Passion for safety drives business

• What business owner Maria Wojtczak admits could be considered an impulsive move has prevented countless road tragedies by teaching young drivers to be just the opposite.

What business owner Maria Wojtczak admits could be considered an impulsive move has prevented countless road tragedies by teaching young drivers to be just the opposite.

A few years after moving to the Valley from Michigan, Wojtczak and her husband Richard, both management consultants at the time, noticed a rash of teen vehicle crashes involving students in the Scottsdale Unified School District in 2002 . Perplexed and troubled by this trend – and with a daughter in middle school – Richard researched possible reasons and solutions.

"It was Rich's brainchild. He started looking into what was done in the way of driving training. He talked to people, we did our own form of focus groups. We discovered that people thought it was a great idea to teach kids how to manage situations," Maria said.

Months later, the couple was looking for a space to house what would become DrivingMBA , their comprehensive driving school that offers classroom and on-road instruction integrated with high-level simulation training labs – a feature that distinguishes theirs from other driving education programs.

And what started as a personal quest quickly became a new and unexpected career.

"We're kind of impulsive," said company COO Maria, as she laughed.

In 2003 , DrivingMBA welcomed its first students at its Scottsdale office. In 2007 , the Wojtczaks opened a second location in Chandler.

With their beginner and defensive driving simulation labs, the Wojtczaks initially saw their school as a supplement to traditional driver training for other schools that offered classroom and on-road instruction only. Richard, the company CEO, worked for Ford Motor Company in information technology and did work in the area of simulation.

Over the years, their business model evolved and in 2007 completed the transition into the full-service school it is today.

In the early days, 30 new students a month was a large coup. Currently, DrivingMBA averages 50 new students a month during the slowest months and 100 during the busy summer months, Maria said.

The school has the ability to cater to people with certain special needs, like ADD or ADHD, who are 40 percent more likely to be involved in a collision than a typical student, she said. Some adult students are from other countries who wish to get a United States license. However, 98 percent of students are teenagers with learner's permits.

All classes are by appointment and conducted one-on-one or two-on-one with the instructor. The popular beginner's package is $800 .

The simulator, which puts students in real-word documented traffic scenarios before they hit the road, has been the crucial difference, according to feedback Maria has received.

"It's not going to take the place of on-road instruction, but by the time we get them on the road we've built some skills," she said.

Abrie Berkowitz , 16, completed the program in January. One of the numerous scenarios she experienced in the simulator involved her texting while driving. She was able to see how much she missed and the damage that occurred when her eyes were focused on her phone instead of the road for what seemed like a harmless second or two.

"Now, it's so scary to see that so many people are doing that," said Abrie, who lives in Scottsdale.

Because of this training, Abrie has been prepared when other drivers have come out of nowhere to cut her off or stop abruptly in the middle of the road and avoided accidents. She said instructors were patient and willing to go over situations or topics until she fully understood them.

"I don't know how people don't take a driving class. It was scary seeing the reality of what can happen on the road and if you're not ready and don't know what to do," she said.

Abrie is Debbie Berkowitz's second child to attend DrivingMBA. Her son Jonah , now 20, was the first.

"I felt much more comfortable knowing he was getting all this instruction from professionals," she said. "The first time they crash, it's frightening but I'm glad it's in the simulator instead of on the road."

Berkowitz said it was worth the investment, knowing they've gone through scenarios in the simulator that they may face on the real road. She realizes there will be fender benders but is comforted that her children are better prepared. Berkowitz said she was impressed with the staff and particularly Wojtczak, who leads the mandatory parent class.

"Maria's commitment to this is very admirable and all of the instructors were very professional and friendly and took their time with Abrie. I'm grateful to them," she said.

Natives of Michigan, the Wojtczaks sought a warmer climate and moved to Arizona 17 years ago when Richard retired from Ford, where he had spent nearly 30 years. Wojtczak had also worked for Ford for nine years.

They started their own consulting firm working with companies and school districts before focusing their efforts on DrivingMBA.

Their goal is to take their small business to a national scale, but not for a dream of high dollar profits.

"It's not a sexy business, not a get rich scheme. It's a business that's actually driven by passion," Maria said.

Maria talked about an email she received a year ago from a woman, thanking them after her son, a former DrivingMBA student, was able to react quickly and avoided a head-on collision.

Another woman wrote after her daughter, a former student, was hit by a pickup truck going 80 miles an hour on the 101. Her daughter immediately knew to take her foot off the brake and turn her wheel to the right. This significantly altered the dynamic and lessened the impact.

The woman's daughter and her two passengers walked away with some pain but no one sustained injuries.

"This is an exact situation in the simulator," Maria said. "When we hear about those kinds of things… we know we are doing the right thing."

Driving MBA

Where: 9089 E. Bahia Drive, No. 102, Scottsdale, 1760 W. Chandler Blvd., Suite 3, Chandler

Employees: 25

Interesting stat: One in five 16-year-old drivers has an accident within their first year of driving, according to auto insurance company GEICO.

Details: 480-948-1648, drivingmba.com