BMW Advanced Driver Training

Level 1
By Dan Modestino

Photography by Robert Dysiewicz
& Dan Modestino

A Humbling Experience

Downsview Airport, Toronto, Ontario – I’ve had a passion for driving ever since my dad first let me drive his pick-up down the long driveway at our farm in Shelburne, Ontario, at the age of seven. I remember sitting on his lap cause I couldn’t reach the pedals, white knuckling the steering wheel, and wearing his sunglasses to keep the autumn sun out of my eyes. When dad finally let go of the steering wheel, it felt like it does when a plane first leaves the runway on take off. It was that very moment I developed the passion to drive. I wanted to drive, and do it well.

I always considered myself to be an above average driver. I enjoyed experimenting with abnormal driving conditions, pushing a vehicle over its edge, out of control, and then trying to regain control. While some went to bars, I went to a vacant parking lot to practice ‘moving 360’s’ and ‘Fish Tailing’. I did it because it was fun and it made me feel confident with the dynamics of the car I was driving in regular inner-city situations. So naturally I was excited to find out that Rob Dysiewicz and I were booked to attend BMW’s Advanced Driver Training.

Since 2001, Canadians have been taking advantage of the opportunity to learn what BMW has been teaching for over 25 years. Highly qualified Driving Instructors will teach you approved driving skills, superior safety, and a better understanding of a vehicle’s capabilities. Exploring the limits of vehicle control while getting out of control is something that most people rarely experience. By the way, BMW driver training is not limited to owners of BMW automobiles, and it doesn’t mean that you’ll learn how to drive a BMW. Although you will, through out the one-day course, push the highly acclaimed BMW 330i beyond your normal driving experience. BMW Advanced Driver Training Level 1 is for anyone who is at lease 18 years of age and holds a full class valid driver’s license.

This course starts bright and early. BMW will have a catered breakfast buffet waiting there for you, so that your stomach does not distract your mind. They have even gone so far in their schedule as to include time for you to digest your food to insure that you are alert when it comes time for you to get in the cars.

The BMW name is world renown as a company that is focused on prestige and quality. This focus extends to their selection of Instructors like Jeff McKague, who has had race experience as well as instructing racecar drivers at Mosport and Shannonville among others. The day starts in a classroom with a presentation of some key elements that are vital to improving our driving, such as seating position, mirror adjustment, steering technique, and vehicle dynamics.

I was amazed on how everything Jeff was teaching sounded familiar, yet like I was learning for the first time. A lot has changed in the 16 years since I was in driver training. For instance, holding the steering wheel at 9 and 3 instead of 10 and 2 like I was taught. Do you know why? I didn’t. There are two logical answers for the change in hand position on the steering wheel. With your hands at 9 and 3, the steering wheel becomes more balanced. Think of the steering wheel in an aircraft. If the pilot’s hands are at 10 and 2 it would be much more difficult to keep the plane level with the horizon. The second most important reason for the change in hand position is with regards to the Air Bag deploying in a head-on collision. With your hands at the 9 and 3 position they’re clear of the Air Bag’s path. Use the 10 and 2 position and you’ll likely knock your “day-lights out” as your hands are launched into your face by the Air Bag at 300 kms/hr! Ouch!

Jeff also taught what BMW calls the “Triple-A” approach: ATTITUDE, APTITUDE, and AWARENESS.

Your ATTITUDE is the state of mind that you are in while operating a vehicle. If you have just had an argument with your boss who has made you really angry, what is your reaction going to be if someone cuts you off while on a public road. The state of mind we’re in while behind the wheel changes how we drive, and that increases the potential for making mistakes.

For those of us that went to ‘Driver’s Ed’, we spent approximately 25 hours on theory and 12 hours on practical. Then we got our license. If you failed your exam - don’t worry, our system of testing will let you come back as many times as you want till you finally pass. What’s even better, the Ministry doesn’t require seeing you until the golden age of 80 for an eye exam! Sound silly? This is where APTITUDE is so crucial. It stands to reason that technology will change in the 64 years between the time you get your license and the time you get your eyes checked. Case in point. If you think that you still have to pump your brakes in slippery road conditions to stop your car - you require BMW Driver Training. Vehicles change, so does the way they are operated.

AWARNESS. Cell phones, pagers, laptop computers, sorting CD’s, putting on makeup, shaving, picking your nose, all things that degrade our AWARENESS. Driving can be enjoyable if you are AWARE that you are actually driving.

Getting out into the 330i was very exciting because now we got to put the theories we had just learned to the test. Our first exercise was to watch Jeff do two braking demonstrations on the wet skid pad with the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) turned off. The first demonstration at 30 km/hr and the second doubling the speed to 60 km/hr. At 30 km/hr, the vehicle stopped in a short and safe distance. At 60 km/hr, we all got to put our wagers on the final stopping distance. Much to our surprise, the final stopping distance was four times farther than at half the speed! Double your speed, skid four times the distance. By the end of this session you’ll have learned how to control skid and accident avoidance without the assistance of the DSC. This is called “threshold braking.”

In the same exercise you’ll also learn that ABS is your friend. There were some students convinced that ABS did not make you stop in a shorter distance. Jeff said that it would depend on the driver. A TRAINED driver will stop a vehicle in a shorter distance without a wheel-lock-up, than a NON-TRAINED driver. He also mentioned, because of the constant change of elements in real time driving, ABS gives you the ability to steer around objects. As we found out in the Braking exercise with the ABS turned on, it allows you to brake and steer at the same time.

At our break for a beautifully catered lunch buffet, we sat with Jason Carvalho who was instructing the second group in the morning session. Jason has been a professional driver all of his life. Racing in open-wheel carts, he became one of the youngest racers to win a championship at Mosport. Aside from instructing with BMW, Jason has also worked as a stunt driver performing in Stalone’s movie Driven.

Believe it or not, BMW’s Advance Driver Training changed my life forever. I didn’t realize it until the ‘oversteer’ exercise. I was having a frustrating time recovering from a throttle induced ‘oversteer’ while traveling around a watered down skidpad. I couldn’t understand it because this was something I had always practiced. It wasn’t until on one of my attempts that Jeff’s voice came over the two way radio, “Your eyes were fixated on the water-truck, weren’t they Dan”. He was right! I was staring at the water truck parked a safe distance from the skidpad. At that moment it was as if he had granted me a wish and presto, he gave me the talent. All of a sudden, as clear as crystal I heard that phrase that had been repeated by the two instructors all day long. “LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO AND YOUR HANDS WILL STEER THERE”. The next attempt was flawless and not only was I able to recover, but I was able to hold the slide like a pro rally driver sliding around a hairpin turn. Controlled continuous tail-out maneuvers are part of BMW Driver Training Level II.

The day ends by competing against other participants in a timed slalom, challenging you to utilize the skills learned throughout the day. Incredibly fun!

I highly recommend that anyone who has a valid full-class driver’s license to enroll in BMW’s Advanced Driver Training. You will come out with a clear understanding of why a person who has lost control of their vehicle could smash into the only tree on the side of the road. It’s because they were locked in “TARGET FIXATION” instead of looking for the solution. They were fixated on the problem. Spending $480.00 on this course could save you thousands in repair bills, and possibly your life. You can’t put a price tag on that.

To learn more or register for BMW’s Advanced Driver Training visit: www.bmw.ca.