{"id":22922,"date":"2018-10-05T16:08:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T20:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=22922"},"modified":"2018-10-05T16:08:45","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T20:08:45","slug":"robbie-buhls-free-teen-driving-course-goes-way-beyond-drivers-ed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/robbie-buhls-free-teen-driving-course-goes-way-beyond-drivers-ed","title":{"rendered":"Robbie Buhl&#8217;s free teen-driving course goes way beyond driver&#8217;s ed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/9a3cad8f-1d2f-4f3a-aac2-d8905f1b80e6-buhl_encourage.JPG?width=534&amp;height=401&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Buhl Encourage\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">With its purchase of the Michigan Central Station,\u00a0Ford Motor Co.\u00a0put Detroit&#8217;s Corktown neighborhood on the map as an epicenter\u00a0of the autonomous car revolution. Futurists have sci-fi visions of driverless cars zipping down Michigan Avenue, their\u00a0sensors negotiating obstacles while smart-city infrastructure helps them communicate with one another.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">That\u2019s the future. But until then, Robbie Buhl wants to make Corktown the epicenter of hands-on driving.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The 55-year-old Detroit native and ex-IndyCar driver has located his Teen Street Skills program and rally race-team right next to the train station. Driving doesn\u2019t get much more hands-on than racing \u2013 and until autonomous cars deliver on their promise to save lives, Buhl wants to make sure young drivers are saving themselves.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-ROsvRO82W94\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/94581a5f-6666-424d-a60d-e5be65b7bc8c-buhl_class.JPG?width=540&amp;height=405&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Ex-IndyCar driver Robbie Buhl welcomes students to his Corktown-based, Teen Street Skills driving course.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/94581a5f-6666-424d-a60d-e5be65b7bc8c-buhl_class.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/94581a5f-6666-424d-a60d-e5be65b7bc8c-buhl_class.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>Ex-IndyCar driver Robbie Buhl welcomes students to his Corktown-based, Teen Street Skills driving course.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\">\u201cLook at stats for 16- to 17-year-olds, the number one killer in the country is car accidents,\u201d says Buhl, who has 78 IndyCar races under his belt \u2013 nine of them at the Indy 500.\u00a0\u201cThat number is creeping up even though number of young drivers in the market place is going down.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Buhl\u2019s program is similar to other programs around the country \u2013 ex-Corvette driver Andy Pilgrim\u2019s Traffic Safety Education Foundation at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Honda Teen Defensive Driving School at Mid-Ohio, for example \u2013 in its efforts to teach teens safe driving skills.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But where these programs are generally run at race tracks in rural areas, Buhl is locating his school in the heart of Detroit on a 2.5-acre parking lot next\u00a0to Ford&#8217;s train depot. He&#8217;s recruiting\u00a0young people from around Metro Detroit\u00a0to show off Detroit\u2019s revitalization and brand his Corktown headquarters as \u201cDetroit\u2019s race team.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-ROsvRO9f1bc\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/5901cace-e984-4971-821e-2c4c68268ee0-buhl_drift-lift.JPG?width=540&amp;height=405&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"&quot;Drift Lift&quot; equipped Ford Fusions allow students to simulate cars oversteering and going out of control. With proper steering and throttle inputs, drivers can negotiate out of a slide.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/5901cace-e984-4971-821e-2c4c68268ee0-buhl_drift-lift.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/5901cace-e984-4971-821e-2c4c68268ee0-buhl_drift-lift.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>&#8220;Drift Lift&#8221; equipped Ford Fusions allow students to simulate cars oversteering and going out of control. With proper steering and throttle inputs, drivers can negotiate out of a slide.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\">\u201cThree years ago we bought the Factory,\u201d said Buhl referring to two red brick buildings across the street from the old Tiger stadium on Michigan Avenue that date back to 1907 and once housed the Chicago Hosiery and Detroit-Alaska Knitting Mills.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cPeople thought we were crazy, (but it\u2019s) amazing what\u2019s happened to Detroit and Corktown in the last three years. It\u2019s fun to bring people down here \u2013 we have kids coming down from Utica schools, Troy schools, Grosse Pointe schools.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Except for the instructor sitting in the right seat, Teen Street Skills has nothing in common with the average driver\u2019s education program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Rather than nerve-wracking drives at the speed limit\u00a0followed by sweaty-palm parallel parking drills, the Buhl program encourages teens to push\u00a0cars to the limit to simulate panic driving situations they&#8217;ll encounter in the real world.