Advanced Driving Qualifications

Meeten

Meeten

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,728
Name
Meeten
Edit My Images
No
I've had my driving license for more than 20yrs, and have not had points (good fortune).
I'm thinking that if I were to take my test again, I'd probably fail :rolleyes:
But, with kids and driving more for work, I was thinking about taking an advanced course to improve my awareness.

Does anyone have experience of taking a recognised advanced course? Any pitfalls / issues that I should be aware of?
Does the insurance premium decrease? (I would guess that risk profile is reduced so it should).

Any recommendations appreciated.
 
I don't think I could answer most of that but then you should at least use the available resources on the net and the bookstores

REG LOCAL is great source (ex police instructor I believe). His youtube channel is well worth 3-4 hours https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8fDyubAs3eLup-3COgsyRQ and he's got a book or two on amazon. If everyone was driving to that standard roads would be a lot safer and less gridlocked.
 
There is an advanced motorist institution you could take there course
 
Slyelessar said:
Worth catching up on modern general driving techniques. Losing bad habits, and keeping hands at 9 and 3 as they teach now, stuff like that.

It's all about relearning certain things and driving safe.
Click to expand...

That's the concern.
I believe you get complacent so I'm trying to improve my own skill set. Not much I can do about the others in thr Road, but if I can drive better......
 
Get in touch with the IAM.

Your local group will take you out and prepare for the advanced test.

Don't expect your insurance to go down though:(
 
My Mother (rip) used to be an instructor for the IAM. They teach you the proper way to drive, the way the police do, in terms of observation and road handling. You'd fail a driving test doing it their way but you'll be a much safer driver for yourself and others.
 
From what I have looked at in the past it's a waste of money from what I understand. I used to be on a few different car forums quite regularly and the few who did it said their premiums didn't drop and in all it was probably not worth doing. And it's hardly the type of thing you'd bring up at a dinner party.

As you are of the mindset to ask this in the first place you are obviously a sensible driver. If you are going to have an accident it will in all likelihood not be because of anything you could have done differently, but some other road user who is not paying attention.
 
Take some hgv lessons. Gives you a completely different perspective on driving and the road.
Also teaches you that the majority of car drivers are utter ends of bells
 
Craigus said:
From what I have looked at in the past it's a waste of money from what I understand. I used to be on a few different car forums quite regularly and the few who did it said their premiums didn't drop and in all it was probably not worth doing. And it's hardly the type of thing you'd bring up at a dinner party.

As you are of the mindset to ask this in the first place you are obviously a sensible driver. If you are going to have an accident it will in all likelihood not be because of anything you could have done differently, but some other road user who is not paying attention.
Click to expand...

If it's just about dropping premiums then possibly but.. IAM teaches you to be a much more observant safer driver, trust me if you think you see everything now try taking an IAM course. The commentary driving (again something the police teach) where you have to speak aloud every potential hazard you see ahead and behind you really brings home how much you miss normally.
 
As an alternative there is also the the Roadar route which is worth a look. I personally prefer that as it is reassessed to show that skills are being kept up.

https://www.roadar.org.uk/
 
TCR4x4 said:
Take some hgv lessons. Gives you a completely different perspective on driving and the road.
Also teaches you that the majority of car drivers are utter ends of bells
Click to expand...

You get taught that as a motorcyclist.

There's not much call for additional courses,as m ost drivers think they are brilliant and everyone else is terrible. Most driving schools run Pass Plus, for preparing new drivers who have passed for additional skills such as motorway driving.
Why not speak to a local driving instructor, ask for say an hours assessment.
 
TCR4x4 said:
Take some hgv lessons. Gives you a completely different perspective on driving and the road.
Click to expand...
Byker28i said:
You get taught that as a motorcyclist.
Click to expand...
There is a huge difference between the 2, speaking from many years experience, on both.
With a bike they are a danger to you, with a truck they are danger to themselves ;)

Byker28i said:
Why not speak to a local driving instructor, ask for say an hours assessment.
Click to expand...
But all they teach you is how to pass a test.
Many years ago, I was told, you will learn more in the week after you pass your test than you did before..
Very true.
But then its true of all walks of life, some people learn and adapt, some never do ;)
 
TCR4x4 said:
Also teaches you that the majority of car drivers are utter ends of bells
Click to expand...

