BY DARRELL HALEN

Ricky Gallant was driving 50 mph when he quickly hit the brake, turned to avoid a barrier of orange cones and recovered.

It was an exercise known as an emergency lane change. In real life, it could have been a deer Gallant was swerving to avoid.

As Gallant approached the barrier, a light on a box lit up on the left, indicating which way to turn, and he had to react fast.

Gallant was one of 14 Pelham High School students attending Skid School, a defensive driving school for teenagers, on Tuesday, April 17.

It’s intended to help teenager avoid dangerous situations and make good split-second decisions.

“Getting your license is probably the biggest freedom you guys will probably ever have in your life,” Brett Bogart, co-owner of Stevens Advance Driving Training, told the teens. “But with that comes this huge amount of responsibility. You’re taking your own life in your hands every time you get behind the wheel, and maybe even scarier, you’re taking everyone’s else’s on the road with you.” The day-long driving program was held in a large empty parking lot in North Andover, Mass.

The students were chosen by fellow student drivers during a school assembly last month.

“I drive fast so, a friend told everyone around him to vote for me,” said Gallant, who hoped by attending he would become a safer driver and get a break on his car insurance.

D.J. Sweeney, 17, was picked because he lost his license for 30 days due to having too many people in his car.

Mina Awad, 16, was there because he had hit a car in front of him the day before the assembly.

Erin Haglund, daughter of Pelham’s outgoing police chief, also took part in the class.

“When you guys leave, it’s always going to be your choice what you do in the car,” Bogart said between exercises.

“But you have to give us this one opportunity to sell you on why these things are important and try to give us this one opportunity to change your habits.”

During the drills, students drove Volvo s40s with an instructor.

In one exercise, known as a slalom, they each weaved through a row of cones to learn how to make smooth, consistent turns. Like many of the students, Gallant hit a cone during one of his runs.

“I got better as I did it,” he said.

Throughout the day, Bogart talked to the students about proper tire pressure, what to do when they find themselves hydroplaning, and how to handle tailgaters.

In one drill, a car is followed by two student drivers on each side. When the lead car hits the brakes, the two students hit the brakes and see where they stop.

By doing so, they learn what could have happened in a real situation. Bogart explains that they need to give themselves enough reaction time and distance between cars when on the road.

“When you’ve got somebody tailgating you, they’re already showing you they’ve got a really aggressive personality, by being that close to you in the first place,” he said. “So the more we do things like tap our brakes and flip them off, they more we’re going to antagonize them to make the situation a lot worse than it needs to be.”

Crystal Bradley, a senior, has had her license only 11 days. Her friends nominated her for the school because they thought she needed more practice.

She admitted that she was terrified by some of the drills but found the program worthwhile.

“It shows you a lot of the reality that can go on out there,” she said. “I like it. It will help, most definitely.”

According to Bogart, half the money spent on crash repairs is due to parking lot mishaps, most of which involved backing up.

Few of the accidents were due to lack of skill. Rather, in almost all of them, the driver hit something he didn’t see but would have had he bothered to look.

Bogart encouraged the teens to look for ways they can avoid backing up.  

“When you go to the grocery store, rather than fight for that one space that’s in front of the door, go further and find one where you can just pull through so when you leave, you see everything you need to.”