My son and I attended recently, and our expectations were far exceeded. It’s not only about becoming a better driver, it’s also about the value of life. We were instructed by racecar drivers, people who know how to handle their cars, how to interact with the road, and how to drive so that everyone arrives safely. My son and I left the course as exponentially better drivers than we came in as. Personally I feel that after 25 years of driving, I now fully understand many driving skills that in the past I have only read about. And my son received years of experience in that one weekend, and more importantly, now has a better understanding of his own skill level. Highly recommended. These people actually care about your teen’s life.

My son Lewis and I took the two day course last month. I had a good idea of what the course would cover but I was shocked at how much more material was actually covered. The behind the wheel driving skills instruction was extremely thorough and each teen has at least 6 hours of in car time. The point of this course is not just helping our kids correct a car on the edge of control loss (or after loss of control) although it does spend a great deal of time working on these skills. The course helps develop attitudes and an awareness to help them prevent getting into trouble in the first place. There is a significant amount of time spent talking about making good decisions and keeping your head in the game while driving.
There were many topics that were covered during the course which I use in my daily driving and have tried to pass on to my son. Playing the “What if…” game is one of them and there was a lot of time spent explaining how to use it.
This course is truly an investment in our children’s lives. Although it can’t prevent my son from getting into an accident, it has given him a lot of tools to take with him when he is on the road.
At the end of the second day, each teen gets to demonstrate what they have learned with the parents riding in the back seat. I honestly was blown away at how well my son could control the car and how confident he was. Not over confident, but empowered.
This course really should be mandatory for teens. Although I honestly think that most parents need to take this course as well.

I attended this school recently and I really thought it was worthwhile. I learned many driving techniques that I would have never thought of myself! This school provides a great amount of in-car time, which many other schools do not. The Crown Victoria police cars that the school uses are great to learn the skills on! I have already put my knowledge from this school to good use in avoiding 2-3 crashes. This school goes in depth and really makes sure the students understand everything about controlling a car safely. I have been to other schools that seem to “skim” over important information. Teen Driving Solutions School includes all the important details. I think the school i worth the money! I would recommend the school to any parent with a teen driver.

My son, Adam, and I went through the class this past Saturday and Sunday and the course content and driving skills were learned were well above my expectations. Adam’s confidence and ability to drive within his limits increased 2 or 3 fold. Knowing what I know now I’d pay twice what I paid, and the ultimate payoff may actually be priceless.  Dave Ramsey

Absolute phenomenal two days. Excellent for parents and even better for teens. Teens learn to handle emergency situations confidently and skillfully. Teaches parents how to teach your learning driver. The staff absolutely cares for each and every individual be it student or parent. I saw a huge difference in my child’s skills and confidence. And it was fun! Lots of seat time for parents and much more for your learning driver… In addition, they learn how to change a flat tire, check all fluids, and what to do if stranded. I couldn’t endorse with more fervor.
Thanks to all the staff, your attention to detail amazes me.

My husband and I attended the teen driving solutions school the weekend of Memorial day with our daughter Natalie. It was so worth it and I feel that every single teen should be required to do so. This enabled her the driving skills that she would never have gotten anywhere else. It’s essential that we as parents provide all the tools necessary to protect our children.

We are so very grateful to the whole driving team, instructors, coaches, and everyone that volunteered and donated their time to help save my child’s life. We cannot thank you enough. We will do everything in our power to spread the word about how wonderful and important it is to invest in your children. There is no price tag that you can place on their life. I encourage any parent or teen reading this to please, please consider doing this for the sake of saving a life.

Sincerely,

Robert and Tina Matthews

I was in a few crashes, got a speeding ticket, and totalled a car. Then I enrolled and completed this driving course and it’s been over two years and I have not had a single automobile incident or ticket. Dan teaches you how to REALLY drive a car and know it’s limits. He teaches confidence and caution and I thank him and his team a million times.

This course should be mandatory for all teen drivers.

My son and daughter learned a tremendous amount and are safer drivers as a result. The staff are highly skilled and experienced drivers who are committed to reducing teen deaths due to MVA’s. From teaching how to handle a car in skid to avoiding over-correcting, their thoughtful approach gets to the heart of mistakes new drivers make in life or death situations.

This goes so far beyond the rudimentary Drivers Ed that is typically offered. And their data back up their claims—TDSS graduates are safer drivers. If this type of instruction was widespread, motor vehicle deaths would not be the public health issue they are today.

What’s more, I have been driving for 34 years and they taught me a lot. It was also a lot of fun and a great bonding experience with my teen. Please, please, please—enroll your child today. It may save their life.

I took my son as we all know that kids listen to others before they listen to parents. This two day school I believe taught me more than I ever imaged. My son learned what why and how but I learned how he thinks, which surprised me as he is my kid. Has he become a better driver, absolutely. He also now corrects me, which I need.

One of the best investments I ever made, for both of us.

If you don’t think your kids need this you are mistaken, you both need this training. It’s done professionally and with the ever present knowledge that we can not replace our kids but we can give them the skills to be the best they can be.

This program does it better than anything I have seen.