That is true. I've been taught by morons to expect almost every car to swerve to my lane at roundabouts without paying any attention. You just can't run parallel with anyone unless you have an empty 'escape' lane to the right (or left). Either floor it or go very slow and watch the sides.

I could think of plenty more cases where you need to drive defensively. A hgv would help a lot there :)
 
Cobra said:
But all they teach you is how to pass a test.
Many years ago, I was told, you will learn more in the week after you pass your test than you did before..
Very true.
But then its true of all walks of life, some people learn and adapt, some never do ;)
Click to expand...

RE driving instructors - some have the pass plus, some are very good and will recognise bad habits and correct you.
For motorbikes there's always Bikesafe, run by the police and local transport authority
 
Byker28i said:
For motorbikes there's always Bikesafe, run by the police and local transport authority
Click to expand...
I found Bikesafe a good course. My only criticism of it is they teach you to ride like a police motorcyclist but without their bike (i.e. blues and twos) other car drivers dont behave in the same way to a non police bike.
As an example, I was taught to move into the middle lane of 3 lane motorways/dual carriageways when getting close to an "on" slip road to avoid being side swiped etc by joining drivers and being in their blind spot, which is great advice. However moving into the middle lane and doing 70 often results in either being tail gated or undertaken (with the car driver then having to swerve out last minute as the "on" driver pulls into their lane). Hardly think that would happen to a police motorcyclist on a marked police bike.
Otherwise there was definitely some positives to take from the days riding.
Matt
 
MatBin said:
I found Bikesafe a good course. My only criticism of it is they teach you to ride like a police motorcyclist but without their bike (i.e. blues and twos) other car drivers dont behave in the same way to a non police bike.
As an example, I was taught to move into the middle lane of 3 lane motorways/dual carriageways when getting close to an "on" slip road to avoid being side swiped etc by joining drivers and being in their blind spot, which is great advice. However moving into the middle lane and doing 70 often results in either being tail gated or undertaken (with the car driver then having to swerve out last minute as the "on" driver pulls into their lane). Hardly think that would happen to a police motorcyclist on a marked police bike.
Otherwise there was definitely some positives to take from the days riding.
Matt
Click to expand...

We did this through the back roads of Wiltshire, which included trying to keep up with the copper on a pan european on our sports bikes as he showed us how to make progress through smooth riding. :D
 
Byker28i said:
For motorbikes there's always Bikesafe, run by the police and local transport authority
Click to expand...

An excellent day and extremely good value. Only slight niggle was the 6 month wait for a space on the course.

MatBin said:
Hardly think that would happen to a police motorcyclist on a marked police bike.
Click to expand...

It does. In fact, on my assessment ride, someone pulled out on the copper who was following me and got a pull for it. Had the copper not been doing the BikeSafe assessment, he'd have given the woman a ticket.

Byker28i said:
We did this through the back roads of Wiltshire, which included trying to keep up with the copper on a pan european on our sports bikes as he showed us how to make progress through smooth riding. :D
Click to expand...

Many (MANY!) years ago, the chap who took Ducati testers (as in people who wanted to take them out for a test ride) from a well known dealer (back then) rode a hardtail Harley and it apparently took some effort to follow him on the Dukes.
 
I had a tricked up Ducati try and follow me through country lanes a few years back, I was on a 955 Sprint, panniers top box and totally shot swinging arm (as I found out 2 weeks later when it went in for it's MOT - oops :) )
Never been that impressed with Ducatis, if Rossi couldnt ride one what chance the rest of us.

Edit - seem to be doing ok in Sepang 2018 tests though.
 
