vern1

I wanted to sign my 17 yr old son up for the Intro Driving School at Mosport as I figured it would be good to teach him some car control skills (the earlier the better I figure). However I have been told he has to be 18. I presume this is insurance related but is this the case at most performance schools or just PCA.

Any ideas/suggestions?

Thanks

acadian_dad

I was wondering same thing about the Rennsport ground school at ICAR - can a 17 yr old attend ? Do they need a G2 or is a G1 sufficient ?

Are there other (private) options for "skid-school" car control type training for youth ?

rideau

Gerry Low and John Mahler run frequent programs all year that would benefit a young person (and you as well). Contact Gerry at gerry@mezocon.com and get yourself on the mailing list. I can't recommend both of them highly enough

jumper5836

He would learn more from kart racing.

Xpit77

CASC - OR are running a Time Attack School at Mosport DDT in early May. 2 days, in class and a lot of 1 on 1 in car instruction.
My son and I did that school back in 02 or 03 at SMP.
Great school,I think my son was 17 at that time.
Search CASC-OR time attack school

TJ Elliott

You might want to check into that further. You are required to be 18 years old to register for a DE event. However, I took my son to IDS when he was 17 and registered him for his first DE a couple of months after his 18th birthday.

It's a great way to share the passion with your son. My wife's now registered for IDS this April.

Cheers,

Terry

BioBanker

Kart racing or Solo II.

I loved Solo II because it:

1) Was fun as hell,
2) I think it taught me how to deal with a cars dynamics in a rapidly changing environment without going too fast,
3) In all my Solo II years, I saw only one car get damaged, and
4) I think you can do it as long as you have a license.

No question it is jr to lapping, but when my kids get to the driving age, I will want them first to learn about car dynamics in the event that they need to deal with a rapidly evolving situation on the road in front of them. I think that Solo II does that.

Run what you brung!

Dale Gribble

he should be able to participate before 18 with a parent/guardian signing a waiver of liability.

Mumbles

skidcontrolschool.com

Missed it last year for my young un, this Spring is a definate.

Mark Lue

+1 for karting, start indoor then out door for the summer.

I recommend Ian Law's schools, have your son do the winter driving school but you need to sign up soon.
http://www.carcontrolschool.com/

acadian_dad

Thanks for all the suggestions.

OP is from Toronto and no doubt appreciates the local suggestions.

If anyone has any suggestions for the Ottawa area (hence my question re. ICAR), that would help me out. Although a day trip to Mosport could be fun as well (Gerry's course). MCO has some winter driving schools here in Ottawa but not a lot of detail available on their website - would love to hear from anyone who has done one. Re. the karting - certainly can see how that would be beneficial - for me, however, I was looking for the 1 day, on snow, some focused training is better than just basic driver's ed type training ...

vern1

Thanks for the suggestions. I have emailed the UCR registrar and the chief intructor, Stephen and am waiting to hear back from them. Lots of conflicting advice on the PCA/UCR website. In the meantime I will check out some of these other options. The reason I focused on PCA was that I am signed up for a bunch of DE's this year and it would be easier to get him going down the same path.

Seems silly to restrict performance driving instruction to those +18. The new drivers need it the most. As the father of a brand new driver it scares the shiite out of me as to what happens on our roads on a daily basis and I want to give him any advantage possible to deal with it !

Xpit77

Vern,
Enough said, get out in your P-Car this spring with your son and have some fun.
Don`t worry about performance driving instruction.
They grow up and learn quicker than you think.

vern1

I'm worried about my clutch!!!! But seriously, its less about "performance" driving and more about car control etc

acadian_dad

Just FYI for anyone in the Ottawa area, I confirmed with the guy who runs it that MCO's Winter Driving Schools are open to teens with a G1. My son will be attending one of the sessions in the next weeks - I may go for a refresher myself. Best part - they are run at the Capital City Speedway only about 5 min from the house ...

Trying to think of the PC way to suggest to my wife she might want to go as well ...