B.R.A.K.E.S. Free Teen Defensive Driving Program Reaches Milestone, Instructs 20,000th Student
Free Teen Pro-Active Driving Program led by drag racing champion Doug Herbert, on a mission to save lives
CHARLOTTE, N.C., August 8, 2016 – B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe), a non-profit offering free defensive driver training to teens and their parents, announced milestone instructing 20,000th teen July 31, 2016.
“Car crashes are the number-one cause of death among teens in this country, and we started B.R.A.K.E.S. eight years ago to try and do something about that,” said Herbert, who founded B.R.A.K.E.S. in 2008 after he lost his two young sons in a tragic car crash. “After years of hard work, we’ve trained our 20,000th student and the program continues to build momentum. Every event puts one more teen on the road that is prepared for an emergency situation.”
B.R.A.K.E.S. classes are four hours, beginning with a classroom session followed by behind-the-wheel driving exercises including panic braking, crash avoidance and car control, and distracted driving avoidance, all free of charge and taught by professional instructors.
About B.R.A.K.E.S.
Doug Herbert’s B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe) is a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to prevent injuries and save lives by training and educating teenage drivers and their parents about the importance of safe and responsible driving. The Concord, North Carolina Teen Pro-Active Driving School was founded in 2008 after Top Fuel drag racer Doug Herbert lost his two young sons, Jon and James, in a tragic car crash. Although devastated by his loss, Doug decided to turn his grief into something positive and created a driving program in the hopes of preventing other families from experiencing similar tragedy. Over 20,000 teens from over 35 different states and three countries – and their parents – have graduated from the B.R.A.K.E.S.’ intensive half-day training course, which is free of charge and features hands-on skills exercises taught by professional instructors in a fleet of new vehicles donated by Kia Motors America. The course maintains a low three-to-one student-to-instructor ration and requires a least one parent to attend with each teen.
Learn more about upcoming classes and Doug’s story at: www.putonthebrakes.org.
"I want to thank everyone at BRAKES for yesterday's Raleigh event. I believe the skills, knowledge, and confidence the kids gained we will make them better and safer drivers. Please pass along my sincere thanks to Matt, Doug and everyone who is involved with this valuable program."
-Tim
"Just want to drop a note of thanks to KKW for being a part of the driving school. Working in the transportation industry it is my hope that my son is not going to be one of those that cuts off trucks on the road or even worse is in an accident with a truck because of his ignorance of what the truck driver is going through. Thank you for putting your trucks in a program that allows our youth to take a moment to see it from the truck drivers point of view and allowing the drivers to talk with my son and others about highway safety."
-Dave Burrescia
