OAK CREEK — A special driving course in Oak Creek is giving teenage drivers skills they won't learn in a standard driver's ed class.
The Street Survival course at MATC's Oak Creek Campus teaches students how to handle their cars in emergency situations, according to organizer Charles Caliendo.
"We're teaching students how to handle their car in what you might call an emergency situation. They don't have to be good at any of it the first time, but by the time they leave, they're going to be good at all of it, having practiced all of this stuff dozens of times," Caliendo said.
WATCH: Street Survival course at MATC Oak Creek teaches teen drivers emergency skills
Students work through exercises like emergency braking, which involves flooring the accelerator and then hitting the brakes as hard as possible.
I tried it myself. It's harder than it sounds.
Caliendo said most drivers are underprepared for emergency situations behind the wheel.
Emlyn Schuster took the course a few years ago and said the experience stuck with her long after she left the course.
"This was like really good for me, learning different maneuvers and learning how to drive in different conditions and how to use my brakes, and it also got me to get to know my car personally better," Schuster said.
Franny Terrien feels the same and had a message for parents of young drivers.
"If you're nervous about different situations, I know a lot of parents are really nervous about highway driving in the winter. It really helped me build my confidence for starting to drive," Terrien said.
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