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Michelle, 15, started racing in 1992 in Quarter Midgets, pint-sized versions of the indy-style cars popular at the top levels of racing. She’s been successful as she’s progressed up the rungs of racing’s ladder, and today competes in “Legend” cars, scaled-down NASCAR stockers. Michelle is the only woman to have won feature races at both Lowe’s Motor Speedway and the Atlanta Motor Speedway, and became the only woman to win a championship in Legends’ history with her title in Atlanta Motor Speedway’s “Thursday Night Thunder Racing Series.” There’s another side to Michelle: She’s an Honor Student at Milton High School.

Reed, also 15, attends Woodward Academy and has an impressive racing resume’ as well. He started in Quarter Midgets too, winning a sportsmanship award in his initial year and several championships – he was a nine-time Southeastern Champion in three divisions and held 15 track records in the U.S. and Canada. Reed has over 2650 victories in his career and was National Quarter Midget Champion in 1997. He’s now moved up to NASCAR’s “Late Model” stock car series, where he’s one of the youngest drivers.

Now that Reed and Michelle have their Georgia Learner’s Permits, one would assume that all this racing experience must make driving on Georgia’s streets and highways easy for them, but both Reed and Michelle agree that it’s actually harder to drive on the street. Reed says, “You don’t know anybody you’re with – you don’t know if the guy beside you is drunk, or if the guy behind you has brakes or not. You have to watch all around you. On the track you know the guy you’re racing, and you know what’s going to happen when you go into the corner. On the street you have absolutely no idea.” Michelle echoes Reed’s thoughts: “I feel so much safer when I’m racing. You know the people, you know what to expect of them. On the road you don’t know what that guy is going to do, you don’t know how much experience he has. You have to drive much more defensively on the road.”

Both agree on another point: while there are some distractions on the track, they are few compared to driving on the street. Reed recalls that he was driving with some friends, and his cell phone rang. “I have to admit I did zone out for a bit, and before I knew it I had almost missed my exit, and had to slam on my brakes. People don’t realize how much you zone out when you’re on the phone.” Michelle adds “You subconsciously do it; it’s not something you realize you’re doing.”

And it’s not just cell phones; changing CDs or the radio station, talking to friends in the back seat or other distractions can create problems. “It’s not like on the track,” says Michelle. “In a race, you really have to concentrate. On the road, there are so many more distractions, and you don’t realize that you’re not paying full attention to your driving.”

Both Michelle and Reed have been driving for more than half their lives. When asked the most important thing they’ve learned from that experience, something which would help their friends, each had some very specific advice. Michelle: “You don’t ever know what to expect from the other person on the road. Don’t assume they’re going to do anything!” Reed’s advice? “Learn what your car can do. I know kids who have just turned 16, and think they’re great drivers, and they really have no idea. My advice is to really learn how to drive.”

We’ll hear more from Michelle and Reed in the future, as they face the same problems any teens face with new drivers’ licenses, new responsibilities, and new challenges. The experiences both have gained from racing, though, have provided them with the insights to help other teens become better — and safer –drivers. Reed and Michelle will share those insights through this website. We hope that your will find them useful as you face those same responsibilities and challenges as a new driver.

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Driving a car is an activity that takes constant attention to all your surroundings, such as weather, road conditions, and other traffic. Believe it or not, a passenger sets the attitude of the driver. Of course, all the occupants will talk to each other and that includes the driver. Conversation can cause the driver to take his attention off the road and that can lead to a severe accident, an accident which could have been avoided. Looking away from the road can cause the driver to run off the roadway and in an effort to get back on the road the driver snatches the wheel and/or applies the brakes, which causes a loss of control. The car then begins to slide sideways into the path of oncoming traffic. Many accidents occur this way because we instinctively jerk the steering wheel and brake in a panic situation. Also if the driver takes his attention off the roadway, he could hit the car in front of him if it stops at a traffic light or stops for some other type emergency.
Being the passenger in a car, you can do several things to help the driver keep his attention on the road. You can adjust the radio or CD controls, climate control for the air conditioner, talk on the cell phone for the driver and a host of other things. Let’s say you are headed to Panama City and the driver starts getting sleepy. Change drivers or at least get him to stop for a short break.

I hope all of you have a safe summer and look forward to your responses.

Lane Tyson, Gwinnett County Police
Posted July 15, 2002

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Along with his wife, Lucy, Byers is among nearly a dozen parents taking one Saturday to show his two daughters the essentials of safe driving skills. “I don’t think you could give enough training to anyone,” he said of the decision to take his daughters – Emily, 17 and Rachel, 15 – to a Fear This, Inc. course at Year One in Braselton.

The non-profit organization is now holding monthly eight-hour courses in Braselton for teens and parents. Highlighting the need to educate inexperienced and often fearless teen drivers, Fear This, Inc. offers classroom training, a maintenance workshop, and behind-the-wheel courses.

