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Jun 22
2007
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SkidMonster BackgroundPosted by Sia Bani in Untagged   |
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The Skid Monster is a powerful tool for prevention education. The Skid Monster, an invention of Professor Frederik Mottola, replaces the rear tires of a front-wheel drive car with two sets of castering wheels that are bolted to the rear tire lugs. While the car may be traveling only 15 mph, the castering wheels simulate driving four times that speed! The Skid Monster can simulate what happens when speed is too fast for road conditions or for traffic situations. The Skid Monster can handle just like a normal car until the instructor flips a switch to release the casters, and then the car, if it is mismanaged, becomes a MONSTER. The idea is to show how easy it is to keep the car in control as compared to getting it back in control once it becomes a monster. An analogy can be made to having a wild animal secured in a confined area and the ease and prediction of managing its existence, as compared to the animal having escaped its restraints and the difficulties and the unknowns of getting it back in control.
Elizabeth Taylor from Edmonds, Washington, who has trained over 3000 students and their parents in the Skid Monster, states: "The Skid Monster puts every driver on a level playing field, so to speak. It does not play favorites. For the brand new, never-steered-a car student, learning is accelerated ten times. What may take an hour to learn in a 'normal' instruction vehicle takes 10 minutes to learn in the Monster. It graphically illustrates the need to value, develop, nurture, and ultimately ingrain in the driver low-risk driving habits such as: Accurate targeting. Balanced hand position. Efficient steering technique. Smooth, gradual starts and stops. Awareness of targeting path, roadway conditions and camber. Wise speed selection when approaching turns and curves. Trail braking for balanced stops and turns. Prudent lane position choices. A four-second following time. And, skid recognition and recovery techniques are a bonus."
Steve Cramblitt, driver education curriculum supervisor for Granite School District in Utah, expects to have all 5000 students who take driver education each year get practice with the monster. He said: "It's as realistic as you can get while being in a safe environment. The more I use it, the more of a teacher I see the Monster is. The on-street progress of students after being in the Monster is remarkable." As another teacher stated, "The Monster compounds any mistakes a student makes and helps them learn how to perform correct behavior in the future."
Elizabeth Taylor from Edmonds, Washington, who has trained over 3000 students and their parents in the Skid Monster, states: "The Skid Monster puts every driver on a level playing field, so to speak. It does not play favorites. For the brand new, never-steered-a car student, learning is accelerated ten times. What may take an hour to learn in a 'normal' instruction vehicle takes 10 minutes to learn in the Monster. It graphically illustrates the need to value, develop, nurture, and ultimately ingrain in the driver low-risk driving habits such as: Accurate targeting. Balanced hand position. Efficient steering technique. Smooth, gradual starts and stops. Awareness of targeting path, roadway conditions and camber. Wise speed selection when approaching turns and curves. Trail braking for balanced stops and turns. Prudent lane position choices. A four-second following time. And, skid recognition and recovery techniques are a bonus."
Steve Cramblitt, driver education curriculum supervisor for Granite School District in Utah, expects to have all 5000 students who take driver education each year get practice with the monster. He said: "It's as realistic as you can get while being in a safe environment. The more I use it, the more of a teacher I see the Monster is. The on-street progress of students after being in the Monster is remarkable." As another teacher stated, "The Monster compounds any mistakes a student makes and helps them learn how to perform correct behavior in the future."
