Stunt Driving Schools



Posted: Tuesday, December 05, 2006

by Kent Pinkerton

Can you count the number of times you’ve watched an amazing stunt in a movie and found yourself thinking “how on earth did he do that?" Not to mention the number of times we’ve wished we could perform tricks like that. What better way to grab attention that to drive a car on 2 wheels instead of 4?

That’s what stunt schools are for. To teach you how to perform those fantastic stunts you see on the screen. It does not matter if you’re learning these stunts to take up a full fledged career as a stunt driver or just for the fun of it.

Most stunt schools offer various programs, depending on your needs. These programs are normally a combination of classroom sessions, one-on-one interactions with the driving instructor, and plenty of time behind the wheels of various types of cars.

Some courses count towards various types of license requirements needed for racing.

If you join one of these stunt driving schools thinking things are going to be all fun and play, I have two words for you – Wake up! Stunt driving is the farthest thing from the word easy.

Be prepared to be put through some rigorous driving sessions that’ll have every bone and muscle in your body screaming for some relief. If you’ve never experienced the pain of calluses and blisters on your hands, now you will.

You’ll learn a lot of things. Like the fine art of shuffle steering, for example or making the car skid 180 degrees to sit perfectly at a specific point. You’ll also learn to perform a controlled 90 degree skid to place the car in a pre-specified position.

Reverse 180s are harder to master. It consists of going fast in reverse and then spinning the car around 180 degrees and immediately shooting out straight forward.

If you assume the only purpose for learning these techniques is to get into the movies, you’re only partially right. The lessons learnt here will serve you well on the streets, where a split second’s reflexes would mean life or death.

Once you’re done with one of these stunt schools, you’ll leave with a new respect for the car, car control, and precision driving.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Marin P.
from Vancouver, BC 2 years 16 days ago.
One of the best Stunt and Precision Driving Schools, if not THE BEST in N. America, is IFPDI (International Film and Precision Driving Instructors) that has classes in US and Canada alike. The team of instructors at IFPDI have combined over 270 years experience in stunt and precision driving and have performed in hundreds of movies. You name an action packed movie and chances are, at least one of them was in it. I have few friends that have taken various courses and they were elated. Absolutely 100% at the end they were better drivers not only because of the skills acquired but in part because a better understanding of car, tires and road dynamics.
 
Myself I am a tactical driving instructor and I recognize a good driving school when I see one.
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