Life-Saving Teen Driving Program is Coming to Portland October 5

Tire Rack Street Survival(R) and Sports Car Club of America Foundation Have Joined Forces to Help Teach Oregon Teen Drivers How To Be Safe this Fall

PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 11 -- Tire Rack Street Survival(R), a national "hands-on" driver educational program that teaches teens the skills they need to stay alive behind the wheel, and Sports Car Club of America Foundation (SCCA) are teaming up to host a teen driving program on Sunday, October 5 at the Portland International Raceway. The class will run from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Students will learn from highly skilled volunteer instructors from the SCCA's Oregon Region how their actions govern a car's responses, what the limits of their vehicles are and how to avoid accidents. Students will be given a short classroom session and then be taught, hands-on, how to manage everyday driving hazards, obstacles and challenges. Unlike other advanced driving schools, students will use their own vehicles they are most familiar with, which is usually their family or personal car, truck or SUV, so that the skills they learn can be directly translated to their own daily driving experiences.

More than 6,000 Teenagers Killed in U.S. Each Year from a Motor Vehicle Related Crash

Car accidents pose a serious threat to drivers of all ages, especially teenagers. More than 6,000 teenagers are killed in the United States each year by a motor vehicle related crash. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading killer of American youths aged 16 to 19, counting for more than 40-percent of the fatalities in that age bracket. Tire Rack Street Survival(R) prides itself on raising awareness on driver safety and developing teens' respect for motor vehicles and how important vehicle control is to keeping themselves and others alive.

Registration Now Open -- Space is Limited -- One-day Class Only $60

The Tire Rack Street Survival program is open to permitted and licensed drivers ages 16 - 21. Students should have some driving experience and parents should make plans to attend the programs along with their teens. Parents are urged to talk to their teen drivers about the advantages of attending this one-day program. Registration forms can be found at http://www.streetsurvival.org/. The cost is $60 per student and some insurance companies offer premium discounts to graduates. Space is limited and registration is required.

"The first time a teen applies the dictum, 'turn in the direction of the skid,' should not be on a rainy night on Skyline Drive," said Jim Weidenbaum, Oregon Region SCCA and Tire Rack Street Survival Event Chair. "In one day, we will teach this among many other live-saving skills to young drivers. A professional teen driving school costs hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Through generous underwriting of this Street Survival program and 100 percent local volunteer staffing the cost per student is only $60. So, for the price of a tank of gas, a young driver can learn and practice basic life-saving driving skills."

About the Tire Rack Street Survival(R) Program

The goal of the Tire Rack Street Survival(R) program will help make our teenagers safer drivers. Formed in April 2002 by the BMW Car Club of America Foundation, the Tire Rack Street Survival(R) safe teen driving program was launched. With the help of several corporate sponsors (BMW of North America, ZF Corporation of North America, The Tire Rack, and Liberty Mutual Insurance), Tire Rack Street Survival(R) was initiated. Tire Rack Street Survival(R) is built upon the premise that 'safe driving is learned by doing.' From the outset, Street Survival has always been hands-on and designed to go beyond the typical high school driver's education program.