WeeklySA_AdminAWARENESS: The comprehensive course will help improve your attitude on the road making you a better driver than you were before
By Ali Mphaki
Am I a better driver since I completed the intense Volkswagen Night School I attended at the Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria some three months ago? Has my confidence behind the wheel been buoyed by what I was able to absorb in those four to five hours that I now believe I can navigate those dangerous curves ala Formula One driver Max Van Stappen?
The answer to the first question is a resounding Yes. Since I took the course I’ve not killed anyone on the road nor earned myself an unnecessary traffic fine. As for the second question which could suggest a one-night transformation into a Sir Lewis Hamilton, that’s a story for another day, rather another night.
As the name suggests – VW Night School – we were asked to report at the compact Zwartkops Raceway by latest 4pm. The invite was clear that we must be prepared for an intensive four hours of learning, more precisely to unlearn our “not-so-good” bad driving skills.. There were 30 or so of us, journos, marketers, so-called Influencers etc. The VW Night School crew – curiously all-White males – obviously proud of their important role in their black t-shirts and black pants were walking back and forth putting final preparations in place.
After registration all the participants were handed light blue caps with a VW logo written VW Advanced Driving on the side before proceeding to the boardroom for the first part of the course – featuring among others, introductions (meet and greet), a bit of driving theory, videos showing what happens in a crash, followed by a question and answer session.
Dinner time.
We were offered what is called finger lunch, a valuable lesson not to have a huge meal especially when undertaking a long trip.
Back to the boardroom.
The bubbly chief instructor could never stop to emphasise importance of an initiative such as the VW Night School especially in country whose road death toll annually reaches thousands levels. Most chilling, he said, is that 58 percent of all vehicle accidents in South Africa occur at night.
Some of the takeaways from the theory session in the boardroom included, but not limited to, ensuring a proper seating position when getting behind the wheel, always have both hands on the steering wheel, and last but not least, to ensure your windscreen is clean for safe night driving.
Question and answer session before we moved to the race track. Ready in their splendour were several models from the VW stable, the dynamic VW Golf 7 Gti, VW T-Roc etc. Visible in its absence was the ubiquitous VW Polo.
Lights on!
This time around we were shown how to handle the steering wheel in a slalom. Most VW vehicles and contemporary ones have finger grooves in the steering wheel to ensure a safe grip.
The instructor could not further emphasize the importance of having both hands on the steering wheel. Then it was time to do emergency braking.
You drive half the track picking up speed until you come across several cones on your way (imagine a child running into a street) before slamming those breaks as hard as you can before swerving to avoid a collision. In several instances travelling at a speed of 120km/h, it took the VW Golf 7 Gti some 10 seconds to come to a complete standstill. A breath-taking spectacle shrouded in white smoke from burning tyres.
“If you can slam those brakes as hard as you can and have them broken I will give you a new VW Golf Gti,” the instructor kept on imploring us to hammer those brakes as hard as our feet can.
His golden advice which he kept on emphasizing was that (new) car owners from time to time need to slam their brakes as hard as they can (obviously when it is safe to do so) as a practice for emergency braking.
HIJACKING
And just as it is crucial to know your whatabouts with your car, driving cautiously etc. the course could not be complete without tackling the haunting spectre of car hijackings afflicting South African motorists and what to do in that eventuality.
Most SA drivers face this prospect and we learnt that most hijackings occur at people’s driveways which calls for greater vigilance when you leave or come back to your home. Look around your surroundings for unusual people or cars, check if you are not being followed etc. When not sure, drive to the nearest police station.
The instructor made it clear to us not to try and be a hero in a case of hijacking. Instead, he egged us to cooperate with the hijackers by simply following easy steps like avoiding eye contact and raising your arms as high as they can see.
We were also shown some practical steps of how to egress the vehicle when that dreaded time comes. Granted I’ve done some several advanced driving courses before, but never at night.
My greatest sin is that from time to time I handle the steering wheel with one hand and sit like a boy-racer (seat backwards) behind the wheel but have learnt to soon correct myself.
I find myself more cautious on the road and my driving manners have vastly improved. Funny how most people, perhaps myself included, think they are pro’s at driving when they are not. It is advanced driving courses like the VW Night School that can help dispel this fallacy.
Humbling.
So if the VW Night School can do it for me, imagine what it could do for you. VWSA says there is an insurance incentive for drivers who’ve completed the VW Night School.
See you at the VW Night School. Bookings on their website.
