We found DriveStrong after searching teen defensive driving courses in our general area. The…read moreprogram we were initially interested in (PutOnTheBrakes.org) didn't have any classes scheduled in the near future within a couple of hours' drive, so we looked for a similar program nearby. We have an older child who completed a similar course several years ago so we had an idea of what to look for or what we thought we could expect.
Compared to other similar organizations/companies, there weren't as many specifics on DriveStrong's website regarding what would be taught, so the expectations were a bit unknown. There was also an advanced course listed and when I sent an inquiry about specifics for the courses and how they differed, I was essentially told the advanced was the same course as the first just "on steroids." Since I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from the first course, I wasn't sure what that meant. The overall gist indicated DriveStrong would be a somewhat similar program, one aimed at teaching teens and young drivers how to navigate in real-world situations so they'd be better prepared, more confident drivers.
The DriveStrong course was $335, whereas the other course was free but required a $99 deposit to hold a spot. The cost for gas roundtrip and a hotel to go to the other program would come out to about the same cost, so we chose DriveStrong. The course is at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is somewhat akin to a country club for race drivers. It's beautiful and very impressive. The course is 3 hours, of which 15 minutes is a brief overview and some valuable information about the importance of placing your seat and steering wheel properly and other helpful points. The students went with the instructors to the cars, three students per instructor; there were three cars on the day we went.
Each student got at least three attempts at each of the challenges. Among them was one to accelerate quickly then do a hard stop, one was weaving through cones, one with distracted driving, one was to speed into their skidpad to hydroplane. The instructors were good but they didn't push the students to really "go for it" so while they got some familiarity with the situations at hand, most didn't get fully what it would be like in real time. Still, they did get some sense of it, and will definitely be better prepared than prior to the class.
They drove BMWs the school owns (no A/C in them on a hot day, but that might have been instructor or students not thinking to turn them on?) and at the end they get a certificate that should qualify toward a discount with your insurance company.
Overall, it's hard to put a price on peace of mind and anything that helps your child become a more confident, better prepared driver is always a good thing and relatively invaluable. From a pragmatic standpoint, the other program mentioned was free ($99 deposit to hold a spot, which you can donate to them). There are others that are also free or considerably less than the $335 of this program, which offer the same amount of drive time, tend to push the students for the full experience, and some of them also give you video footage from dashboard and exterior so you can see and share your experience with others. However, most of those programs fill very quickly and have wait lists.
DriveStrong was good, but seems priced more toward the price of the venue compared to the time, quality of curriculum and instruction. Having had other experiences and knowing what's out there, $150 feels like more of a reasonable rate (in theory, each student would technically only be allotted an hour of driving time given there are 3 to a car and it's only a 3 hour experience). I also inquired why I couldn't find any reviews online, including their FB page, that were more recent than 2021 and was told they didn't have Google reviews because they're a non-profit. That didn't explain why there weren't more current FB reviews or any Yelp reviews, but hopefully this will help with that.
