|
Press release of October 10, 2011
"Ford Driving Skills for Life"
training comes to BH-BL High School on October 12
 One
of only 2 locations in NY Capital Region
BURNT HILLS: Does driving while
drunk or driving while distracted really change
one's abilities behind the wheel?
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake high
school students will take part in simulations to
learn about this on Wednesday, October 12, when the back parking lot
of the BH-BL high school will be the site of a
national, award-winning teen safe driving program.
The Ford Motor Company is bringing
its hands-on "Driving Skills for Life" training to
only two Capital Region high schools this year as
part of a 30-city national training tour. In New
York state, BH-BL was selected to participate in the
program on Oct. 12, followed by Colonie Central High
School on Oct. 13.
In addition to a morning assembly
for roughly 600 BH-BL juniors and seniors, students
who are already licensed drivers will take part in
outdoor training modules behind the wheel of three
different Ford vehicles to improve their skills in
four areas: hazard recognition, vehicle handling,
space management, and speed management.
These hands-on training modules
include:
|
1. |
Evaluating their ability to drive around a
number of traffic cones in a Ford Focus with
and without distractions, similar to what
occurs in driving while texting. |
|
2. |
Driving a Ford Fiesta with and without
"fatal vision" goggles, which simulate
driving drunk. |
|
3. |
Learning how to recover from a skid, such as
occurs with black ice, behind the wheel of a
Ford Mustang. |
|
4. |
A tent full of other exercises, such as
one's ability to walk a straight line while
wearing the "fatal vision" goggles. |
Students who are licensed drivers will be taking the
training modules in five groups of 9 - 16 pupils
each throughout the day, starting at 7:55 AM and
ending at 3:25 PM.
The outdoor training activities mean that the
parking lot behind the school will be off-limits for
all regular parking, drop-offs and pick-ups on
Wednesday. Students who usually drive to school have
been asked to park at the Burnt Hills United
Methodist church across Kingsley Road from the
school.
High school principal Maryellen Symer notes that "We
are extremely excited to have the Ford team visit us
to talk about driving safety and responsibility.
It's an important message that needs to be shared
with our students."
BH-BL offers a semester-long course in Driver
Education, which is popular enough to be offered
three times a year (fall and spring semesters plus
summer school). Completion of the course means
students can receive a senior license at age 17 and
may result in a discount on their family's car
insurance policy. More information of this
course is available here.
Go to
High school homepage
Go to
District Homepage |
