Driving school teaches life-saving maneuvers on the road

Learning life-saving manuevers for the road

A bus driver in central Minnesota last week avoided a semi-truck crash, saving lives. Here in Minnesota, there’s a training center that teaches people how to do what that bus driver did.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A bus driver in central Minnesota last week avoided a semi-truck crash, saving lives. Here in Minnesota, there’s a training center that teaches people how to do what that bus driver did.

The Precision Driving Center of Minnesota

What we know:

The Precision Driving Center of Minnesota runs you through a course to help prevent head-on crashes by switching lanes and then going back into your lane. They teach anyone from first responders to bus drivers and everyday people.

Hero school bus driver avoids head-on crash with semi

A Mille Lacs County school bus driver is being hailed a hero after he acted quickly to avoid a head0on collision with a semi truck that was driving on the wrong side of the road. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has more.

Bus driver avoids semi truck crash

The backstory:

Last week, a split-second decision was made that saved lives. A school bus driver moved into the other lane as a tractor-trailer veered into the path of the school bus.

What experts say

What they're saying:

"He's seen that semi in the lane. He wasn't looking over, you know, 3,4, 5, feet out in front of his bus. So that gave him some time to react when that semi was in his lane," said David Stadther a driving instructor at the Precision Driving Center of Minnesota.

Stadther tells FOX 9, they train first responders and people in this type of situation to get them comfortable.

"You could see them just hitting the brakes, getting hit. They might steer into the wrong lane of traffic and hit head-on, often into the ditch," said Stadther.

WATCH: School bus barely misses head-on semi crash

A school bus driver is being recognized for his "quick and heroic efforts" after narrowly avoiding a semi-truck that left its lane Wednesday morning in Mille Lacs County.

Putting it to the test

Test drive:

So we put it to the test. But first, instructions.

"You're going to see two lights come on. One does not you're going to snap that wheel really hard. You're going to move it into the lane that is unlit," said Stadther.

Then came the test drive. The goal is to veer to the left or right and back to center without hitting any cones. Your timing has to be right, hands at 8 and 4 with turning the wheel, and foot off the gas once you hit 30 miles per hour.

"It can be used on fire trucks, even the semi-drivers we teach, we teach the same thing to them," said Stadther.