Hitting the road for driver's ed

Putting your life in the hands of an inexperienced driver isn't for the faint of heart.

"I've had a few close calls. It's just part of the job" said High Desert Educational Service District driving instructor Nik Goertzen.

It's Goertzen's job to get Sisters youth ready to put rubber on the road - safely in all the conditions local roads can bring.

Goertzen brings a sense of new beginnings and adventure to what can be a "boring" class to emerging high school drivers. New to the program this year are a Web site; a year-round program; guest speakers, new textbooks and a new car - a 2007 Hybrid Toyota Prius (for fuel economy and green technology).

Goertzen has fun providing scenarios and instilling in his students these concepts: Defensive Driving Skills; Anticipatory Skills; Exposure; and Updated Driving Techniques ("10-and-2" on the wheel are out and "8-and-4" are in due to air bag deployment injuries).

"I'm excited to be here and glad for the opportunity to bring this quality program to Sisters High School. I really am enamored with the Driver's Ed program through the ESD," Goertzen said.

"My personality brings out certain aspects of the program that you won't find elsewhere. I get to take the boring part out of the program. When you can get to the students early in their driving experiences, you can really help them be better drivers."

The guest speakers include: the Deschutes County Sheriff who brings "beer goggles" for the students to view through, simulating what the world looks like to an impaired driver; Les Schwab's Jeff Taylor who goes over vehicle preparedness for everyday and winter, including chain installation and chain law; and insurance agents who impart the importance and advantages of having insurance.

Getting the varied driving experiences each student needs to be successful requires trips to Bend (must take a whirl on those roundabouts), Redmond (one way roads) and of course a little mountain driving is a good thing to know.

"There are a lot of new state requirements... and the State of Oregon is the model for the nation in Driver's Ed," Goertzen said.

In 2000, Oregon law mandated 100 hours of drive time before a driver is eligible for getting a driver's license. When the state hired Traffic Safety Program Manager John Harvey in 2004, he implemented curriculum changes to DMV and ODOT rules to have 50 of those hours covered in driver's training classes.

Goertzen recently met with Sisters High School principal Bob Macauley to see if the Driver's Ed program can be linked into the Internet like the rest of the students' classes, giving student and parent a visual link on how progress is coming.

Homeschool and private school students are welcome to join the program, too. It's for everyone between 15-17 years old with a valid Oregon instructional permit. The program fee is $250.

"I was sort of hesitant about taking the class but am really glad I did now," said Sisters High School freshman Lauren White. "I got a lot of driving experience and I like knowing what to do to fix the vehicle myself, I like having more awareness.

Goertzen, who taught Driver's Ed in Beaverton for three years, was hired last May by the Redmond School District, then was transitioned to the High Desert ESD in the Fall of 2007. His duties entail teaching Driver's Ed in Sisters and Redmond. He's also the Sisters High School Varsity Girls Soccer coach. Between the two schools the program has had 80 students thus far this school year with 46 hailing from Sisters.

Goertzen runs the program seven days a week each term to meet everyone's schedules. Classes run 10 weeks and include six weeks of lab (behind the wheel) time. The spring session starts April 7 and the summer session June 16. Visit http://www.hddriversed.org for more information.