Fast way to better driving

With driving standards at an all-time low more and more inexperienced drivers are also hurtling around in fast vehicles they are unable to effectively control, which makes them as dangerous as cops who don't know how to use their fire-arms properly.

To many people, terms such as anti-lock braking, stability control, understeer, oversteer, power and weight distribution, stopping distances, the importance of correct tyre pressure, seat belt pre-tensioners and other vehicle technologies are meaningless because they have never been explained to them or they simply couldn't be bothered.

On the other side of the coin there are the drivers who have been driving for years and regard themselves as good, safe drivers but while they might not have been involved in a serious accident during that time they might well have acquired bad driving habits along the way.

Great fun - and you learn a lot

Any one of the above reasons should be more than enough motivation and encouragement to enrol for a driving course such as the Audi High Performance Driving Course which I attended recently (for the second time in three years).

On the course I attended at the Killarney race track near Cape Town there were a mixed bag of company-sponsored men and women, motoring enthusiasts and ordinary drivers who paid for their course fee out of their own pockets. All agreed afterwards it had been great fun, that they had learnt a lot and that they felt sharper and better equipped to deal with emergency road situations.

The full day course includes a lecture session on the theory of vehicle dynamics followed by on-track emergency situation simulations, demonstrations of life-saving vehicle technologies, and many laps of the circuit with an instructor (more often than not an experienced racing driver) in the passenger seat and the "pupils" at the wheel.

What makes the course special is the fact that it is conducted in the safe environment of a race track and that all training and driving is supervised by experienced drivers (most of them race car jockeys). But best of all, the "class rooms" are R616 000 Audi S4 Quattro's.... the ones that are armed with a 3.0-litre V6 capable of rocketing from 0-100km/h in 5.3 seconds and clocking 200km/h down the straight!

You could be a benefit - insurance-wise

Attending this Audi course is not only hugely educational but also as much fun as a barrel of beer and everybody receives a certificate of competence afterwards (which, with some insurance companies can lead to a reduction in car insurance).

It's little wonder then that more and more companies who have personnel on the road daily pay for their staff to go on the course. Car fans, driving enthusiasts, groups of friends and even married couples regularly make up the balance.

The course is presented at Kyalami in Gauteng, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town (where the next courses are scheduled for 25 and 26 June, and 22 to 26 October and 29 and 30 October). The High Performance Driving Course fee is R2 635, which includes lunch and refreshments.

In addition to the High Performance Driving Course, Audi also offers an "S" High Performance Course in the Audi TT and S5, an Advanced Safety Driving Course, and the Audi Off-Road Experience in the Audi Q7 and Q5.

For more information visit www.4rings.co.za or call 011 466 0607.