National Teen Defensive Driving School Coming to Warrensburg

A national free teen defensive driving program, B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe) is coming to the Missouri Safety Center at the University of Central Missouri (UCM) in Warrensburg Sept. 15-16 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The program will take place at the Missouri Safety Center, 1200 South Holden.

Warrensburg will be the first of three stops in the region for the B.R.A.K.E.S. team.  Schools are also planned for Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kan., (Sept. 22-23) and Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. (Oct. 27-28).

Utilizing vehicles provided by Kia Motors and with partial funding from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), the B.R.A.K.E.S. program offers teens extensive behind-the-wheel instruction by ex-law enforcement and professional racing drivers, teaching the teens and their parents how to be safer on the road.

Exercises include Distracted Driving Awareness, Panic Braking, Crash Avoidance, Drop Wheel/Off-road Recovery, and Car Control/Skid Recovery.

The facts: Car crashes are the number-one cause of death among teens, ending more young lives every day than murder, suicide or disease. The result: B.R.A.K.E.S. Graduates are 64 percent less likely to get in a crash within the next three years.

The 501(c)(3) charity was founded by drag racing champion Doug Herbert, who started B.R.A.K.E.S after losing his two sons in a tragic car crash and turned his tragedy into a life-saving mission that has trained over 33,000 teens around the country.

Space is limited and seats are filling quickly. Online registration is available at www.putonthebrakes.org.