Kids Taught to Survive the Drive

Prior to the opening of school, the Brewster District, which has had its share of tragedies involving teenaged driving in recent years, coordinated a mandatory meeting for senior parking privileges at BHS that was attended by some 350 teens and their parents.

Guest speaker was Bob Green— a man who organized a nationwide movement called “Survive the Drive,” which teaches teens what to do and what not to do behind the wheel.

The numbers are astonishing. Last year more than 450,000 teens were involved in car crashes nationwide, with 5,000 young people killed.

Green said while such numbers were sobering, “they don’t reflect the innocent people involved in teen crashes or the tragic impact on the families or friends of a dead teenager.”

Green’s life has been dedicated to teaching professional race car drivers how to win. With the tremendous influx of teenaged driver death on America’s highways, Green has changed his focus in recent years to teaching young drivers how to survive.

Putnam Sheriff Don Smith said inexperience and immaturity were the two reasons why teen drivers are more likely to become involved in a crash. Green agreed, telling the seminar: “You are 17 years old. For the first time, a small mistake you make behind the wheel of a 4,000-pound weapon can have catastrophic consequences.”

Green asked: “You think you are a good driver just because you passed a brief driver’s test? You are suffering from delusions of adequacy!”

Green explained: “If your head hits the steering wheel at 28 mph, that’s the same effect as dropping a pumpkin off a three story building. What’s going to happen to that pumpkin when it hits?”

Green noted that most people believe an airbag to be a soft pillow: “They see it on television in slow motion. It is not a soft pillow. It goes off with explosive force—the force of a shotgun shell—right in front of your face.”