"Unfortunately, in 2008, Doug Herbert lost his two sons in a horrific crash. From that, he created B.R.A.K.E.S., which stands for Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe. He trained 50 students from his oldest son's senior high school class," said Brendon Short, the school's lead instructor, adding that the program grew quickly from there.
The program offers hands-on training that puts potential problems front-and-center in a controlled environment and includes drills that point out the effects of distractions. It offers some peace of mind for parents.
"The on-course and classroom curriculum are way different than what the kids are getting in school. They get driver's ed, this is driver's correction," said Mark Duffus of Fullerton, who brought his 17-year-old twins, Kira and Pascal.
"I think it'll be interesting, because I'd like to learn how to drive in an emergency. Because I don't really know as much as I can know," said Kira Duffus.
"I for sure need to do this. Driver's ed didn't really teach me anything," said her brother Pascal Duffus.
Young minds tend to learn easily, and these drills can make emergency maneuvers second-nature. The success rate bears this out.
"We've trained over 150,000 teens and parents nationwide," said Short.
Tracking their driving, graduates are 64% less likely to be involved in a crash during their first three years of driving.
All a teen driver needs to bring is a parent or guardian - they're part of this. And a driver's license or learner's permit. What they don't need to bring is a car to use.
Kia America supports the B.R.A.K.E.S. program by lending a fleet of cars to use for the training. That obviously helps this nonprofit immensely.
A deposit is needed to secure a spot, but it's refunded, so there is no net cost to any teens wanting to take advantage of this potentially life-saving instruction. But the skills taught can be priceless. This weekend's event at Santa Anita is full up, but it'll be back.
"Next weekend we'll be in San Marcos, California. And then two weeks from then, we'll be back here at Santa Anita," said Brendon Short.