Winter Driving Clinic Event Recap
It’s often difficult to prepare for weather conditions in Vancouver when it might be snowing one day and then melting away the next day when temperatures fluctuate. Usually, we see rain with sunny breaks, followed by more rain and possibly even snow—so even if you have your winter tires on for the snowy forecast, it’s best to brush up on some defensive driving techniques to get through the varying conditions during West Coast winters.
Club OpenRoad hosted their popular Winter Driving Clinic in November for Club members to learn some new skills, brush up on some old ones and to give them the chance to not only put their own vehicles to the test but also try out a fleet of the latest models of 11 different OpenRoad brands. This year, the event was held at the Lansdowne Centre parking lot, centrally located in Richmond, BC. Club OpenRoad members from Vancouver to Aldergrove and even Vancouver Island came out to learn some valuable driving skills and have some fun on the course.
The two-day event offered several morning and afternoon sessions, all of them beginning with a meeting in the main tent for an instructional lecture by the professional driving coaches. Afterwards, Club members got behind the wheel of their cars to put theory into practice. The clinic was designed for drivers to learn the fundamentals of safe winter driving habits using their own vehicles. These types of programs allow students to feel as comfortable as possible with their skills beyond the clinic setting because they get to know how their own vehicle handles in emergency situations. It also allows them to push the limits in a safe and controlled purpose-built course so that they can apply their skills in real-world scenarios with confidence.
The exercises included a small slalom, hard braking, skid control, and proper handling exercises, which were all supervised by the professional driving instructors. After each run, members were allowed to swap their vehicles to try out one of the OpenRoad dealership vehicles. The vehicles available to experience included a Porsche Macan, Lexus RX350, Audi A5 Sportback, Mercedes GLC300, Infiniti Q50, BMW 330i, Genesis G70, Volkswagen Golf GTI, and a Toyota RAV4 to choose from—the extremely popular picks were the Mazda3 GT and Mini Countryman JCW!
Interested in joining the next Club OpenRoad event? Make sure you’re an activated member and watch your email inbox for the next event invitation!
