Learning to Handle Your Mercedes:
The Most fun you can have with your clothes on!
As Mercedes owners we are well aware of the crash / safety technology that goes into each car. DaimlerChrysler AG is famous for its achievements in the realm of passive safety. That is, the design of the vehicle to protect occupants in the event of a collision. Most of us are not aware of the active safety features designed into our Mercedes Benz automobiles. By active safety, we mean the dynamic handling characteristics that give the driver confidence in the car’s prowess and the driver’s ability to potentially evade an emergency situation or collision. Mercedes Benzes do handle beautifully, with responsive steering and outstanding braking ability. Most owners probably never experience the car’s full capability, nor develop confidence in their own ability to use that performance. That is why we offer Advanced Driving Skills, also referred to as Defensive Driving.
Our goals are simple; share our knowledge of driving at a level not readily available to the average driver. After driver’s education, way back in high school, most of our learning stops except when we experiment on our own. Through this class we offer an opportunity for students, our members, to learn and hone their car control skills in a controlled environment, such an empty parking lot. Improving real-world driving is our focus, and creating better drivers is the key.
How do we do this? We offer a course of instruction that starts with a classroom session, about an hour or so. This is followed by in-car instruction for each student the next day. In the classroom session, we discuss aspects of vehicle dynamics and related topics, as well as outlining some of the skills that we’ll focus on when we get behind the wheel.
The following day is when the fun REALLY begins. Before you get started with the in-car instruction, your car must pass a simple safety inspection, just to make sure the wheels won’t fall off, the battery is secure, and we also want to make sure there are no loose items in the car or trunk that could be a distraction. Before arriving please remove cd’s, cell phones, and unsecured items in your car and trunk, etc. Your spare tire and secured items are ok.
The instructors will set up several exercises for students to complete using orange traffic cones. These exercises include slalom, braking exercise, evasive maneuver, constant radius curve, and others. Students are led through these with an in-car instructor at the driver’s own pace. Speeds slowly increase as they learn the limits of their cars and their confidence level increases.
This might sound rather dangerous, but in fact it is not. The speeds rarely exceed 40 mph. Your Mercedes-Benz is designed to handle all that we do and a great deal more, so you need not worry for your car. These exercises may result at worst in modestly accelerated tire and brake wear, but this is generally unnoticed. Tires and brakes wear simply by driving the car.
Indeed, ALL cars are designed to handle these exercises; the differences are only in degree. Your average SLK or Boxster sports car will be more responsive than an ML320 or Dodge Caravan. This can be done by anyone in any type of car. We encourage members to bring the car that is driven daily, Mercedes-Benz or not, particularly for their first time out. The skills emphasized will be most useful in the car that is driven most often. This school is offered annually, so if your Mercedes-Benz isn’t your daily driver we strenuously encourage you to take this course more than once, and experience it with all your vehicles. You might well be surprised; there really are differences between makes and models. And some insurance companies have been known to offer discounts for the successful completion of this course.
This is not a racing school and not designed to create the next crop of drivers for West McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 Team. The goal is to create a more aware, confident, and skilled driver for the street. Much of what is spoken and emphasize behind the wheel IS applicable to driving competitively, and indeed is a foundation for it.
After completing Defensive Driving, you have the opportunity to put those skills to practical use. Elements from Defensive Driving are linked together in a semi-competitive event called Autocross. Autocross is the most fun you can have in a car with your clothes on. For your instructors, it really is the truth.
Autocross is a timed event at relatively slow speeds, where the driver competes against the clock on a course marked out with orange traffic cones. The object is to make it through the course in the lowest time possible, without missing a portion of the course or knocking over cones. Time penalties are assessed for going off course or punting a cone. Even the most experienced autocrossers have done this and continue to do so, so don’t let it scare you away. An instructor will go with you to help you learn the course and have fun with your Mercedes.
The course is designed by experienced autocrossers to challenge the car control skills of the participants, and challenge the handling, acceleration, and braking abilities of their cars. This is done in the safe controlled environment of a large parking lot, with nothing to hit but the cones. Speeds are kept low; generally less than 50 mph and often cars do not exceed second gear.
This is a form of motorsport that is accessible to everyone. Ladies, you too can have fun and give the guys some competition. We have participants with many years of autocross experience, and we have youngsters for whom the ink is barely dry on their shiny new driver’s license. Anyone can do it in any car, and everyone has fun. On most courses, a run will last less than a minute. But it is one of the most intensely focused minutes that you will ever experience. It is an excellent way to learn just what your car is capable of and what you can do with it.
The requirements are simple: Before you get started with the in-car instruction, your car must pass a simple safety inspection, just to make sure the wheels won’t fall off, the battery is secure, and we also want to make sure there are no loose items in the car or trunk that could be a distraction. Again we ask that you please remove cd’s, cell phones, unsecured items in your car and trunk, etc. before arriving at the site. Your spare tire and secured items are ok. You must wear a helmet rated SA95 or Snell95 or newer. Regular participants generally own their own helmets, and the club also has several loaner helmets for these events.
What we offer to autocross participants is just the tip of the iceberg. Should you find yourself addicted to this sport like the instructors, there are other clubs, other venues, other schools, and specific equipment that can greatly increase your enjoyment of the sport.
We have a great group of Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts who love their cars and their club. Your instructors are particularly afflicted, and there is no cure. But this is to your benefit, as the only therapy for the affliction is to spread it! Thanks to this enthusiasm, the whole club may benefit from their knowledge. There are no egos to be bruised, only knowledge and confidence to be gained. Trust them, nothing make them happier than to see their students drive their cars with confidence and enjoyment, secure in the knowledge that they have learned more about car control than they knew before. And the confidence that comes with learning just what an impressive car your Mercedes-Benz really is. Come on out, have some fun with the car, and punt a few cones!
Greg Buechler, Director, Co-Chair Driver Education Committee
Len Wolford, Treasurer