Street survival
Overview
Tire Rack Street Survival is a nonprofit, hands-on driving school for licensed or permitted teens ages 15 to 21. Unlike a standard high school driver’s education course, which focuses on classroom instruction and basic maneuvers, Street Survival puts students behind the wheel of their own car for a day of exercises on a closed course.
Working in small groups with trained volunteer coaches, students learn to recognize a car’s handling limits, execute emergency maneuvers such as skid recovery and evasive lane changes, and read traffic situations far enough ahead to avoid trouble altogether. Classroom discussion and in-car coaching are paired throughout the day, so students leave with both an understanding of vehicle dynamics and the practiced reflexes to use it.
Schools are hosted locally by SCCA® Regions, BMW Car Club of America chapters, Porsche Club of America chapters, and other auto enthusiast clubs, whose volunteer instructor base makes the program possible nationwide.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teen drivers, and most new drivers never receive instruction beyond parallel parking and traffic law before they’re handed the keys. A 16-year-old driver is roughly 20% more likely to be killed in a crash than an adult driver. Street Survival closes that gap with the skills that actually keep drivers safe in a crisis: recognizing a skid before it happens, knowing how far a car needs to stop, and reacting to another driver’s mistake instead of becoming part of it.
Since the program began in 2003, more than 30,000 students have completed a Street Survival school across more than 1,300 events nationwide. SCCA Regions hosted 32 of those schools in 2024 alone, training 815 students — scale made possible by the volunteer network SCCA Regions and the SCCA Foundation maintain year-round.
Street Survival’s national sponsorship comes from title sponsor Tire Rack, the South Bend, Indiana-based tire and wheel retailer, along with Continental Tire and the BMW Car Club of America Foundation. Their funding and program management keep tuition affordable — most schools run $175 per student, well below the cost of comparable private driving instruction.
SCCA is just as central to the program. SCCA Regions supply the largest network of volunteer coaches, course officials, and host venues nationwide, and the SCCA Foundation — a 501(c)(3) supporting organization of SCCA — funds the national TRSS Coordinator and equips host Regions with instructional workbooks, volunteer apparel, and financial support toward site rental and other event costs.
get involved
Regions interested in hosting a Tire Rack Street Survival school — or current hosts with questions — can reach out directly through the Get Region Info link on this page or by emailing [email protected].
The SCCA Foundation supports that process directly: it funds the SCCA National TRSS Coordinator, who recruits new host Regions, helps open registration, and provides marketing and logistical support, and it supplies instructional workbooks, volunteer apparel, and financial assistance toward site rental and other event costs. Hosting a school typically means securing a suitable site (a large paved lot, autocross course, or similar closed area), recruiting and training volunteer coaches, and setting a date on the national Street Survival calendar. Full requirements for coaches, hosts, and vehicles are available at streetsurvival.org.
If you’re interested in helping to host a Street Survival School, reach out!
