CCB & MasterDrive Partner Again to Give Blind Students Driving Experience

For immediate release: Contact: Dan Burke, Public Relations Specialist
303.778.1130 dburke@cocenter.org

Englewood, CO – Focusing exclusively on the kinesthetic aspects of driving, students and staff from the Colorado Center for the Blind will get the feel of the skid pad on the MasterDrive campus here on Wednesday, May 27. Denver-area high school students will be included.

“It makes sense to us to work with blind people on the feel of the car and the road,” said Mark Stolberg, Sr. Vice President of Training for MasterDrive of its 14-year partnership with CCB. “The kinesthetic part of driving is something we teach our sighted driving students. In fact, our advanced training for driving coaches involves blindfolding them before taking the car onto the skid pad.”

Director of Youth Programs, Brent Batron, said, “At the Colorado Center for the Blind, we challenge our students so that they will believe they can work and live full lives. Though they may not be able to get a license, this activity gives some a chance to challenge fears and conquer them, and others to get behind the wheel for the first time after becoming blind.”

Wednesday’s drivers will wear sleepshades to focus their attention on the nonvisual aspects of driving. With navigators, they will drive through an obstacle course and will even learn how to recover from a skid. The first hour of each session will be classroom training.

MasterDrive’s Metro facility is located at 15659 East Hinsdale in Englewood. They train new drivers, emergency vehicle operators, and corporate fleet drivers in the car control skills needed to survive today’s intense driving environment. MasterDrive will be providing the vehicles, facility, and coaching staff as a service to the community. They will conduct another driving program on May 28 at their Colorado Springs facility for students at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind.

The Colorado Center for the Blind is a private, not for profit rehabilitation agency that is based on a positive philosophy of blindness. In addition to the usual training in cane travel, home management, technology, and Braille, students are challenged through rock climbing, hiking, canoeing, white water rafting skiing, and other activities so that they will believe completely in themselves. The goal for graduates of the program is for them to take charge of their lives and participate in all aspects of society.

For more information, please contact Dan Burke at the Colorado Center for the Blind at 303-778-1130, or cell 406-546-8546..

For More Information about MasterDrive contact Spencer Pace at 303-627-4447.