TALLAHASSEE FL – Fred O. Dickinson, executive director of Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, reports that New Driver “Car Control Clinic graduates’ cumulative crash rate over four years is 77 percent lower than the general [15-to-19-year-old] population.”

The state of Florida compared clinic graduates from 1999 through 2001, (the same program offered around the TriState since 2002) to their peers in the general population. Over four years, the clinic graduates produced a crash rate of 5.3% compared to a crash rate among untrained drivers of over 23%. “This unprecedented crash-rate reduction,” says clinic founder, David Thompson, “proves that in-car, behind-the-wheel training of young drivers in accident avoidance and defensive driving techniques can save crashes and save lives.”

“These statistics have been borne out in our family,” says West Palm Beach surgeon, Jon Wideroff. “Not a single problem for the two older children [who graduated from the clinic] and, an immediate change in our son’s attitude and skills [after today’s clinic]. “After 25 years practicing surgery in South Florida, I can say that I’ve seen an obscene number of disasters,” continues Dr. Wideroff. “This course could be the difference between a trip to the funeral parlor and a trip to the body shop for a fender repair. I can’t wait until our fourth child gets her turn [to take this clinic].”

In a New Driver Car Control Clinic students and their parents (Thompson does not accept a teen without a parent) perform a series of exercises learning how to use their eyes, hands and feet to simultaneously brake heavily and steer away from obstacles. These exercises are performed both on dry and wet pavement.

"Driving is a psychomotor skill," Thompson explains. "Just like learning to play the piano requires an actual keyboard, so does learning to control an automobile in an emergency require one to actually drive a car. Our Clinic is based on the idea that in order to properly manage those inevitable first few accident situations, drivers must learn and practice the proper responses. We do that by creating mini-accidents." Thompson argues that unless you have pre-programmed your brain to react properly in a panic situation, you will panic, you will lock up the brakes and you will crash. “We are delighted that the Department [of Highway Safety] conducted this all important research on our graduates,” says Thompson. “We are building a database of graduates in Ohio now, and hope that state’s corresponding authority will conduct the same research comparing our graduates to Ohio teens who have not had this training. We have every confidence the results will be the same.”

Each Clinic is limited to 10 parent-teen teams and costs $149 per team. Teens need to have at least a Learner's Permit. Each team receives a 56-page workbook and a 45-minute video detailing all exercises performed in the Clinic so that they may continue to practice on their own, and a Certificate of Completion for submission to their insurance company for a possible discount. Visit
www.carcontrol.com/cincinnati.html for the schedule. Call 800-862-3277 for reservations.

[Sidebar: What It All Means] According to the US Department of Transportation, the cost of motor vehicle crashes that occurred in the US during 2000 totaled $230.6 billion. This is equal to approximately $820 for every person living in the United States and 2.3 percent of the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP). There were 28 million cars damaged in these crashes, along with 41,000 fatalities and 5.3 million injuries. If one converts these numbers to cost per car, the number is $8250 per car.

Other estimates go far higher but here is what The New Driver Car Control Clinic crash reduction rates might mean to a properly trained young driver population in Ohio.

In Ohio there were 105,401 crashes among drivers aged 16 to 20 in 2002. At a cost of $8250 per crashed car, the total cost would be $870 million. A 77% reduction would save $670 million. -- Not to mention 22,924 injuries and 215 lives.

                                          800-862-3277         www.teendrivers.com       www.carcontrol.com