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-ROsvRO84xo4\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/a16ef1dd-3ac6-41f7-b878-b46eddb83801-buhl_floor-it.JPG?width=540&amp;height=405&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Floor it! Students must get a car up to 40 mph before slamming on the brakes and taking cone-avoidance action to simulate real-world panic conditions.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/a16ef1dd-3ac6-41f7-b878-b46eddb83801-buhl_floor-it.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/a16ef1dd-3ac6-41f7-b878-b46eddb83801-buhl_floor-it.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>Floor it! Students must get a car up to 40 mph before slamming on the brakes and taking cone-avoidance action to simulate real-world panic conditions.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\">At one station, teens floor a Ford Focus toward a wall of pylons, then slam on the brakes \u2013 the anti-lock pedal pulsing\u00a0\u2014 and turn the wheel to simulate an avoidance maneuver. The resulting g-loads and squalling tires are essential to helping new drivers understand vehicle dynamics.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThey come away with more confidence and more awareness,\u201d says Buhl. \u201cWhen they have that panic situation on the road, it\u2019s going to help them. We\u2019re putting them in awkward situations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">At another driving station, the kids jump behind the wheel of Ford Fusions equipped with \u201cdrift lifts\u201d that lighten the rear suspension, inducing instant oversteer in a turn. The young drivers learn to slide the car through corners, modulating steering and throttle to keep the car straight. It\u2019s fun \u2013 and instructive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Like most attendees, Sam Russell, 16, of Grosse Pointe Farms, came to Buhl\u2019s program with the encouragement of his parents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cI\u2019m really having fun learning about how the car reacts,\u201d he said\u00a0between sessions on a Saturday morning. \u201cThis will help make me a better driver in the long run. I drive every day to school and this school will help me analyze situations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">One of those situations includes time with a police officer who explains to them how to handle getting pulled over:\u00a0What to say. What not to say.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-ROsvRO8SBQc\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/2c50fde7-40ed-494f-a3a6-76da49dee5f0-buhl_ute.JPG?width=540&amp;height=405&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Ex-IndyCar driver and Rallycross team owner Robbie Buhl has set up his Teen Street Skills driving school in downtown Detroit to be a part of the town's growing urban scene.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/2c50fde7-40ed-494f-a3a6-76da49dee5f0-buhl_ute.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/04\/PDTN\/2c50fde7-40ed-494f-a3a6-76da49dee5f0-buhl_ute.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>Ex-IndyCar driver and Rallycross team owner Robbie Buhl has set up his Teen Street Skills driving school in downtown Detroit to be a part of the town&#8217;s growing urban scene.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\">Above all, Buhl wants his students to understand the importance of keeping their eyes on the road to deal with sudden\u00a0situations.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThis is all about the eyes \u2013 if you\u2019re looking down at a text\u00a0or looking to play Spotify, the average text is 5 seconds \u2014\u00a0five\u00a0sedans at 60 mph is over the length of a football field. A lot can happen,\u201d says Buhl. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to scare kids. At driver\u2019s ed they use the crashed car videos and all that. But that\u2019s not working.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Buhl puts on his program for free;\u00a0he credits donors and sponsors who finance his program. One of those sponsors is Ford, which provides the Focus compact, Fusion sedans\u00a0and Escape SUVs for the program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">There\u2019s not a self-driver among them. For now, in the shadow of Ford\u2019s future autonomous headquarters, Robbie Buhl wants to make sure drivers have both hands on the wheel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Details are at www.teenstreetskills.org.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\n<p id=\"article-body-p-last\" class=\"p-text p-text-last\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With its purchase of the Michigan Central Station,\u00a0Ford Motor Co.\u00a0put Detroit&#8217;s Corktown neighborhood on the map as an epicenter\u00a0of the autonomous car revolution. Futurists have sci-fi visions of driverless cars zipping down Michigan Avenue, their\u00a0sensors negotiating obstacles while smart-city infrastructure helps them communicate with one another. That\u2019s the future. But until then, Robbie Buhl wants [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22922"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22922\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}