Driver Ed vs. Driver's Edge; Performance-driving exercises prepare teens for the rigors of the road.(Special Report)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

As the sedan picked up speed toward a line of cones delineating an area deliberately soaked with slippery, soapy water, the driving instructor yanked on the emergency brake. The result was predictable: The novice teen driver sat paralyzed behind the wheel as the car pivoted and spun in a complete circle before coming to a stop.

On lap two, the driver reacted to the impending disaster but still managed to collect an orange cone before clearing the danger zone. Finally, on laps three and four the car skidded on cue, but this time the teen driver took command, turned in the direction of the skid, and expertly drove through the obstacle course without incident.

"It was like being on a roller coaster,'' was the initial reaction from almost-15-year-old daughter Katie Gritzinger, the novice teen at the wheel of the Pontiac who just weeks earlier had completed the first phase of a Michigan-mandated driver education course.

Needless to say, this exercise occurred well outside the bounds of the state-mandated curriculum, where learning the basics (what does an octagonal red sign mean?) and mastering the pitfalls of parking get more attention than hands-on training in emergency maneuvers.

"You get to do things here that most people never get to do,'' says Jeff Payne, founder and president of Driver's Edge (www.driversedge.org), where skidding is just one part of the curriculum.

The skid-control drill is part of the half-day Driver's Edge program. Driver's Edge travels to more than a dozen cities nationwide each year, and is free to participants age 15 to 21 (and their parents, who are encouraged to attend). The program is sponsored by Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire and funded by the sponsor, grants and private donations.