Young Drivers

About YD

Drive To Survive

Young Drivers Sault Ste. Marie is located within Maitland Ford Lincoln, 1124 Great Northern Road.  We are just north of the Hospital on Great Northern Road.  Classes are held in our classroom in the newly renovated dealership.

Maitland Ford Lincoln added the Young Drivers of Canada driving school to our products and services in 2000. Since that time we have graduated over 3000 Young Driver students from our exclusive defensive driving course in Sault Ste. Marie!

Yd Drivers Vehicles
YD Cars

Why YD?

Here are some other great benefits of learning to drive with Young Drivers!

Cognifit:  Cognifit is an online tool exclusive to YD that trains your brain to better react to everyday situations. A 30 minutes online assessment  helps both the instructor and student better understand their individual learning needs.  24 personalized optional training sessions are included as well.

AWESOME CARS!  Since we are part of the Maitland Ford family, we have access to the latest and most fuel efficient vehicles in the market.  We think pickup trucks becoming the new family car! That’s why we want our Young Drivers to learn in the #1 selling truck – the Ford F-150! We want our Young Drivers to learn in versatile “build your confidence” vehicles like the Mustang, a C-max hybrid, Ford Fusion, small compacts like a Focus, and an Escape  All vehicles are equipped for driver training and have the latest in technology for you to learn from.

Co-Driver Training:  FREE!  Online course included with every Young Drivers program.  Every new driver needs a Co-driver to help them gain the experience they need to perfect their skills.  Take this course to increase your confidence in being a safe and helpful co-driver.

It is great to learn how to react when the unthinkable happens on the road. But, what about being proactive? At YD you will learn how to anticipate and predict other drivers’ actions and react to prevent collisions before they even happen.

YD Defensive Driving Components

Learning how to avoid a collision and utilizing gravel shoulder recovery techniques are extremely important skills that all drivers should know how to execute. At some point, nearly every driver will come across a situation where they may be faced with an oncoming vehicle or have to drive off the road. Knowing how to execute collision avoidance and recovery techniques can be the difference between being in or avoiding a serious collision.

Merging into traffic or onto a highway can be one of the most stressful situations new drivers will face. Young Drivers of Canada teaches its students how to gauge their speed, locate a gap in traffic and provides guidance on when to merge into a new lane. Learning these skills will ensure that new drivers build confidence for safe and successful traffic merging.

Distracted driving can result in collisions with potentially fatal consequences. Young Drivers of Canada addresses the dangers of distracted driving in its curriculum and teaches students best practices to avoid this behaviour while driving. The program will cover various types of distractions including visual, cognitive, manual and how to avoid multitasking when driving. Young Drivers can help students develop the necessary skills to eliminate distracted driving while operating a motor vehicle.

Young Drivers of Canada teaches students to anticipate vehicle control problems before they occur, so they are able to experience how a vehicle will react. This applies to situations such as adverse weather conditions where traction loss can occur. Young Drivers teaches its students to think, maintain control and develop reactionary motor skills. Student drivers are also taught how to control a vehicle and recover from their mistakes with techniques and reflexes to recover in any situation. Steering control courses use a combination of classroom and in-vehicle training and will also include winter road conditions, wet road conditions and gravel road conditions where possible.

Passing a vehicle successfully involves changing lanes to move around a slower or impeding vehicle. Passing vehicles may have to be executed on a multi-lane roadway or on a highway. At YD, best practices when changing lanes are taught to ensure that students learn to change lanes safely, understand the importance of speed regulation when passing a vehicle, how to conduct safety checks when passing, using mirrors properly for safe passing, as well as using signals and roadway lanes correctly.

Many drivers (even experienced drivers) can have difficulty when it comes to highway driving. Avoiding highways is not the solution. At Young Drivers of Canada, our instructors are trained to help drivers tackle the art of highway driving. Our program covers merging onto the highway, the importance of maintaining speeds when merging, using space to merge successfully, how to change lanes, executing mirror checks, checking blind spots and dealing with the anxiety of highway driving.

Driver education courses provided by Young Drivers of Canada can result in significant savings when it comes to obtaining auto insurance. Many insurance companies look at the education aspect of newly licensed drivers and will reward those drivers with savings on their insurance premium. The reason behind these insurance savings is that drivers who participate in driver education are building a firm foundation for their driving skills. With the proper education, drivers can be confident that they are making smart decisions on the road, reducing the risk of collisions, tickets and all that affect a driver’s risk assessment when it comes to auto insurance.

Whether you are a new or experienced driver, it is necessary to learn how to avoid a head-on collision, as it could be the difference between life and death. At Young Drivers of Canada, we teach all students (novice to experienced) how to avoid a head-on collision. Students will be taught: precision steering and braking techniques; controlling the vehicle through oncoming hazards; skid prevention techniques; accuracy and maneuverability while steering; vehicle dynamics and mechanics; off-road recovery skills and emergency procedures. Young Drivers believes that when students receive proven training, they will know exactly how to drive and react in order to avoid a head-on collision.

Parallel parking has always been a mystery to many drivers. In fact, many will admit to looking for a parking spot that they can pull into rather than resorting to parallel parking. At YD, students are taught how to ensure they are able to easily maneuver their vehicle correctly every time they parallel park. Parallel parking will be covered in theory during the in-class lesson portion and also in practice through in-car sessions. The program will also provide students with special tips that will assist them with successful parallel parking.

Rear crash avoidance is a required skill due to today’s increasing traffic on roadways and highways. Young Drivers of Canada teaches proper lookout and avoidance techniques, so that when you are in a situation of an impending rear crash you will not only be able to quickly determine what is happening but take steps to avoid damage and injury to yourself. Whether you are a new driver or an experienced driver, it is necessary for every motorist to learn how to avoid a rear collision, as it could be the difference between life and death. Young Drivers of Canada believes that when students receive proven training, they will know exactly how to react and drive to avoid a rear collision.

Young Drivers of Canada’s winter driving program teaches students how to drive under snow covered and icy road conditions. With a combination of in-class and in-vehicle training, you will learn safe winter driving techniques including: hazard awareness; winter road safety and emergency manoeuvers; how to navigate through changing winter road conditions on highways, roads and treacherous surfaces such as bridges and hills; skid avoidance and recovery; emergency braking; collision avoidance; and maintaining traction under winter conditions. Our winter driving program teaches drivers how to be safer on winter roads and how to conquer them with confidence.

Slick and rainy road conditions can be challenging, even for experienced drivers. There are many elements that play a role when driving in the rain and on slick surfaces; this includes visibility of the road and pedestrians, vehicle handling, and road conditions. Young Drivers of Canada teaches students of all ages the importance of leaving space, anticipating sudden changes in road conditions, skid control under wet road conditions and the importance of visibility. You can count on Young Drivers to teach you how to navigate a vehicle confidently in rainy, slick conditions.