And its mission stems from the loss of 16 teenagers through driving accidents in metro Atlanta during a four-month period. Jackson County has also lost about 10 teenagers in driving-related accidents since 1997. Woodrow Gaines, one of the instructors teaching young drivers for Fear This, Inc., says the program offers something that traditional driver’s education classes don’t provide.

“We teach what’s not taught at basic driver’s education classes, as far as controlling the car,” he said. “Driver’s education is just the basics, we are more advanced.”

Although the Jackson County Board of Education funds a semester-long driver’s education class, the program doesn’t offer the advanced behind-the-wheel experience that’s available through Fear This, Inc., Byers said. The school program also risks being trimmed, due to budget cuts, he added. Fear This, Inc. courses are designed and taught by law enforcement officers. Cpl. Lane Tyson of the Gwinnett County Police Department was one of the officers helping students on Saturday.

The courses aren’t just designed for teenagers, they’re also intended to bring parents and students together. Parents are encouraged to be driving coaches, Gaines said. Georgia law states new drivers must have behind-the-wheel experience with adults.

When parents and students enroll for a Fear This, Inc. course, their first lesson includes a two-hour classroom session on driving laws. A maintenance workshop explains how teens can keep their vehicles safe. Gaines said the maintenance workshop is another element of the course that is highlighted by tragedy. One teenager lost her life when she didn’t understand the importance of inflating her tires.

“Because she didn’t know, it took her life,” Gaines said. The course, usually about 10 students and their parents for each session, also provides five behind-the-wheel exercises that teach accident avoidance. Perhaps the hardest exercise to maneuver is the cone course, a course designed to teach students about vehicle dynamics and the elements of turning in tight spots.

Once students and parents walk the cone course, teen drivers navigate the narrow turns with precision while instructors guide them through the challenging course. It’s not uncommon to see traffic cones beneath tires or view drivers carefully making each turn.

Another exercise is the faster “serpentine course,” where student drivers whip around a line of cones while learning steering techniques. The threshold breaking exercise allows teen drivers to learn how anti-lock brakes feel and to stop safely in an emergency situation, Cpl. Tyson said. Obstacle avoidance is the key element of the evasive maneuvering exercise and the off-road recovery exercise teaches students to safely return their vehicles to the road, should something happen, he added.

“You can tell a difference when they first come out,” Cpl. Tyson said of the teen drivers’ confidence levels rising during the day-long course. Byers said not only have his daughters learned a great deal, but he’s learned a thing or two himself.

“It’s been a good personal experience for me,” he said. His only regret, he said, is that he wishes the course was available when his older daughter was getting her driver’s license permit. His younger daughter will turn 16 in May.

Despite Emily Byers already having a driver’s license, she enrolled for a Fear This, Inc. course. Likewise, 18-year-old Brian Kern said he thought he would learn more about driving from the course.

“I just wanted to learn how to drive better,” the Snellville Christian Academy student said.

Most of the students at the Braselton course are Jackson County residents, but Year One’s location has meant many other teen drivers from metro Atlanta have attended, Gaines said. Byers said he recommends the course for all upcoming teen drivers and their parents. The next course for Fear This, Inc. will be offered Saturday, March 13. Organizers are hoping the program will be available twice a month at Year One. The course is $125 and pre-registration is required.

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By Andria Simmons
andria.simmons@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE. After hearing countless media reports about fatal crashes involving inexperienced teenage drivers, Woodrow Gaines decided it was time to do something about it.
Gaines Centerville-based nonprofit organization, Fear This, was born last August out of a perceived need for ongoing driving educational programs for teenagers.
“We give our kids a license, send them out the door and then forget about them”, said Gaines.
In Gwinnett County, 105 teens were killed in motor vehicle accidents since 1990, according to Gaines. Fear This aims to increase teen driving awareness by offering a variety of programs.
One such program is a driving maintenance course, which lasts two hours and teaches youths how to assess brakes, tires and fluids in the car.
Another offering is a daylong road course taught by Gwinnett County Police driving instructor Det. J.L. Tyson also teaches important driving tips to avoid common mistakes.
Number one is just to slow down, said Tyson.
Another thing is they have a tendency to want to tailgate, or not pay attention as far as their surroundings and other vehicles around them.
Tyson’s class includes a serpentine cone course, which teaches teens basic maneuvering skills, and a precision course which familiarizes students with where the four corners of the car are in relation to the driver’s seat. Tyson also teaches threshold braking, a technique used when anti-lock braking systems fail.
Fear This is finalizing a partnership with Year One Inc. in Braselton, which has agreed to allow the road course to be set up on their property, Gaines said.
Gaines is also setting up what he hopes will be the first of many chapters inside Georgia schools at Shiloh High School. The chapters will combine students, faculty and local law enforcement volunteers to promote awareness of driving safety to the student body all year long. The chapter will present programs at the school with guest speakers and offer driving technique demonstrations, Gaines said.
Other upcoming events include a car show Sept. 28 at Dave & Busters in Duluth, which will include safety and educational exhibits, and a fund-raising golf tournament Oct. 21 at Trophy Club of Gwinnett in Snellville.

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