains that if you are traveling at an appropriate rate of speed for road conditions and keeping your awareness up — neither of which I would consider “skill training” — then you’re unlikely to be involved in a single-vehicle accident, and you’re likely to come off reasonably well in a multi-car accident.
Now you guys can return to picking the flesh off my bones… For what it’s worth, RF and I personally disagree on nearly everything in the automotive world, from the viability of the Big 2.8 to appropriate conduct in traffic. It says a lot about the guy that he publishes me regardless. And I would suggest that his choice of the Jorg Haider “Phaeton death car” — the only Phaeton in which I am aware of a fatality occurring — represents his sotto voce comment on the topic.
The real-world ABS data that caught my eye was several years back comparing GM cars with and without ABS -no difference in accident rates. More driver training needed to take full advantage of ABS was the conclusion.…
The driver is a big part of the equation, no doubt. Back in the day, 2 door Dodge Shadows had four times the rollover rate compared to 4 door variants. Kids bought the 2 doors. Training is most certainly helpful. But as speeds get faster, reaction time can’t keep up with the increased velocity. So, it seems that the faster you go, the more dumb (yeah, that word certainly applies here) luck comes into play.
I have no problem with speed, but please be more selective where you choose to do this. Heavily traveled interstates like I-95 is not the place for that kind of speed.
The “pop-pop-pop” of the hits arrive through the double-pane glass just a moment after I see each set of rear wheels leave the ground upon impact.
I didn’t think cars had double-pane glass.
And what did your passengers have to say about their near-death experience? Did they congratulate you or your wonderful skill, or raise some serious hell concerning your juvenile behavior?
Let me get this straight. You were driving 123 mph, about 60 mph above the speed limit, on a busy highway and you have the gall to lecture us about driving safety?
I95 is not the Autobahn.
Is Hulk Hogan’s son available to write editorials?
Most insurance companies give discounts for driver training. Is the article saying:
a) Insurance companies like giving discounts for no apparent reason.
b) Mr. Baruth has some statistical info that the insurance companies don’t have.
c) Mr. Baruth has some magical insights unknown to the insurance community.
d) Mr. Baruth is likes to spout junk to elicit a response.
Jack? Do you still drive that fast or did you learn something from the experience?
My corollary to Einstein’s definition of insanity is “keep doing the same thing and always expect the same result.” The world is a totally random place.
So, if you keep driving 50+ mph over the limit and expect that you and your family will always emerge sans toe tags, you prove my corollary.
Glad your families safe. Like one of Stephen King’s characters once opined, “Go out alone, you’re a hero. Take someone with you, and you’re dog shit.”
The ironic part of Jack’s piece is, he’s right, and he’s wrong. The purpose of driver training is not only so that you will keep yourself safe, it is so, hopefully, you will drive in accordance with rules and common sense (you must have missed that class, Jack) and thereby keep OTHERS safe. Avoidance and PREVENTION of panic situations, not skill in dealing with them when they happen.
I formerly was one of those people who drove a capable, well-maintained car, and believed it was my Deity-given right to drive in excess of three-digit speeds on the highway, because I was young, well-conditioned, possessed the right equipment and have superior vision and reflexes, and dammit, my time is important. After repeated near misses, (not nearly as hairy as Jack describes, all caused by the OTHER idiot, I thought) and witnessing a few horrific crashes caused by excessive speed, I realized that I wasn’t just endangering myself or my passengers: Joe family man was headed home from work, looking forward to an evening with his kids. If someone pulled in front of me, I take them out, chaos theory and random physics take over and suddenly Joe AND his family is collateral damage of my unwillingness to be reasonable.
Driver training that emphasises driving at prudent speeds for all road conditions, traffic densities and vehicle capabilities, emphasizing prevention of “crisis stop or panic steer” situations, and showing that variations in speed between the slowest and fastest drivers on any road, would do more to save lives in this country than all the nannies, air bags, computers, stacked on top of each other.
My wife now occasionally tells me she doesn’t like to ride in the car with me, that I drive too slow (usually 5 mph below posted speed limits….I think that is a good compromise, and appropriately slower in weather…), to which I reply, “We’ll get there. Safe and sound.”
Hi Jared,
Thanks for using the word “lecture” because it brings up something important; I’m not here to lecture anybody. The great thing about TTAC and other online car sites is that it allows the readers to respond.
The days of a writer “lecturing” his audience, safe in the knowledge that it was more or less a one-way channel, are over. Your comments are as important, permanent, and relevant as my original column. I’m not here to lecture you; instead, we are here to discuss, and I happened to start (or continue) this discussion.
@Mike S:
If I can, I’d like to suggest something. People who are interested in safety tend to do stuff like driver training, so the insurance companies are interested in retaining those customers.
