ELYRIA, Ohio — Former professional drag racer Doug Herbert, who lost his two sons in a car crash, is using his personal tragedy to help teens drive safe and to make sure no other family has to experience what he went through 11 years ago. This weekend, Herbert is offering a free program to teach crucial skills to teens who are sitting behind the wheel.
The program is called B.R.A.K.E.S, which stands for “Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe.” Herbert started the program after he lost his two sons in a crash in 2008.
During the program, teens will be learning valuable driving skills, like how to avoid and recover from skids, how to use the anti-lock breaking system and emergency lane changes. And it’s not just for teens, as parents will get behind the wheel.
"There's nothing more important than our teenagers, so I want to make sure that another parent doesn’t get that phone call that I got that their kids aren't coming home and that's really what this is all about," Herbert said.
The program will happen on Saturday and Sunday at the Lorain Community College in Elyria. Teens and parents will be assigned to one of 25 cars, each with a professional instructor.
"And they do cool things like teach the Secret Service guys that drive the president around defensive driving, or they're state troopers or they're stunt drivers on TV shows, commercials, stuff like that," Herbert said.
Registration is free and parents can register their teen here.
