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20 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 25, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED You'll Love Our Service! 905-335-4080 BURLINGTON LINE DriveWise Canada takes driver training to the next level By Siobhan Evans Most of us are lucky enough to go through life without knowing first-hand the trauma of a serious collision. The roads can be a treacherous place and without the proper training, the odds of an accident increase dramatically. But what about the occurrences you can't train for? A three-year-old bolting out from between two cars? A deer suddenly darting in front of your vehicle on a dark country road? A blown-out tire? Can we really ever be ready for any of these chance incidents? Fortunately, a new (MTO) Ministry Approved Beginner Driver Training Program has come to Oakville. DriveWise Canada incorporates state-of-the-art virtual reality driving simulation with hands-on instruction into a training experience that challenges trainees and leads them to hone their driving skills. "This program takes driver training to a new level," explains Nancy Danter, who operates Oakville's DriveWise location with her husband Tim and sister Wendy Fraser. "We can do things with our students in the simulator that you just couldn't train them for any other way." From different weather conditions such as blizzards, fog and rain, to driving with many different impairments and every imaginable disaster in between, DriveWise simulators literally put your teen behind the wheel of a car in a much safer setting, allowing them to experience a host of driving situations and conditions - without the actual danger. Nancy also explains that kids today are accustomed to this kind of virtual learning environment. "Kids are demanding to learn this way, she says. "It needs to be interactive." Just this month, Nancy and Tim switched from Young Drivers of Canada to DriveWise as they felt it was time. "Road safety is a huge problem today," said Danter. "The DriveWise program takes defensive driving, which we have been teaching for years, to the next step." The DriveWise program, developed by former military officer Lesley de Repentigny of Barrie, Ontario, aims to teach students with a multi-faceted approach. 25 hours are spent in class which includes simulation training as well as an additional 10 hours of actual in-vehicle drive time. "Students first learn the basics in classroom setting, then we get them in the simulator and then we get them out in the car ­ we're trying to reinforce the material three times, through three different stimu- lus," explained Danter. DriveWise is also the preferred training program for fire, EMS and police trainees and is popular amongst major truck training companies. Visit the DriveWise website at www.drivewisecanada.com or locally at www.drivewiseoakville.com for more information about the program or call 905-845-7200 to find out about class times in Oakville.