My son and I attended the TDSS course while he had his provisional license. I knew I was going to allow him to drive his younger sister to and from school. Obviously, it was critically important that they both made it wherever they went safely. It wasn’t only about my son, but also his sister.

There are a lot of things I can live without, but my children are far too valuable to have put them on the road without giving them any and all of the safety tools I could possibly find!

My son did not want to take the TDSS course. Once he completed it, he couldn’t thank me enough. He was truly grateful that I had invested in him. The TDSS team was phenomenal!

During the introduction, parents were told that if their child needed anything special, we should let them know. My son absorbs information quickly. He likes people who move quickly, talk quickly, etc. Vincent was paired with a superstar driver who made his experience amazing!! The confidence my son gained from TDSS is invaluable. Thank you TDSS!!!

I’m writing to thank you, Chuck, and the whole TDSS team for the hard work that you guys put in to making teens, and as you’ll read, parents safer when they’re on the road.

As crazy as the timing is, it’s true: On Thursday, October 19th I organized 40 friends to drive the full course at VIR. We had people from all over the East Coast and even two that flew over from England, just to have a private track day. I’ve never done that before, but it worked out wonderfully – we didn’t have a single car get damaged, the weather was great, and a whole new crop of people were exposed to the fun of motorsports.

Just a couple days later, on Monday, October 23rd at around 8 AM, I was driving on 29 North to Charlottesville, headed for the University of Virginia. I was in the interior lane, next to the median. About 5 miles south of Charlottesville, at Redhill Road, I looked at my 10 o’clock and I saw a pickup truck crossing the southbound lanes pretty quickly – and here is where all of your training and classes paid off – I literally thought to myself, “What would I do if that guy kept going… where would I go?”

And then, the classroom discussions about how cars transfer weight came to mind and I saw his truck “sit down”, instead of pitch forward. “Holy cow!” I thought, “… this guy is going for it, he’s going across all four lanes of 29 without stopping in the median!” I was now close enough to see his face and it was obvious he didn’t even see my car. He just barreled on, into my lane, accelerating. At this point, the “what if?” game paid off. I tapped the brakes, but did not stick them, and I moved the steering wheel just enough to switch lanes …but not so much as to slide into the ditch lined with trees.

He hit me full speed – I was going about 60, and he was going about 50, but that fraction of a second, and the resulting lane change, saved me from being hurt much more than I was. The full impact of his truck hit on the driver’s B pillar; in fact much of it, maybe 70%, was behind the B pillar. Had I stayed in the inside lane, and not played the “what if?” game, his pickup truck would’ve hit me square on the driver’s door. Would I have died? Probably not – the car did a great job of protecting me – but when they cut me out of the car and I was conscious, had no broken bones, and there was no blood… it was clear that the “what if?” game and the move to the other lane prevented me from being more significantly injured.

Today was my last physical therapy appointment. I missed over three months of work, but I’m getting better every week. In the end, it was just muscular damage from the impact. But in the February/March timeframe, when I couldn’t exercise, I couldn’t sleep, and I spent hours a day in PT …. it looked like I might not ever get better, and it was pretty discouraging

Anyway, I just wanted to send you the story and these pictures. I give you full freedom to use it in future classes if you think it would be of benefit to anyone. Suffice it to say, I’m grateful I took both of my kids to Teen Driving Solutions and I want you to know how much I appreciate what you do.

Sincerely,
John Ankeney

My son, Sam and I attended the TDSS class in July 2015. He had just received his license and had just turned 18. The class was an absolute eye-opener for him and was able to teach things I couldn’t legally or practically do on the street. I had to learn them on my own by trial and error. Things such as the skid pad demonstrating over/under steer effects and emergency maneuvers at speed on the track. Being able to conduct those events and others increased not only Sam’s confidence behind the wheel but also mine in his abilities to react properly in an emergency situation.

With a solid foundation and the addition of TDSS, he has never been involved in an accident and as far as I am aware has never had a ticket. The parent classes were also useful and provided discussion points between parents and kids. Getting the parents behind the wheel was a bonus and showed how bad habits can crawl into daily activities. When Sam’s younger sister is ready, I’ll be back with her. Thank you.

I brought my son to this course 5 years ago, just after him getting his license. Not only did he walk away from the class with some great driving skills that will last forever, so did I. These professionals took the time to teach and show both the parents and the children techniques that are important to everyone. I hope that in 4 years I will be able to bring my youngest daughter to this course so that she can learn from the best. Thank you for everything you have done for my son Devin and for all the young drivers (and us old ones too).

Wow.  I don’t think I’ve walked away from a program of any type with such immense respect for the people who run it and the final product as I have for TDSS.  This group is SPOT ON in its curriculum and its implementation.

