Photo By Sgt. Tabitha Bartley | A Marine attending the Street Survival Course drives around the constant-radius...... read more read more
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QUANTICO, Va. — The Traffic Safety Division at Quantico is looking for new ways to help Marines become more observant, understand the handling limits of their vehicle and how to control them.
Nearly 20 Marines participated in the Tire Rack Street Survival Course on May 11 and 12. This is the first time the course has been offered at Quantico. The Marines spent the day learning about the driver’s environment, driver’s vision, vehicle dynamics and how to handle a vehicle up to, at and beyond its limits of traction.
“This course prepares you to respond correctly in an emergency situation,” said Bill Wade, national program manager for Tire Rack Street Survival, a program founded by the BMW Car Club of America Foundation. “It’s going to show you what your car is going to do and how the car is going to react to certain situations. You get to teach yourself what it’s going to feel like right before it goes wrong.”
This course is similar to the motorcycle courses the Traffic Safety Branch offers. Students don’t just sit in the classroom to get a lesson. They drive in their own cars with an instructor.
Marines drove through a slalom course, straight-line braking course, braking and turning course, and a constant-radius skid-pad course during the morning portion of the training.
With each course the Marines were pushed to their limits by the instructors sitting in their passenger seat, telling the drivers to go faster and causing them to almost lose control. After completing each drill, the instructor discussed what the driver felt during the drill and what to improve the next time they drove through it.
“I didn’t think I was going to have so much fun,” said Cpl. Keith Elliot, administrative chief for Tenant Activities Company, Headquarters and Service Battalion. “I walked away with more confidence in myself and how to handle my vehicle.”
The course was originally designed for teenage drivers as a more hands-on drivers’ course than what teenagers were getting in high school. Because of the different audiences, there some adjustments made to the course. There may be more to come if the course is offered again, said Wade.
“We are looking for different ways for Marines to get hands-on training,” said John Waltman, the traffic safety manager for the Marine Corps. “Traffic accidents kill more Marines than anything else. We are hoping to can get feedback from this trial, make the adjustments we need to and have more courses available to the Marines.”
The biggest change Elliot wants to see is was less classroom time.
“Some of the classroom portion felt redundant,” said Elliot. “We are older than their normal audience and were able to pick up and understand what they said the first time. I felt I would have benefited more by spending more time driving.”
For information on the Street Survival course, visit their website http://streetsurvival.org. For information on drivers courses offered at Quantico, follow the link to the Traffic Safety Division.
| Date Taken: | 05.23.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2012 10:12 |
| Story ID: | 88871 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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