+++ BMW Group invites persons with physical disabilities to a safety
training course +++ Maren Hammerschmidt and Vanessa Hinz experience
sheer driving pleasure from a new perspective +++ Athletes from the
Bavarian disabled and rehabilitation sports association (Behinderten-
und Rehabilitations-Sportverband Bayern e.V.) train at the BMW M
Driving Experience +++
Maisach/Munich. At the Biathlon World Championships
in Oberhof in February 2023, the German team won a gold medal and two
silver medals and achieved six further top-six rankings. As Mobility
Partner of the German National Biathlon Team, the BMW Group offered
three safety training courses for people with physical disabilities as
a reward for each medal won and one training course for each finish in
the top six. A group of athletes from the Bavarian disabled and
rehabilitation sports association (BVS Bayern) was invited to the BMW
M Driving Experience in Maisach to take part in a safety training
course with biathlon world champions Maren Hammerschmidt and Vanessa
Hinz, an event that was as much about knowledge as it was about
driving pleasure.
The BMW M Driving Experience offers a special safety training course
designed by Tina Schmidt-Kiendl, who is an instructor and head of
project management at BMW M GmbH. The training course uses specially
modified vehicles with hand-controlled equipment (electronic
accelerator ring on the steering wheel or thumb accelerator with
separate brake) that can be controlled by paraplegic persons and also
persons with use of their feet. There is also a vehicle that can be
operated by people who are paralysed on one side, for example, after a
stroke. In addition to a theory section, the training content includes
driving using hand controls, braking and evasion exercises, as well as
the correct way to respond when oversteering or understeering the vehicle.
“People being able to drive a car themselves and safely despite a
disability is self-sufficiency – and that is very important,” said
Schmidt-Kiendl, who has been paraplegic since an operation, describing
the inclusive value of this safety training course. “You can decide
for yourself when you want to drive from A to B, and which route you
take. You don’t have to simply go along with decisions that other
people want to make for you. This independence, combined with autonomy
and safety on the road is what we want to convey to the participants.”
The safety training course with modified cars is also open to persons
without physical limitations, for example, those who work with people
with disabilities. The 2017 biathlon world champions, Maren
Hammerschmidt and Vanessa Hinz, experienced this in Maisach and were
impressed by the encounters and experiences at the BMW M Driving Experience.
“It is definitely exciting to try it out and have this opportunity.
This was our first safety training course – and it was one with
special requirements,” said Hammerschmidt. “It was a lot of fun,
including the exchange with the other athletes and finding out a
little bit about their history.”
Hinz was also impressed by the insights: “It is interesting to see
the challenges that these people face. Neither of us were aware of
this because we just get into the car, push a button, and go. Neither
of us could have imagined previously how it would work if you were
unable to use your feet.”
The BVS Bayern athletes have long since learned how to work around
their disabilities. The biggest sports association for people with
disabilities in Bavaria covers a wide sporting range: from preparing
and mentoring young athletes as they train for the Paralympics, to
recreational sport and the promotion of inclusion in sport, to
rehabilitation sport.
Representing all the participants, Svenja Mayer, who finished fourth
with the German national wheelchair basketball team at the 2021
Paralympic Games, said: “I would like to thank BMW and the national
biathlon team for the amazing experience. You feel a rush of
endorphins when you can accelerate. We also learned a lot of important
things that will come in useful in everyday life and on the road. It
was a fantastic day.”
This feedback is the motivation that drives Schmidt-Kiendl because
she is convinced that everyone has the right to enjoy sheer driving
pleasure, whether with or without a handicap. People who feel safe at
the wheel, can rely on their abilities, and master the technology are
the people who enjoy driving. She has also incorporated exercises that
are fun into her driver safety training and can definitely be seen as
a sporting challenge, such as completing a timed slalom course. These
were the exercises that were very well received by a group made up of
athletes. “It was exciting to watch how athletes handle this kind of
situation,” said Schmidt-Kiendl. “Because they all want to be the
best, naturally.”
The BMW M Driving Experience is a division of BMW M GmbH. Founded as
BMW Fahrertraining (driver training) in 1977, across all sectors on
offer, from safety training for novice drivers to the highly dynamic
racetrack experience for experienced drivers, the goal is improving
the driving skills of participants. Anyone interested in booking the
driver safety training course for people with physical limitations or
any of the many other attractive offers available can do so online here:
https://www.bmw-m.com/en/fastlane/driving-experience/trainings/academy-experience.html
BMW 430i Coupé: Combined fuel consumption: 7.4–6.6
l/100 km according to WLTP; CO2 emissions combined: 167-149 g/km
according to WLTP; figures according to NEFZ: –
BMW M4 Competition Coupé: Combined fuel consumption:
9.8 l/100 km according to WLTP; CO2 emissions combined: 224-223 g/km
according to WLTP; figures according to NEFZ: –
BMW M440i Coupé: Combined fuel consumption: 8.1–7.4
l/100 km according to WLTP; CO2 emissions combined: 184-167 g/km
according to WLTP; figures according to NEFZ: –
BMW M2 Coupé: Combined fuel consumption: 10.2–9.6
l/100 km according to WLTP; CO2 emissions combined: 231-218 g/km
according to WLTP; figures according to NEFZ: –
MINI John Cooper Works: Combined fuel consumption:
6.8–6.6 l/100 km according to WLTP; CO2 emissions combined: 157-151
g/km according to WLTP; figures according to NEFZ: –
