Check B4U Drive

Check B4U Drive is a one-day drivers mini-camp combining effective diabetes management with advanced driving skills.

View our one-page program overview/summary here.

    Registration Here

 

From its start in 2010, the program was designed specifically for teens with diabetes.

Driving age is a new milestone of independence, and it’s important for teens with diabetes to socialize and learn the best ways to prepare for a life of safe driving.

The 1-day program (9AM to 3PM) is an fun and educational day of well-spent time!  Teens from past programs walked away excited about getting some advanced and performance driving instruction most of their peers may never get.

View some of the video clips from past programs including our “Introduction to Check B4U Drive” on our home page (it’s from the very beginning — and still holds up well today!)  And, as you look around our site, you’ll see many other videos from past events.  


Response to the program is strong and we’re working to add more dates and locations.

The program is open to teens age 15-19 with a permit or driver’s license. If space permits, we welcome 14 and 15 year olds without permits to participate in all aspects of the program except getting behind the wheel, although they can ‘ride along’ to listen and learn. Parents are welcome to stay as well.

Check B4U Drive different from other “teen safe driving programs” in two key ways.

  1. Each 1-day event is 6 hours. This extra time allows for activities pertaining to diabetes management … and tying it in to the in-car activities.

  2. Each event day is limited to 20 teens. This is a fun day for all attendees. It’s not often a small group of teens with T1 diabetes get a chance to spend some time together, making friends, sharing stories and learning about diabetes management and advanced driving skills from some of the best professional driving instructors in the U.S.  (Our instructors have backgrounds in the auto industry, motorsports, advanced racing/driving schools, high-threat driver training for the military, law enforcement, more)

The Foundation’s objective is continue working to bring the program to cities across the U.S. and further its status as one of the premier programs for teens with diabetes. You can help! Become a “program chairperson” in your area. See our Volunteer page for more information.

 

Check B4U Drive, No-Cost Program

  1. Presentation and discussion about safe driving, and managing critical situations with a Certified Diabetic Educator

  2. In the Cars — with great instructors. T1D teens get to “go through the paces” and learn/practice:

           >> Hard stops
           >> Accident avoidance
           >> Slalom handling
           >> The perils of distraction
           >> Skid control
           >> Low Blood Sugar simulation
          >> More

We may pump up the adrenaline, but it’s all done to help T1D teens become better and safer drivers while retaining critical knowledge of diabetes management.

Registration for Chicago 2022

(and other locations) (Feel free to register even if you’re outside of Chicago — we’ll use your registration to contact you about other locations and dates that might work for you.)


 

Numerous Benefits – NO COST!

At the end of the program, participants come away with extra confidence, new friends and a feeling of having been part of a “select group”. Additionally, parents gain additional confidence their teens will be better prepared for driving.

Everyone learns something new from the Certified Diabetic Educator who attends and participates. It’s an environment where no questions are considered wrong to ask. It’s a fun and educational day for everyone!

Best of all, the program is still offered at no cost! (We gladly accept any donations to help defray costs, but we do this because we know it helps!  When the program comes to your area, please register!)

 

A Great Testimonial! 

One of our biggest challenges is making families with a T1D teen aware of Check B4U Drive. So we love when we see these notes. (This note was sent to the head of LaRabida in Chicago – a diabetes medical center. It’s from a mom whose daughter participated in Check B4U Drive in Sept. 2014)

Hi Rose,
Just wanted to thank you for giving us the information on the Check B4U Drive Program. I took my daughter to the program last Saturday in Tinley Park. They encouraged the parents to stay if they wanted so we were there for the entire day. What a GREAT program!! All the kids, including our daughter, started the morning with the same ‘my parents made me come to this stupid thing’ look on their faces, but 10 minutes in they all, including my daughter, changed their tune!  Everyone connected with the program was terrific!  The kids gained valuable knowledge and hands-on experience, for free, no less. The woman checking the kids in that morning asked me where I found out about the program and I told them that you had given me a flyer. She said that they have been having a hard time getting the word out about the program. She said schools she has contacted were not helpful and that most of the doctors offices she has gotten the info to apparently are not passing it on to the patients and families. So, I just wanted to let you know that we TOTALLY APPRECIATE that you gave us the information. My daughter learned a ton on an important topic and had a blast while doing it!! Oh, and as I result, I was able to tell her, “I TOLD YOU SO!!”  Thanks again!
B. J.

Copyright 2023 | Juvenile Diabetes No Limits Foundation | All rights reserved.