Prerequisite
Students must have successfully completed either:
- Foundations I — Driving Physics & Vehicle Control
- FDA Basics Level Curriculum
This course assumes the student already understands the fundamental principles of vehicle dynamics taught at Florida Driving Academy.
Course Overview
Every vehicle has its own personality.
Even experienced drivers must learn how a newly acquired vehicle accelerates, brakes, steers, corners, and communicates through the steering wheel, brake pedal, throttle, and chassis.
Most drivers begin learning these characteristics on public roads.
Florida Driving Academy believes there is a better way.
In this two-session behind-the-wheel program, students apply the driving physics learned in Foundations I to their own vehicle in a safe, controlled environment under instructor supervision.
Rather than discovering vehicle behavior during an emergency, students experience it intentionally through structured exercises that develop understanding, confidence, and competence.
Students Will Learn
Students will learn how their vehicle responds during:
- Smooth acceleration
- Maximum acceleration
- Progressive braking
- Threshold braking
- ABS-activated emergency braking
- Emergency lane changes
- Steering response
- Weight transfer
- Cornering
- Parking-lot maneuvering
- Vehicle balance
- Low-speed precision control
Students also learn how their specific vehicle differs from previous vehicles they have owned or driven.
Behind-the-Wheel Training
Training takes place entirely in the student's own vehicle.
Exercises are conducted in a safe, controlled environment and include:
- Vehicle familiarization
- Seating position optimization
- Visibility assessment
- Straight-line acceleration
- Hard acceleration
- Progressive braking
- Hard braking
- ABS-activated braking
- Phase I Cone Course
- Phase II Cone Course
- Phase III Cone Course
- Instructor-guided refinement
Course Format
- Two Sessions
- 60 Minutes Behind-the-Wheel Per Session
- Total Driving Time: 2 Hours
Requirements
Students must provide:
- Current proof of vehicle insurance
- Signed Florida Driving Academy liability waiver
- Safe operating condition of the training vehicle
Course Outcome
Students leave with a deeper understanding of how their vehicle behaves and greater confidence applying the driving physics learned in Foundations I.