Knestis, what you're trying to do is admirable. Driving to work or the grocery store isn't supposed to be an extreme sport. A few national media outlets carried the story of Bruce Murakami, whose wife and daughter were killed by a teen who was street racing. The father came upon the scene of the accident while the vehicle was burning, with his family still inside. The father pushed to have the kid charged with vehicular homicide or manslaughter, and the authorities finally complied several years later. Then the father negotiated a plea-bargain with the kid - no jail time, drop the felony charges, but the kid had to do community service, speaking to high-schoolers WITH the guy whose family he had killed.
http://www.touchedby.com/whathappened.htm
When I read, "The next time a buddy brags about racing, tell him to take it to a track, he said" I realized most folks don't know how easy it is to get onto a track.
Regarding teens and HPDEs... I "adopted" my 17-year-old niece this past summer. I wanted to send her to HPDE because teen driving programs don't teach evasive techniques or emergency response - just following distances and braking. I wanted my niece to understand that she can stay safer when using her eyes and her brains and her hands along with her feet. At 17, she's a good driver, but I could see the inexperience, too. I sent her to the HPDE, but we spent a few hours over the summer discussing why I sent her and why I would be disappointed if she used those skills on the street. Without that heavy dose of "parenting", I think the HPDE would have done more harm than good.
In my opinion, the best way to make someone a considerate, safe, defensive driver is to put them on a motorcycle, in traffic, for a while. Somehow, the risk of road rash (or worse) really brings home the dangers of driving over your head.
It's hard to change something without tackling the root cause. The biggest factor in risky behaviors is how the kid values themself and their future. The kid in that story I mentioned earlier admitted that, at the time of the accident, he didn't really care whether he lived or died. For some of these kids, admiration for their driving "skill" and daring is all the positive reinforcement they get. That's a pretty big challenge to tackle in a public service program.
I tend to thing that more good would come from bringing these kids into the SCCA volunteer ranks - watching the parade of tows after each track session, going out on the course marshall truck and stopping in a panic to pick up a piece of debris that could pop a tire (and thinking "how did they even see that?"), making a contribution (sometimes the first time they ever have), and getting both positive and negative feedback from the adults at the track. Perhaps you could give presentations to the larger groups, and invite interested kids to volunteer with the club. You'd have to start them in fire school "these are the risks, this is the safety equipment we use; as a volunteer, you'll be a pedestrian in the middle of a drag race - hope folks are watching for the yellow flags..." If they're smart, the difference between a road race and a street race will start to click.
