On Saturday, September 12th, spend a day behind the wheel and learn life-saving advanced driving skills, including wet weather, evasive, and defensive handling skills.

Instruction will be provided in your own car, which does not have to be a Mercedes. This course is intended to provide you with training and experience in handling your own car in emergency situations.

Event planner, former SCCA amateur road racer, PCA driving instructor, and Peachtree Section MBCA Past President Gary Edwards comments, "This is a great program designed to improve your driving skills so that you'll be safer on the road. We'll cover ABS braking, skid recovery, emergency lane changes, dropping a wheel off the pavement and transient handling. Teen drivers are of course welcome to this event, but I feel very strongly that adults need this as much or maybe even more than the teens. Additionally, we have structured this so that you can drive your own cars. Take it from me, any time you can get in-car driving instruction, you should take advantage of it - even with my thousands of track miles, I learn something every time I participate in an event like this - you won't want to miss it.."

The day starts at 8:00 AM with classroom instruction, but plan to arrive before 7:45 so that you have time to check in. You'll need to sign a facility waiver and MBCA waiver at registration. The day will conclude at about 5:00 PM. The cost is $100, which includes lunch. This event will be held rain or shine - this training is probably more effective and useful in the rain than in the dry. If you bring a non-driving guest and they'd like a lunch, there will be an additional $10 charge. Just include that on your registration form. Though we'll try to provide water, you might also want to bring some of your own as it likely be hot!

We'll take a quick look at the car before starting the driving events. You'll want to have the tire pressures at the manufacturer's recommended pressure, the battery securely mounted, any loose floor mats removed, and loose items removed from the car.

Depending on your insurance company and the driver's age, completion of this course may result in lower insurance rates - several of our members found the savings were large enough over a couple of years to pay for the course!

Important notes:

You must have either a learner's permit or a driver's license to participate.
Helmets are not required for this event.
Convertibles are OK, but the top must be up. SUVs are OK.
All minors (17 and under) must be accompanied by an adult and an additional minor waiver is required
No open-toed shoes, heels, or thick-soled shoes.
No sleeveless shirts or tank tops.

Some of the things we'll do:

ABS Braking Exercise

Learn how to optimize the use of your ABS braking system and get familiar with the sound and feel of ABS activation.

Skid Pad

Experience the challenge of keeping your car under control on a wet skidpad. You’ll learn skills including oversteer, understeer, and car control in adverse conditions.

Emergency Lane Change

As you approach, a green light will tell you whether to go left or right. After the lane change you come back to the center lane and stop.

Drop Wheel Off the Road Surface

This facility has a dedicated area to train on safely dropping a wheel off the pavement and recovering.

Autocross / Slalom

Expand your knowledge base by finding out how to properly rotate your car while keeping it balanced and under control. Learn skills including cornering capabilities, weight transfer, and braking techniques.

Note: This event will run better if each driver has their own car. If you believe it's necessary for two drivers to share a car, please contact event planner Gary Edwards in advance to coordinate (events@MBCApeachtree.org).

The Columbia County Sheriff's Training Facility is at 2273 County Camp Road, Appling, Georgia 30802. Proceed straight past the office building and the jail; turn right on Burnout Road, proceed through the gate, and turn left at the T. Park adjacent to the Training Building (first building on the right) and come inside for registration.