In November of 2023, I had the privilege of participating in the 2023 GTA Tire Rack Street Survival School. This school teaches students how to handle their vehicles in unpredictable situations. Divided into in-class lessons and in-car sessions, the course was both fun and informative. I recognize how promoting something as “both fun and educational” sounds like a municipal library ad from the 90s, but this course genuinely taught me a lot while also providing a fun experience.
Driving to the course I wasn’t sure what to expect. Much like many of my counterparts, I had initially heard about this course from my father and had done no research prior to arriving at the event. Showing up to a BMW/Porsche Club event in a 2007 Passat, I thought I’d find myself an outsider of the group. To my pleasant surprise however, many different vehicles were at the event, from RAV4s to an orange VW Golf, to my parent’s plain Jane silver Passat. Upon showing up to the course I got myself a quick cup of complimentary coffee (it was 8 am on a Sunday and nothing beats free coffee) and got my tire pressure and wheelbolt torques checked by an official of the course. From there I was “off to the races” with my warmup coach, Phil.
Now I must preface this by stating that, at 20 years old, while I’ve had my license for a few years, I rarely drive as I live in the city and don’t own a car. This became quickly apparent in the warmup. One of the activities was to slam on the brakes of your car at a high speed to get a feeling for the ABS. Unfortunately for myself and my driver Phil, I drive slower than a tortoise on acid and it took a few tries for me to get up to speed and finally activate the ABS. Following this, students were put on a single slalom to practice their distance vision and get a feel for how their vehicle reacts in tight radius turns. From there all students were called inside for an official course introduction.
Students were introduced to their formal in-car coaches, given an overview of the course, and were split into groups; one group would go through in-class lessons while the others drove and then the groups would switch. I was put in the first classroom group and headed upstairs for my first in-class lesson. While some of the class was a refresher of what I had previously learned in driving school (gotta keep that insurance down) much of it was new and useful information pertaining to driving in unconventional conditions. Topics such as reducing tire pressure for increased traction, the effects of hydroplaning, and the best methods for driving in winter were informative to a relatively new driver such as myself, and I found it all very educational. Big thanks to my in-class instructors Les and Evan for the classroom sessions!
Following the in-class session, I headed out to the perennial Passat and got onto the driving course with my in-car instructor, Roger. I was assigned to start the course on the skidpad. Covered in feed corn to reduce traction, the skidpad let participants slide their car clockwise or counter-clockwise around one of two skidpads to feel how their vehicles handle in slippery conditions. In the trusty front-wheel drive Passat, getting past my previous inhibitions, I had some good rounds. During the starting few laps there was anticipated oversteer and understeer, but by the end I had the car under my control. This activity really put the handling of the car into perspective, and it was great to be able to carry out this exercise in a controlled environment. Hopefully I won’t have to experience those skids on the road, but I’m grateful I now know what to do if it ever happens. After the skidpad, we ventured to a double slalom (double the width of the warmup single slalom) which was a lot of fun and really allowed drivers to feel the roll of their car. I’ll admit I might have had too much fun on this particular course as I was told to drive with more control and tone down my speed on one of my laps but better to find your limits surrounded by professionals rather than on the road. Following the double slalom we were put on a crash avoidance course to test our reaction timing. I’m not going to spoil what this test entailed, but I’ll say the first few rounds were exhilarating. Take the course and find out for yourself, if nothing else the crash avoidance exercise was worth it.
In the afternoon, we participated in some further exercises to reinforce the skills learned in the morning, including a figure 8 skidpad and a combined skills exercise. In our last exercise, we tested our texting and driving skills to show how hard it is to text and drive safely. Put on a winding path, the objective was to drive the route while texting without hitting any cones. Students were first given a lead-follow through the course to get a feel for the path without texting, and then they were asked to complete a lap while texting. In all honesty I’m not sure what was worse; my texting or my driving. I hit too many cones to count, and the garbled mess of a text message I wrote would have English teachers rolling in their graves. Students were then given the opportunity to drive the winding course without texting to practice car control and vision. Compared to my previous cone-genocide, I hit far fewer cones while driving without my phone in my hand. Lesson learned: if you’re going to text, text – if you’re going to drive, drive.
Throughout this endeavour I had the chance to speak with a plethora of students also attending the course, and I didn’t hear a single negative comment on how it was being run. Everyone had a great time learning and practicing survival driving we otherwise would not be able to do in our day-to-day driving. I truly learned a lot both through the in-car and in-class sessions. The key takeaway was to use distance vision – all the time – in order to prevent an emergency. While I hope I won’t have any emergencies that require me to use any of the other skills I learned, I’m a more confident driver knowing I have them in my inventory. I would like to give a big thanks to my in-car coaches, Roger and Phil, as well as my in-class instructors Evan and Les for their great training as well as all the other volunteers who put on this course. It was truly a great experience.
Story By Kieron von Buchstab | Photography by Eshel Zweig
Click here for info on 2024 Street Survival School.
