Intro to DE has changed a bit

[saucerman]

read here for more details

[larrybard]

Looks like a great improvement. Though I wonder why the instructor doesn't drive the very first lap or two.

[saucerman]

where does it say that?

After arriving at the track and completing registration, your one-day Driver's Education experience will start with taking your car to Grid Tech” where you will learn what safety issues are looked at before allowing a car on the race track. After this, you will attend the mandatory driver’s meeting with all drivers to review specific aspects of the event with the Track Chair; driving direction, passing rules, flags, etc. After that, you will attend an informative introductory classroom presentation about Driver's Education, safety, and the skills and knowledge required for driving your car at high speed on a racing surface. The next step in your introductory experience will have an RTR instructor join you in the right seat of your car for your 1st session at speed. You will be on the track with other beginning students and the instructor will teach you how to safely drive your car at speed. Over the course of the day you will have 3 additional sessions on the track allowing you and your instructor to refine and improve your driving technique. After your second driving session you will return to the classroom for additional car control theory and to have any questions your on track experience may have raised.

[larrybard]

So you're saying that everyone will be in right hand drive vehicles?

As you correctly note (and emphasize with boldface type), the description specifically says that the instructor will be sitting in the right seat, correct? Not to belabor the point, but in my car that's the passenger seat, necessarily implying that the student, not the instructor, will be driving (unless the instructor has very long legs and arms, etc.).

Yes, more seriously, I realize that stating the general expectation that the student will be driving for 4 sessions doesn't preclude the excellent practice of having the instructor start out behind the wheel, to show the student "the line," etc. However, I was simply implying that it might be useful, in the DE description, to let prospective students know that would most likely be the practice.

[Marty Kocse]

So you're saying that everyone will be in right hand drive vehicles?

As you correctly note (and emphasize with boldface type), the description specifically says that the instructor will be sitting in the right seat, correct? Not to belabor the point, but in my car that's the passenger seat, necessarily implying that the student, not the instructor, will be driving (unless the instructor has very long legs and arms, etc.).

Yes, more seriously, I realize that stating the general expectation that the student will be driving for 4 sessions doesn't preclude the excellent practice of having the instructor start out behind the wheel, to show the student "the line," etc. However, I was simply implying that it might be useful, in the DE description, to let prospective students know that would most likely be the practice.

Hi Larry - right hand drive... too funny!
I understood what you meant and I think maybe that might be a good idea specifically for "Intro to DE". I will bring it up at the next Speed Council meeting and see what the Chief Instructors and the rest of the crew think. Thanks for the suggestion.
Marty Kocse, RTR Track Chair

[Phokaioglaukos]

Larry is such a CARD!

Some instructors are loathe to drive a student's car at all, and others are eager to do so. I fall into the "really rather not" camp in case some mechanical issue arises or other unpleasantness. Particularly at a track as short as Pocono North I have not had an issue with a student not finding the basic line reasonably quickly.

When I want to show a student something particular, I offer a ride in my car (if it's at the track).

[betegh9]

The point of driving a student's car one lap, is not to see how fast you are in a foreign car, but to show in less words the line and car position on the track. This is usually done at a lower speed than the student would drive.