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Here you
will find information on event dates & fees, Track Committee
members, Driver Education (DE) program, registration, instructor incentives & program,
event requirements, personal & car requirements, tech inspection,
directions, and accommodations for the Northeast-Region-sponsored 2006
DE events. For a more complete list of DE events for all PCA
Regions in the Eastern USA & Canada, check out the following (if
our NER events are not yet listed, they will appear soon, as they have
been submitted):
Porsche
Club of America calendar
Dale & Adam's Track Schedule
Coco's Driver Education Schedule
For 2006
Additional
DE East-Coast Events of interest
Open Track Action, a source for
track day schedules etc
And for those who came directly to this page,
you will need to check out www.PorscheNet.com/driving.html
for additional information, forms, and resources.
 Northeast Region 2006 DE Dates
As you can see, we have
our dates set for 2006. Keep posted for updates or additional
links in the months ahead, along with other information for the '06 DE
season.
*
Driver
Education Program
- Drivers typically get four 22-35-minute driving sessions/day, averaging 100
minutes/day!
- First-time NER students will be directed
to an electronic copy of the NER
Driver Education Student Guide which he/she should print out as a
reference guide. Those few without E-mail may request one by snail
mail.
- Beginner & Novice drivers are assigned
an NER-qualified instructor for each event.
- Many of our events are sponsored by loyal
and friendly local businesses. Be sure to seek them out at the event,
thank them for their generous support, and patronize their businesses.
- The Annual "Most-Improved Driver" will be
selected from our non-instructors based on safe habits and enhanced
high-performance-driving skills and will be announced at our Annual
Dinner usually held in early December.
Registration Policies (Please read carefully, as we get many questions that
are answered here!)
- All applicants may fill out
an on-line NER/Zone 1 Universal Driver Education Event Application Form
(see www.PorscheNet.com/driving.html)
and E-mail it to Registrar Mark
Keefe with a check following in the mail. For those few without
E-mail, snail mail is still accepted! A copy is also published in the "Nor'easter"
each month.
- Acceptance is confirmed on a
first-come/first-serve basis when the check is received and is based on
the postmark date for the check. Postage-meter dates are not
acceptable, as they can be manipulated.
- No electronic applications or snail-mailed
checks may be sent before March 1; any that are will be null and void.
(Exceptions are instructors — see below.)
- Instructors have a number of sign-up
incentives (see Instructor Incentives below).
- Registration closes two (2) weeks prior to
each event. No admission after that except by special exception of the
DE Registrar and/or Track Chair.
- Costs are/will be listed in the
event-dates table above.
- Anyone admitted by special exception pays
a $100 late fee.
- As a cost-saving and more efficient
measure, NER has instituted a nearly paperless process. Confirmations with
a link to event packets will be sent by E-mail. If you do not have
E-mail, please find a relative or friend who does so that you can get
this information in a timely manner.
- Everyone who attends an NER DE event is
expected to review and understand the information in the event packet. Print out the packet and bring it with
you (don't forget the track map), as this will be your only copy. A
week to two weeks before any event, be sure
to look for any "Track Rats Message" containing
last-minute details and reminders from the Track Chair, Bruce Hauben. Sometimes, there is 11th-hour
information you need to know.
E-mail Addresses
- Check your spam filter to
make sure messages from the following don't get caught, as there will
be communiqués from the following:
- Registrar Mark Keefe (mxk
at charter.net) who sends acceptance notices;
- Frank Bruns (NovDev at PorscheNet.com), the Chief of Novice
Development who will advise novices of what to expect at the upcoming
event (where to park, where to register, etc.);
- Track Chair Bruce Hauben
(bmh993 at PorscheNet.com) who sends Track Rats messages containing
late-breaking or last-minute information.
Cancellation
& Refund Policy
- No refund for cancellation
two weeks or less prior to the event.
- Refund at the discretion of the registrar
and only if space can be filled from the appropriate run group waiting
list.
- No refund for stopped event once a car has
been on the track.
- No refund for those who do not come to the
track when the event is never started. Partial refund may be available
to those who come to the track when an event is not started.
- All refunds will be issued by check a
month after the event in question.
Instructor Incentives
- Instructors may register for
any event in advance of registration opening dates. You may
register for the entire season today, as long as a check follows by
snail mail.
- Instructors who sign up for a complete
event and whose checks are postmarked more than five (5) weeks before
that event receive a 50% discount and are entered into our drawing
for a free event. All whose checks are postmarked five weeks or
less before the event pay full price.
- Instructors are entitled to a free garage
space at Watkins Glen and NHIS. Garages, however, are assigned on a
first-come/first-serve basis to instructors and drivers alike, so early
registration is critical to assure oneself of a garage
Driver Education
Requirements
- Minimum age 18 with a valid
drivers license and current PCA, BMW CCA or CC membership card in hand
at the event.
- If a car on the track has a passenger, at
least one (1) occupant must be an NER-approved
instructor and the other must be a registered
participant.
- While we have professional corner workers
at every event, all participants will have a work assignment. In
fairness to fellow workers, any participant who is tardy or who fails
to show up at his/her assigned station will forfeit time on the track.