They’re absolutely committed to their mission, and it shows.  The instructors know how to talk to teens and how to appeal to them.  On top of that, they know how to drive, and they know how to drive well.   My daughter walked away from this program with new driving skills and with an *appropriate* confidence level.  I walked away with new skills to work with my teen as she navigates this huge responsibility we call driving.  I simply cannot ive it enough praise.  Worth the investment, many times over. ~ Kristy Bivens Hansen

Life changing experience for my son AND for me.  I’ve never driven the same since.  Elsie Kappler

My 16 year old son and I attended this past weekend  This was a real eyeopener.  I wasn’t expecting this much training and was so pleased.  Everyone on the staff was amazing and really cared about us.  You could tell that they are very passionate about this cause and come with a lot of experience and knowledge.  I recommend this to every driver.  ~ Kathleen Volk Kirk

Absolutely the best $ we spent on my kid’s education so far!  We drive every day!  And take it for granted that our kids received a good enough “drivers’ ed” at their school when, in fact, they did NOT – drivers’ ed does not prepare kids for the road!

Teen Driving Solutions School is run by the most passionate and caring people and I was so impressed with the entire weekend course  My kids learned how it feels to drive on ice and rain and even know how to maintain their cars!  So much great information shared and we had a BLAST!  Really fun to drive the cars on the course (parents too!).  Can’t say enough about the weekend.  ~ Debbie Long

“I recently signed my 16 year old daughter up for Teen Driving Solutions. The instructors were very knowledgeable and friendly. The classroom and hands-on was the best driving experience that I had seen at VIR. My daughter is more confident in her driving skills since she attended the Teen Driving Solutions. I would recommend the class to everyone.” ~ David Crumpton, Director of Emergency Services Virginia International Raceway

I can’t express enough my appreciation for all the work you all put into this weekend. It was amazing to watch Camyns transformation over the weekend. I too learned so much that I have already started applying to other relationships in my life. I also appreciate the opportunity to speak to the participants. I received several inquiries while there that I am confident will lead to sales. ~ Thanks again, Miles Huneycutt

Dr.Dar, I wanted to thank you for your time this weekend. It truly was insightful and I have already started implementing listening skills to my relationships. I truly believe that you have not only helped me with my daughters, but have also helped my relationship with my spouse. The “un-communicated expectations ALWAYS leads to disappointment” particularly hit home. ~ Miles Huneycutt

Thank you so much for this program. My daughter went through this at VIR and I highly recommend it for every teen and every parent. She had not wanted to drive because of a death of a very close friend at 16 and your program taught her to feel so confident about her driving. ~Thank you so very much for your program. ~ Wanda Purdy

“After learning about a recent tragedy in Wake Forest the week before graduation (3 teens were killed in a high speed crash) I want to do everything that I possibly can as a parent to protect the welfare of my daughter. The price is a small price to pay to protect our children. We’re already signed up…can’t wait.” ~ David Melhado (Raleigh, NC)

Just want to take a quick moment to say thank you for what you do. I took your class with my husband and daughter. I learned so much from that class it saved my life and the young girl that hit me. Because of what I was taught I saw her and was able to move left before the impact which really saved her more than me. A young girl went threw the stop sign. But I saw the whole thing before it happened and reacted. Thank you so much for what you guys do…you do save lives!

Two days ago (Sunday the 21st) we returned from a two day class where as you know, my daughter attended your school for the second time. (after being involved in a serious accident in which was not her fault so the second time around was to build confidence after being in such a traumatic accident). This morning on her way to school, she was passing a road that dead ends into the road she was traveling on. Apparently a car was approaching from the right and decided it either wasn’t necessary to stop at the stop sign and wait for traffic before turning right or simply didn’t see the stop sign. In either case, the car slid through the stop sign and entered her lane IMMEDIATELY at the point my daughter was driving by. She was aware of her surroundings and instinctively swerved her Jeep and drove around the eminent danger she was about to encounter. When she came home, she was a bit shaken but you could see her enthusiasm as she explained how she used the correct steering technique to defensively drive her Jeep.

I can honestly say if it weren’t for the skills she learned and practiced on the track at Teen Driving Solution, she would have fallen victim to yet another accident which was not her fault. I thank you for teaching the skills that prevented my daughter from yet another mishap. As a parent, I urge other parents to consider that what our children learn in driver’s education classes in this country is simply not enough and where they leave off, Teen Driving Solution picks up the slack. My sincerest THANKS! ~ Mark Mahoney, Charlotte, NC

This school taught me a lot! I was very impressed with all of the instructors. A great amount of information is taught at this school and I will never forget it! This school is a major step up from a standard drivers ed class. This school teaches you the best ways to control a car, which is very good information to know. I would recommend this school to any new driver, even if it means travelling out of the way to get there.

This is such a great course. More than worth any effort to attend. My parents took me here, and I can truthfully say that it is amazing. You get to experience panic situations in a controlled environment with a racecar driver beside you and learn what to do, learn how to plan ahead for possible situations while driving, and bring your skill level higher than your confidence level. Again, amazing course with amazing, dedicated, motivated staff (most of whom are volunteers who really care about us teens) totally a must for every single teen who wants to live.

My name is Skye and I volunteer for TDSS because I have seen time and time again the positive changes it has made in so many lives.

Almost five years ago, I went through the program myself, and it gave me the confidence and skills that I use every time I am on the road. Being someone who went through the program not long ago, I know how these teens feel, and what I can do or say that will help them build their own confidence and skills.

I absolutely love what this program stands for and how it helps teens and their communities, and I will be forever grateful for how they helped me.