Have you ever purchased a novelty calendar loaded with holidays you’ve never heard and doubt the existence of? We’re talking about things like National Ice Cream Day, Thank Your Mailman Day and National Dog Day (July 21, February 4 and August 26, by the way, if our sources are to be believed). How about National Teen Driver Safety Week? You likely won’t find it on your novelty calendar, as it’s no joke.

Taking place between Sunday, Oct. 20 through Saturday, Oct. 26, Teen Driver Safety Week is exactly what it sounds like: A time for organizations like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, parents, and companies like our sponsor Tire Rack to speak earnestly regarding the facts of teen driving. For example, Traffic Safety Marketing, created by the NHTSA, cites that, in 2022, motor vehicle crashes were a leading cause of death for teens between 15-18 years old. Specific risk factors include distracted driving, speeding, drowsy driving, unfastened seat belts, and alcohol and drugs.

There’s a lot of ways to get the point across, but how about a Tire Rack Street Survival training course?

Street Survival is a non-profit organization propped up by Tire Rack and staffed by driving coaches from the BMW Car Club of America, BMW Clubs Canada, the Sports Car Club of America and the Porsche Club of America. Held at various locations around the country, including the MotorWeek-familiar Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia, these programs are designed to give teens proper in-class and on-tarmac instruction on how to better control their vehicle. This means accident avoidance, emergency braking, skid control, and correcting oversteer and understeer. Even better, teens practice with their own daily drivers, joined by an in-car instructor for immediate feedback.

“We keep our students busy during the full-day program, and we make it our mission to teach the skills they need to help safely manage daily driving and emergency situations,” said Bill Wade, Tire Rack Street Survival national program director. “For 21 years we– with Tire Rack’s generous support– have worked hard to host programs across the country.”

Street Survival recently celebrated its 1000th class and 15 year anniversary. A list of upcoming classes is available online, where interested students may enroll. Tire Rack has been a longstanding sponsor of MotorWeek, providing us with plenty of knowledge regarding tires and tire testing. And on the topic of rubber, we recently had a chance to interview TJ Campell, Tire Rack’s Tire Information and Testing Manager, in podcast #337, who shared the need-to-know on winter tires just in time for the impending season.