I'm fresh from a performance driving class given by the Jim Russell racing school. The day took place at the gorgeous circuit Mont Tremblant. I found it really interesting to also hear recently that, we as human beings that love our cars, spend upwards of 3 years of our lives sitting in car. That's nearly 1,100 days!! There is no need then, to wonder why there are so many accidents and so many more near accidents. Too many people + too many cars + too few skills = disaster!
I feel like I'm constantly beating on the proverbial dead horse and worst of all, nothing will ever change. There is, though, a very limited, minute, near invisible ray of hope; those that participate in a driving school such as the one offered by Jim Russell. They want to learn how to drive.
Our chief instructor for the day, the well-known and well-versed in performance driving, Philippe Létourneau, gave us a very candid, straight-to-the-point theoretical lesson as to how a car and its components behave. Although the setting was a track, the real beauty is that everything he said also applies in everyday driving.
Class might be fun, but it's on the track where the lessons really come to life. Understeer, oversteer, tire grip limits, apexes, your eyesight, slow in, fast out and all sorts of other tips and tricks begin to make sense.
Quite wonderfully, the afternoon session occurred in spots of rain. Here, the game seriously changes.
It's incredible to see and realize, as you're lapping, what is actually taking place; the involvement between the car, the road and your brain.
But, you're sitting there thinking that you do not need driving lessons because you bought your driver's permit 37 years ago and have never had an accident. The only thing I can say to that, is spend a few hundred bucks on a school such as this (instead of on cigarettes or booze) and find out first hand how much you really have no idea how to drive.
They say ignorance is bliss, however becoming aware of your and your car's limits will make you more conscientious of what you're really doing and it might even save a life. Seriously.
I feel like I'm constantly beating on the proverbial dead horse and worst of all, nothing will ever change. There is, though, a very limited, minute, near invisible ray of hope; those that participate in a driving school such as the one offered by Jim Russell. They want to learn how to drive.
Our chief instructor for the day, the well-known and well-versed in performance driving, Philippe Létourneau, gave us a very candid, straight-to-the-point theoretical lesson as to how a car and its components behave. Although the setting was a track, the real beauty is that everything he said also applies in everyday driving.
Class might be fun, but it's on the track where the lessons really come to life. Understeer, oversteer, tire grip limits, apexes, your eyesight, slow in, fast out and all sorts of other tips and tricks begin to make sense.
Quite wonderfully, the afternoon session occurred in spots of rain. Here, the game seriously changes.
It's incredible to see and realize, as you're lapping, what is actually taking place; the involvement between the car, the road and your brain.
But, you're sitting there thinking that you do not need driving lessons because you bought your driver's permit 37 years ago and have never had an accident. The only thing I can say to that, is spend a few hundred bucks on a school such as this (instead of on cigarettes or booze) and find out first hand how much you really have no idea how to drive.
They say ignorance is bliss, however becoming aware of your and your car's limits will make you more conscientious of what you're really doing and it might even save a life. Seriously.