How can you teach drivers the feeling of helplessness one gets when the car they are tailgating slams on the brakes and their car crashes into it? How can drivers experience the consequences of going too fast into a curve? How can drivers feel what its like to lose traction to the vehicle's tires? How
do you teach having only a fraction of a second to correct the fishtailing
car after hitting a patch of black ice? How can we motivate a change in the
high-risk driver? How can we shape drivers' perceptions of risk?
Our Skid Training can demonstrate all of the above listed situations
very effectively, without leaving the parking lot! And, without traveling any
faster than 15 mph! This is a powerful tool for prevention education. The Skid
Monster (as the device is called), an invention of Professor Frederik Mottola,
replaces the rear tires of a front-wheel drive car with two sets of castering
wheels that are bolted to the rear tire lugs.
While the car may be traveling only
15 mph, the castering wheels simulate driving four times that speed! The
Skid Monster can simulate what happens when speed is too fast for road conditions
or for traffic situations. The Skid Monster can handle just like a normal
car until the instructor flips a switch to release the casters, and then
the car, if it is mismanaged, becomes a MONSTER. The idea is to show how
easy it is to keep the car in control as compared to getting it back in control
once it becomes a monster.
Elizabeth Taylor from Edmonds, Washington, who has trained
over 3000 students and their parents in the Skid Monster, states: "The Skid
Monster puts every driver on a level playing field, so to speak. It does
not play favorites. For the brand new, never-steered-a car student, learning
is accelerated ten times. What may take an hour to learn in a 'normal' instruction
vehicle takes 10 minutes to learn in the Monster. It graphically illustrates
the need to value, develop, nurture, and ultimately ingrain in the driver
low-risk driving habits such as: Accurate targeting. Balanced hand position.
Efficient steering technique. Smooth, gradual starts and stops. Awareness
of targeting path, roadway conditions and camber. Wise speed selection when
approaching turns and curves. Trail braking for balanced stops and turns.
Prudent lane position choices. A four-second following time. And, skid recognition
and recovery techniques are a bonus."
Students will be scheduled to go in groups of 3. The duration of the sessions will be 45 minutes (or 30 minutes if only 2 students are available).
The Skid training classes are held on certain Saturdays at the Edmonds School District Home School Resource Center & Renton Technical College. Please contact our office for specific dates and times.
