Free national teen defensive driving school coming to Gateway Motorsports Park
The national free teen defensive driving program B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe) will head to Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 3 and 4.
Sessions will be held from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. both days.
Utilizing vehicles provided by Kia Motors and with partial funding from the St. Louis Area Kia Dealers, the B.R.A.K.E.S. program offers teens extensive behind-the-wheel instruction by ex-law enforcement and professional racing drivers, teaching new drivers and their parents how to be safer on the road. Exercises include distracted driving awareness, panic braking, crash avoidance, drop wheel/off-road recovery, and car control/skid recovery.
Car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among teens, ending more young lives every day than murder, suicide or disease. The result: B.R.A.K.E.S. graduates are 64 percent less likely to get in a crash within the next three years.
Online registration is available at www.putonthebrakes.org.
B.R.A.K.E.S. is a GuideStar Platinum-rated 501(c)(3) charity that offers free, hands-on defensive driver training to teens and their parents nationwide. Multi-time Top Fuel drag racing champion Doug Herbert founded the road safety organization in honor of his two teenage sons, Jon and James, who lost their lives in a car crash in 2008.
“From that tragedy, we created a mission to prevent injuries and save lives by training teens and their parents to be safer behind the wheel,” Herbert said. “We’re truly grateful to our friends at the St. Louis Area Kia Dealers and Gateway Motorsports Park for helping us bring our lifesaving training to the area and make Missouri and Illinois roads a little safer for everyone.”
