Up the cool factor by registering your new driver for a course given by real-life racecar drivers. Driver’s Edge travels the country to give daylong, hands-on training sessions. Teens discover firsthand what it feels like when antilock brakes kick in and then practice maneuvering out of a skid going 20mph. A bonus: the sessions are free, thanks to donations, grants and corporate sponsors like Bridgestone (driversedge.com).
Teens with busy schedules may need a flexible curriculum. For $189, Driver Ed in a Box (driveredinabox.com) sends videos, CD-ROMs and workbooks for home-study driver’s education. Parents administer the tests, so they know whether their teens are actually learning.
If your teen has authority issues, consider a driving school taught by police officers, like Maryland’s I Drive Smart (idrivesmart.com) and Washington state’s 911 Driving School (911drivingschool.com). Officers can tell chilling stories about what they’ve seen happen when kids break the law. And they can dispel common myths, like the one about getting ticketed for driving barefoot.
