Westwood Graduates Aim to Get 'In Control' of Driving Skills

While Driver's Education courses provide aspiring young drivers the knowledge they need to hit the road, they aren't always getting all the skills they need to drive safely.

In particular, lessons given through Driver's Ed don't always portray how driver's should handle themselves if faced with certain emergency situations, such on-coming accidents, or skidding in inclement weather.

Now, some former Westwood High School students are taking the next step.

A number graduates from the 2010 Westwood High School graduating class have opted this summer to hone in on their driving safety skills through a program provided by In Control Crash Prevention Training in South Weymouth. They also get one added bonus – the courses are free.

"What we're doing is opening it up initially to seniors to have a free session," said Westwood High School Assistant Principal Sean Bevan. "It's set out as a large sized chunk of money where just about every kid in the senior class can take the class at no cost. Once all the seniors who take the course take it, all the leftover money will be available to other kids to take the course as well."

The program, Bevan said, has been funded in full, thanks to the Paul Hanley Memorial Fund, in honor of Hanley, a member of the 2010 graduating class who died this past winter in a car accident.

After Hanley's death, his family asked that friends and family send donations in his memory to their son's graduating class. A portion of those donations helped fund the Westwood All-Night Graduation Party, but the remainder was used to purchase a number of so that all graduating seniors could attend the In Control program, which normally costs $300, free of charge.

The program aims to reduce crash rates in new drivers by about 70 percent, and teaches young drivers how to respond to unavoidable emergency crash situations.

"Our program is basically designed to get (students) ready for their mistakes, or the mistakes of somebody else," said Greg Deems, a sales manager at In Control who works with the program.

"We do a closed-course," Deems said. "We put you off the road and put you in the situation so that the first time you experience the things, like the grinding, you're in a safe environment. And then, if it ever happens in the real world, you'll know what to do."

The drills offered through the course, which lasts about four-and-a-half hours, teach students how to properly position themselves if facing an accident or on-coming crash. The courses are offered to students at In Control's training facility at the South Weymouth Naval Air Station. Deems said those types of maneuvers are crucial skills students normally don't get in Driver's Ed. 

"There are so many things that have been taught incorrectly," Deems said. "Pumping the breaks is one of the worst things that you can do in an emergency, and it puts you in a dangerous situation every time you do it."

Instructors of the course – all of whom have racing backgrounds, Deems said – drive the first round of the drill to show students what should be done. Once students get behind the wheel, instructors sit in the passenger side to watch, but have no intention stop mistakes from being made.

"We're just kind of sitting there observing, to give you instruction, to let you make the mistake," Deems said. "To stop short of a mistake never really teaches you, so we want you to learn."

Students are allowed several chances to perform the drill until they master it, then once they get it right, the drill ends. The point, Deems said, is to avoid building overconfidence in students.

Moreover, Deems said he is impressed with the initiative he's seen from Westwood.

"I'm excited about the Westwood thing," Deems said. "It's more of a proactive approach. Unfortunately, they had a bad incident (at Westwood High School). It started with that and it got everyone to be proactive."

So far, the course has welcomed about 20 students from Westwood's 2010 graduating glass. Sarina Huang was one of those students, and chose to take the course before heading out for a trip to Europe. Huang said she noticed a clear difference between In Control's program and standard Driver's Education.

"Because of the differing goals, I wouldn't say that In Control was more or less effective than Driver's Ed; they are both extremely important," Huang wrote in an email to Westwood Patch, sent from the Czech Republic. "It exposed me to a new mentality and way of driving. In Control essentially prepared us to act quickly and wisely in emergencies."

Although the course is serious by nature, Huang said she was still able to conjure some fun and added enjoyment from the experience.

"Under everyday circumstances, I wouldn't dream of 'flooring' either the gas pedal or the brake pedal," she wrote. "I got to do both during the class."

Huang added that she feels more prepared to hit the road in a safe manner, and recommended anyone who is looking to strengthen their road skills and confidence should look to In Control's program.

"I feel more confident that I can make an intelligent, split-second decision in the case of any driving emergencies," Huang said. "I'm grateful for the opportunity."

For more information about In Control's programs, visit the In Control Crash Prevention Training website.