- No illegal or drowsiness-inducing drugs or
alcohol consumption prior to or during the event.
- NER reserves the right to refuse any
entrant's event registration or to expel any entrant during the event.
Personal Car
Requirements
- New rule for 2006 Aftermarket 4, 5, or 6-pt
harnesses are not allowed in cars with factory seats that do
not have a proper pass throughs for the
shoulder, lap and anti-submarine belts. Harnesses must not be wrapped
around the sides of the headrest of a seat with integrated headrests
regardless of the presence of any type of additional restraint (H-belt,
Y-Belt, restraint guides, or sternum strap) designed to hold the
shoulder belts in place. See the DE Tech page
under “harnesses” for more details about this change for 2006.
- Snell-rated helmet - M or
SA2000 (or newer) rating is required.
- Roll bars or cages are required for all
cabriolets — except Boxsters, Targas, 914s, 996s, and 997s, which may run as
shipped by the factory. While not required, we recommend
roll-bar extensions for these cars, especially for those with drivers
who "sit tall."
- Drivers of Boxsters,
Targas, 914s,
996s, and 997s must run with their tops up or their hard
tops installed unless they meet the requirements in the next bullet.
- Drivers and passengers of all open cars
and cabs with the top off or down must meet the broomstick rule, have
five- or six-point harnesses (that meet NER’s
2006 requirements), and have arm restraints (in spite of the name,
the driver has all the mobility needed to safely drive her/his car).
- Long-sleeved shirt and pants. No
synthetic materials. Either closed-toed shoes with rubber soles or Nomex driving shoes (we recommend that you don't
drive in sneakers, as the soles are too thick for proper feel and
control). No red or yellow clothing for work assignments.
- Metal-to-metal mounted fire extinguishers
are required. First-time participants are excluded for the first
event only.
- Equal restraints are required for driver
and passenger (if a passenger is present). "Equal restraints" means both
occupants have the same level of equipment. NER/Zone 1 regions
require that all instructors' cars that may take a passenger have equal
restraints and that they "default up to the higher level of
protection", i.e. if one has a five-point harness, both must
have them.
FIA B-143.T/98, FIA C-154.T/98, FIA D-153.T/98, FIA D-142.T/98, and SFI
16.1.
- Some tracks are reducing their noise limit
restrictions and are strict about enforcing them. Please make sure your car complies
with these restrictions, as we would hate to see you leave the event
for noncompliance. Check the NOR'EASTER and our web site
for announcements of any restrictions, and read your "Track Rats"
E-mails for reminders.
For complete safety-related information, please see www.PorscheNet.com/DEtech.html.
For any questions, please contact our Interim Scrutineer,
Bruce
Hauben
Technical
Inspection
- Everyone should review our tech-inspection
regulations.
- Upon registration acceptance, you should
review the NER tech regulations and download a tech-inspection form.
The inspection form and the list of NER-approved pre-tech inspectors
are available at www.PorscheNet.com/driving.html.
- A pre-event tech inspection and the NER
tech inspection form must be completed by an approved tech inspector
prior to the event. Note: Effective in 2006 the new NER
Tech Form must be used by all participants.
- At the NER Scrutineer's
discretion, a track-side, pre-event tech inspection will cost $50/car.
- Cars not tech inspected will not be
allowed to run and will not be eligible for an event refund.
- For safety or inspection-related
questions, please contact Tech
AT PorscheNet.com.
Instructor Development Program
- We have an active Instructor
Development program and are always interesting in enlarging our
corps. If you are interested in becoming an NER-approved instructor,
contact Paul
Avery, Chief of Instructor Development, for more information. And
if you are already an instructor with another region, contact Matthew
Wallis, co-Chief Driving Instructor or Steve
Artick, co-Chief
Instructor.
- The Annual Gilbert H. Meyer "Instructor of
The Year" award will be selected by his or her peers. This instructor
is an outstanding teacher, safety conscious, shows exceptional
judgment, sets a good example, and still considers him- or herself a
student. The recipient will be announced at our Annual Dinner, usually
held in early December.
- Check back for other incentives.
Rooms, Rooms,
Rooms
- Rooms
for NER Away Events often go quickly. Each year, we attempt to
negotiate good rates at selected hotels at LCMT. Our recommendation is
to make reservations ASAP; after all, it is always easier to cancel
reservations later than find rooms are gone and have to pay higher
rates. Some of the rates for 2006 will soon be posted and will also
appear on the Event Packets links in the table near the top of this
page.
Caravanning
For information about caravanning to our away
events, look for information in the Event Packets whose links appear in
the table above.
On-line
Application Forms
In both  and  formats.
Contact Mark Keefe, the Track
Registrar, if you have any questions about your event application
or run-group assignments that will be listed under the links in the
table above.
Evaluation Forms for Events, Instructors,
and Students
Go to our forms
section on our main DE page.
The 2006 Track Committee
Send mail to the entire Track
Committee.
Further Information
E-mail Bruce
Hauben, NER/PCA Driver Education
Track Chair, or call at 978 952 8517 before 8 p.m. or
For information on registration and
acceptance into an event, please contact our Registrar Mark
Keefe.
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