Teenage drivers received some valuable tips and put their driving skills to work Saturday at the Tire Rack Street Survival Driving School.
The program was hosted by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) at the Reno-Stead Airport.
More than 5,000 teens are killed in car crashes every year in the United States. So, the goal was to teach inexperienced drivers how to stay safe and avoid accidents all together.
"Now that I'm kind of about to graduate high school and going off to college, I really do need to learn how to drive," says 18-year-old Hailey Kovac, who took part in the program and just started driving last week.
More than two dozen beginners were put through a handful of exercises. They were encouraged to spin out a few times.
"So that they know what it feels like and they can learn how to correct for it," says Dave Deborde with the SCCA.
Students weaved in and out of cones and learned how to stop in slippery conditions.
"Once I started to get into the car, kind of feel what the car is kind of like and having a great instructor, I actually felt more confident in my abilities, even though I just started driving," says Hailey.
Her instructor was Patty Evans, whose been teaching teens how to drive for 15 years.
"We know we're saving lives," says Patty. "There's no doubt about it. If you know what to do, you can prevent an accident."
Patty rode along with Hailey the whole way. She says most young drivers, including Hailey, really don't know what to expect.
"You want to have them make a mistake because they don't know where the edge is until they've crossed it," says Patty. "And so, with Hailey today, we found the edge a couple times, so that was great."
Hailey pushed the edge, and the thing is, it worked. She may have hit several cones the first go around. But sure enough, practice makes perfect.
"The more times you do it, the more comfortable you feel," she says.
Written by Adam Rasmussen
