OAK CREEK, Wis — An event at Milwaukee Area Technical College's Oak Creek Campus offered student drivers to feel what it's like to react to hazards and emergencies while behind-the-wheel of a vehicle.
Street Survival was held on a closed course on Saturday.
"Everyone wants to avoid crashes as much as possible, it's not a fun thing to go through," said student driver Eva Carrera when asked why she chose to participate.
Stephanie Bondioli is a mom who says the class offered peace of mind, as her 16-year-old son prepares to drive on his own soon.
"If he was by himself and then that was the first time he came upon a hazard or he started to slip, i feel like this gives him that experience in a controlled environment," said Bondioli.
The event offered young drivers between 15 and 21 years old an experience that Street Survival organizer Charles Caliendo said they wouldn't get in your average Driver's Ed course.
"In Drivers Ed were really focused on keeping the students out of emergency situations and understanding the laws and the hazards out there. In this class, now, were teaching them what to do when they do find themselves in an emergency situation," said Caliendo.
He believes classes like this can help create safer streets for all.
"Its important for these teens to get hands on experience with these situations so that when they encounter them on the road in the real world so they can just react without having to think about it," he said.
It's a unique way to prepare young drivers for whatever might happen when they're behind the wheel.
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