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CNN Live At Daybreak

A Colorado Winter Driving School Course

Aired February 03, 2004 - 05:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You know driving in traffic during rush hour is bad enough, but throw in a few snowflakes and, boy, does it become treacherous. It's just like hell.
Rob Marciano knows that firsthand.

Tell us about what you did -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, luckily for me, I was on a track with big snow banks on either side of me and not a whole lot of traffic to deal with. So not quite like hell when you got into a spin you couldn't control.

Carol, a couple of weeks ago we went out to Colorado, Steamboat Springs, where we took the Bridgestone Winter Driving School course. And aside from learning a few things, we had some interesting video.

Take a look.

COSTELLO: Oh, can't wait.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Don't steer us across the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). All right. All right.

MARCIANO: Wow! Yes!

(voice-over): Believe me, it's harder than it looks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not bad. Good first run. Of course, the one problem on the ice, it's difficult as hell when they are locked up.

MARCIANO: And my instincts told me to lock the brakes all the way around the 250,000 gallons of frozen water they called an ice track. This is the Bridgestone Winter Driving School and the goal is to turn you into a safe driver, even in the most treacherous conditions.

MARK COX, DIRECTOR: The biggest difference between this school and most other schools is that we start out teaching people in the worst possible conditions, the most challenging situation available.

MARCIANO: Never turning while under braking is one important lesson. And repetitive braking exercises help drive that point home. But the challenge of keeping a 3,000 pound vehicle stable in conditions like these was still daunting. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job. Now, just straighten your wheels and just back out of that snow bank.

MARCIANO: With each passing lap, however, I gained some confidence and felt myself become a better driver.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not going to be able to keep up to the speed that your counterparts have been doing.

MARCIANO: The instructors, mostly current and ex-race car drivers, stress the importance of controlling the car's weight transfers under braking and acceleration.

LEA CROTEAU, INSTRUCTOR: Some of these weight transfers can cause skids, either the front tires may slide out, making the vehicle refuse to turn in a corner, or over steer, which would be the back tires sliding and turning too much for the corner.

MARCIANO: By the end of the course, the idea that you should learn on a track with professional instruction started to make perfect sense.

COX: One other thing that we hope people leave here with is an understanding that if their car starts to slide, that doesn't mean you're out of control. It just means that you need to respond to it appropriately and regain control of the situation.

MARCIANO: And staying in control is what this driving school is all about, although some of us are a little better at losing control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can hear the cone screaming all the way from here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Yes, there was a little screaming involved there. Luckily, Carol, there was nobody in front of me. You can't really wrap up what you learned during that whole thing. I suppose if you can't make it out to that school, Carol, maybe we'll just, the next time we give a...

COSTELLO: Well, give us one great tip that we should keep in mind on the road.

MARCIANO: OK, if you're, in these ice storms that you get and your front, if you've got your front wheels pointed and you're not going where your front wheels want to go, you've got to actually turn the wheel to where you don't want to go and straighten those wheels. And it's totally counter-intuitive.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

MARCIANO: Whereas if you're skidding out the back side, you know, you just kind of correct and try not to over correct and hit the gas a little bit. But it's that front wheel that, when that's going where you don't want to go, it's crazy, because you've got to turn to where you don't want to do.

COSTELLO: You do all of those things and you pray, then you'll be fine.

MARCIANO: Yes, a little praying doesn't hurt.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MARCIANO: And keep that seat belt fastened.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired February 3, 2004 - 05:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You know driving in traffic during rush hour is bad enough, but throw in a few snowflakes and, boy, does it become treacherous. It's just like hell.
Rob Marciano knows that firsthand.

Tell us about what you did -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, luckily for me, I was on a track with big snow banks on either side of me and not a whole lot of traffic to deal with. So not quite like hell when you got into a spin you couldn't control.

Carol, a couple of weeks ago we went out to Colorado, Steamboat Springs, where we took the Bridgestone Winter Driving School course. And aside from learning a few things, we had some interesting video.

Take a look.

COSTELLO: Oh, can't wait.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Don't steer us across the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). All right. All right.

MARCIANO: Wow! Yes!

(voice-over): Believe me, it's harder than it looks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not bad. Good first run. Of course, the one problem on the ice, it's difficult as hell when they are locked up.

MARCIANO: And my instincts told me to lock the brakes all the way around the 250,000 gallons of frozen water they called an ice track. This is the Bridgestone Winter Driving School and the goal is to turn you into a safe driver, even in the most treacherous conditions.

MARK COX, DIRECTOR: The biggest difference between this school and most other schools is that we start out teaching people in the worst possible conditions, the most challenging situation available.

MARCIANO: Never turning while under braking is one important lesson. And repetitive braking exercises help drive that point home. But the challenge of keeping a 3,000 pound vehicle stable in conditions like these was still daunting. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job. Now, just straighten your wheels and just back out of that snow bank.

MARCIANO: With each passing lap, however, I gained some confidence and felt myself become a better driver.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not going to be able to keep up to the speed that your counterparts have been doing.

MARCIANO: The instructors, mostly current and ex-race car drivers, stress the importance of controlling the car's weight transfers under braking and acceleration.

LEA CROTEAU, INSTRUCTOR: Some of these weight transfers can cause skids, either the front tires may slide out, making the vehicle refuse to turn in a corner, or over steer, which would be the back tires sliding and turning too much for the corner.

MARCIANO: By the end of the course, the idea that you should learn on a track with professional instruction started to make perfect sense.

COX: One other thing that we hope people leave here with is an understanding that if their car starts to slide, that doesn't mean you're out of control. It just means that you need to respond to it appropriately and regain control of the situation.

MARCIANO: And staying in control is what this driving school is all about, although some of us are a little better at losing control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can hear the cone screaming all the way from here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Yes, there was a little screaming involved there. Luckily, Carol, there was nobody in front of me. You can't really wrap up what you learned during that whole thing. I suppose if you can't make it out to that school, Carol, maybe we'll just, the next time we give a...

COSTELLO: Well, give us one great tip that we should keep in mind on the road.

MARCIANO: OK, if you're, in these ice storms that you get and your front, if you've got your front wheels pointed and you're not going where your front wheels want to go, you've got to actually turn the wheel to where you don't want to go and straighten those wheels. And it's totally counter-intuitive.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

MARCIANO: Whereas if you're skidding out the back side, you know, you just kind of correct and try not to over correct and hit the gas a little bit. But it's that front wheel that, when that's going where you don't want to go, it's crazy, because you've got to turn to where you don't want to do.

COSTELLO: You do all of those things and you pray, then you'll be fine.

MARCIANO: Yes, a little praying doesn't hurt.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MARCIANO: And keep that seat belt fastened.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com