Tough Driver Ed Could Save Teen Lives

A few states have just increased the driving requirements for teens; Massachusetts is one of them.

It's there that The Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen found a driving school that goes way beyond driver's ed. Some experts say that's exactly what kids need.

Sixteen-year-old Tyler Hayes just got his driver's license and we wanted to see his skills first hand, so he and his parents agreed to let us put a camera in his car.

While being taped, our camera captured him driving with one hand, talking on his cell phone and busy reading directions.

Eighteen-year-old Sarah Semel and her parents also allowed us to record her every move in the car.

While she took rides, our camera captured her chatting on the phone, driving with no hands and even putting on makeup. At one point, Sarah even covered the camera so we couldn't see what she is doing. We showed the tape to her father, Scott.

Asked what he thinks of her driving technique, Scott Semel said, "I think it's — it looks like it's not very focused. And it looks unsafe."

Tyler's parents weren't totally impressed with his skills, either.

"A little changing of the radio station, I believe," Tyler chimed in, laughing.

"That's a lot of time to change a radio station," his mother, Nancy, remarked.

Concerned that their kids didn't get enough out of their driver's ed class, Tyler's and Sarah's parents enrolled them in a special driving class.

In Control Advanced Driver Training is a school that pairs teens with race car drivers. During the course, they do things like slam on the brakes going 60 mph, and they learn how to make emergency lane changes.

"They should take a defensive driving class where they know how to stay safe, they can control the car at real world speeds, because the question isn't are they going to get into trouble, but when," warned Ian Wallis, co-founder of In Control Advanced Driver Training.

There are five drills in all, designed to help kids avoid their most common accidents, like rear end collisions. In one exercise, the kids are supposed to stop behind the lead vehicle.

They're distracted on purpose. In this exercise, not one teen driver was able to stop in time — imagine if they were tailgating

Jack Carr came to the driving course with his daughter, Ryan. Three years ago he lost his eldest son in a car accident.

"We're in a lonely club that no one wants to be in," Jack said. "And I'll guarantee you that anyone in that club will never be the same."

Brendan Carr died less than a mile from home. He lost control and hit a tree. The seatbelt and airbags couldn't save him.

"But when something like that happens, when you lose control of a car and you don't know how to get out of it, just to slam the brakes on, he didn't know how to, to deal with it. And it cost him his life," said Brendan's mother, Colleen.

The Carrs believe classes like this one need to be mandatory.

While on the course, Sarah Semel knocked out several cones when trying to make an emergency lane change.

"I'm hoping that she'll pay attention to what they told her today about how quickly things can happen to you and how easy it was to be distracted," said her father, Scott. "And what the repercussions are — instead of hitting cones, you're hitting cars or people."

For Tyler, the class was humbling.

"I think I'm a much better driver than I was at the start of the class, but now I don't think I'm a good driver. But I'm definitely a better driver than when I came in here," he said.

The In Control class costs $300, with a discount for additional family members. The parents say it's worth every penny. Tyler's dad even took the class with him.

There are other driving schools like this in other parts of the country. The average price for these types of classes is $500.

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