MINI Offers Driving Courses for Distracted Teens

This year, the Miles Ahead program will include a session of driving courses dedicated to teaching teenagers how to drive safely, without being distracted by cellphones or any other factor.

The event will be held at the company's Regional Service Center and will include students from 3 nearby high-schools: Davidson, Bradley and Darby. Over the upcoming weekend, on May 4th and 5th, over 100 local area participants will take part in this course that will include a presentation of the dangers of driver distraction through presentations as well as driving a MINI vehicle on a “coned” course with a professional racecar instructor.

While driving the MINI vehicles around the course the drivers will be facing stressful situations that should imitate real-life scenarios, to see how they react and handle distractions while behind the wheel.

The complete setup of the course will include:

• Navigating a driving course with instructional road signs while counting backward outloud from 100 – students must read, recognize and follow all instructional signs on the course simultaneously -- research shows this cognizant effort is very similar to having a cell phone conversation
• Driving while wearing “Fatal Vision goggles” which simulate an alcohol blood level of intoxication at 0.06 – while technically a legal limit in most states, this minimal amount showcases to students how even a small level of alcohol in one’s blood can cause distraction
• Skid-pad demonstration performed by professional racecar instructor teaching students how to recover when a car spins out(

Wayne Orchowski, Chief Operating Officer for BMW Group Financial Services Regional Service Center was the promoter behind this community project and is more than anxious to teach the students about the dangers they expose themselves to when they are distracted behind the wheel.

“While safety and fun aren’t typically found in the same sentence, MINI vehicles can demonstrate both sides of the spectrum through our carefully constructed program for teens and their parents. By providing a unique driving experience to younger drivers, they can immediately feel the effects of the potential dangers and realize that the phone is not the only hazardous disruption while driving,” said Orchowski.