And “driver training” in the insurance company sense doesn’t always mean what we think it does. I know I didn’t get a discount for going to comp school!
Advanced driver training is not the same as race training. It is better and more often referred to as “Defensive Driver Training.” Much of that course will teach you to leave an appropriate buffer in front of you, something of the laws of physics, to watch for possible pending emergencies and NOT to drive at 123mph on public highways. This contributor is a thoughtless fool.
Jack – “People who are interested in safety tend to do stuff like driver training, so the insurance companies are interested in retaining those”
Insurance companies give discounts for anti-theft and tracking devices because they reduce the number of actual vehicle losses not because owners are INTERESTED in not having their cars stolen.
Insurance companies are interested in profits. A reduction in accidents equals an increase in profits therefore insurance companies want to reduce accidents. Ergo discounts for driver training MUST mean that the insurance industry sees a direct correlation with less accidents.
Jack – “And “driver training” in the insurance company sense doesn’t always mean what we think it does. I know I didn’t get a discount for going to comp school!”
In my case BMW training #1 = insurance discount, #2 = additional discount, comp training = zippo discount. I guess comp training isn’t viewed as being safety related.
This anecdotal evidence is hardly evidence of anything.
Also another thing to think about is the that the rubber on SUVs is usually not meant for speeds that the Phaeton rubber is capable of. Not that you should have been in that situation in the first place, but if I was, I would want to be in the car with capable tires for the speed I was traveling.
Also…
Escalade 60-0 – 145 feet
Phaeton 60-0 – 125 feet
Cayman S 60-0 – 105 feet
You gonna tell me that this measure of “active safety” doesn’t mean anything out there on the highway?
OT, but BTW…..RF, what is with all the French today? Is it in honor of the fact that we are now a socialist nation on par with the bleu, blanc et rouge?
While I abhor your actions on the highway, I agree with your point. Well at least now I can understand why you consider Hyundai simply a purveyor of crappy little cars in a prior editorial. Hopefully you’ll understand that most of us will never be driving cars that are comparable to the Phaeton.
@Mike S:
“A reduction in accidents equals an increase in profits therefore insurance companies want to reduce accidents. Ergo discounts for driver training MUST mean that the insurance industry sees a direct correlation with less accidents.”
Let’s assume for a moment that drivers who have participated in driver training have a lower accident rate than those who have not. As you pointed out above, it’s tough to get access to those numbers, and it’s even tougher to distinguish between BMW Driver Training and stuff like what the Institute for Advanced Motorists does.
But even if we can “prove” that, we’d have to prove further that those same drivers are safer after training than before.
In other words, is the “trained” driver safer because of his training, or is he safer because he is the type of alert, concerned individual who would do something like purchase driver training?
I’d be willing to bet real money on the “fact” that people who always use condoms also have a lower accident rate. Why? They’re careful people. The same goes for those people who put indoor helmets on their children. Careful people tend to be careful.
From your perspective, which of your three BMW schools do you feel was most helpful to your experience as a street driver?
If it wasn’t for driver training, I would have run into a moose last Friday.
I was driving at 90km/h, late afternoon, snow on road, snowbanks.
Car about fifty meters in front of me.
Moose crashes through snowbank on left, having been hidden by trees. He’s headed for the space between the car in front and myself.
Instinctive reaction: to brake.
If I had done that, I would have let the moose get in front of me, but it wouldn’t have been able to cross the road before I struck it, at little under 90km/h, given the road condition. I would be lucky if it ended up in the passenger seat.
Driver training kicked, in, I downshifted, accelerated, and managed to just race past the moose. Was surprised it didn’t strike the rear of the car, its muzzle was so close I could have touched it with my hand if the window had been open.
Mr. Farago’s pulling our legs. The editorial is a spoof.
It’s a great way to get some interesting feedback.
I hope nobody takes it seriously.
@carguy: “In 1937 the rate of road fatalities was 14 per million miles driven, in 1969 is was 5.18 and in 2006 it was 1.42 (which was a 0.2 improvement over 2005).”
And modern medicine, and life flight, and seat belts, and crumple zones, and crash test dummies, and …
Interesting…. Driving 123mph on an interstate. That difference in real speed / permitted speed would have thrown you in prison in France. You can do 123mph on the Autobahn BUT you have to be aware of the tendency of many Germans to switch to the left lane unexpectedly. Expect even less drivers’ attention on an interstate…
The Phaeton (a fantastic car) cannot help you in all difficult situations, just google “Haider” “accident”.
I don’t think Jack is advocating no driver’s training at all.
He’s just saying that the idea (popular in auto enthusiast circles) that every accident is avoidable by taking advanced driver’s training courses, autocrossing, and having a manual transmission is false.