Last edited:
I am a qualified National Observer with the IAM, have also done my IAM bike test and got a respectable score on the 'Special Assessment' (now Masters).
My insurance has a 5% discount applied via Admiral, the IAM Surety cover operating by IAM is supposedly discounted but I didn't qualify as they don't/didn't cover modified cars.
As for the driving, I found the quality of local groups to vary massively within a small area, some are excellent and others are the type that get IAM a bad name. The training is based around Roadcraft, the police drivers handbook, using the same systems and processes as the police drivers (but sticking to the speed limits :-) Your local group should be able to help, they usually assign an observer to you and they take you all the way through the training at your own pace, following your assessment drive they will focus on the main areas will work with you to get you to test standard. Sessions are usually arranged between you and your observer at mutually convenient times and you work at your own pace.
I was lucky, the social side my group was excellent, we did runs out as a group, BBQs, treasure hunts etc as well as training days and events.
I also did training with RoADAR, but found their training to be more restrictive and less open to situational change (ie they don't cross centre lane markings at bends no matter what vision you have, IAM will allow this (as stated in Roadcraft).

If you want any more info I'm happy to help if I can, just send me a pm
 
Madmoggy said:
we did runs out as a group,
Click to expand...

The coppers that did the BikeSafe course all advise not to ride or drive in groups of more than 3 vehicles. The local IAM motorcycle group seem to travel in packs of 10+ at somewhere above the NSL.
 
On my Bikesafe course we travelled somewhat above the speed limit in NSL areas, however we strictly stuck to them in other limited areas. I found the course quite good, but I got more from spending a half day with an advanced police rider who assessed my riding based on their own course.

This was my report.

IMG_3093 by rick phillips, on Flickr
 
Nod said:
The coppers that did the BikeSafe course all advise not to ride or drive in groups of more than 3 vehicles. The local IAM motorcycle group seem to travel in packs of 10+ at somewhere above the NSL.
Click to expand...
I didn't go out with the bike group for rides out as they were not <diplomatic mode> people whose riding style matched mine </dm> and there were a lot of different views on overtaking, speed limits etc
In the car group we used to break the run into smaller groups so we didn't end up with 10 cars trying to keep up with each other, and made sure everyone knew where the break points were along the route so there was no pressure to keep anyone in sight.
Someone was telling me of a new law coming in/has come in where the leader of a group of riders or drivers can be prosecuted if any of the group are riding illegally (speeding/crossing white lines etc) to catch up with the group. I don't have any details yet, and cannot see how that can stand any fairness test in law (Im at the back, get held up at a junction so drive like a loon to catch up, how is that legally the responsibility of the guy at the front?) but my source is an ex traffic cop and IAM trainer/examiner.
 
Madmoggy said:
Someone was telling me of a new law coming in/has come in where the leader of a group of riders or drivers can be prosecuted if any of the group are riding illegally (speeding/crossing white lines etc) to catch up with the group. I don't have any details yet, and cannot see how that can stand any fairness test in law (Im at the back, get held up at a junction so drive like a loon to catch up, how is that legally the responsibility of the guy at the front?) but my source is an ex traffic cop and IAM trainer/examiner.
Click to expand...


This was basically the point that the coppers were making - a group of 2 or 3 can keep an eye on each other and adjust their rate of progress so they stick together reasonably well but a larger group will stretch and the tail end Charlie (or Charlotte) may well feel the need to catch up with the group ahead. Last group ride I went on was a classic bike club ride and there were several fairly large (5-10 bikes) groups that were all bunched up and being older bikes, weren't exactly making brisk progress. I came back from the destination with a couple of mates, avoiding the organised route.

Even on the BikeSafe assessment ride, the coppers told us to ride our own ride and not worry if we got left behind or ended up out of sight of the following bikes (total group of 3 including the copper) since there were always prearranged rendezvous points that were hard to miss.
 
I passed my IAM Advanced when I was 21 and was then also made one of the youngest Observers in the UK at that time - it made no difference to my insurance

I also passed the RoSPA equivalent too - it made no difference to my insurance

I (at that same time) spent a day on a skid prevention & control course which was great fun, and really taught me the joys of going sideways via handbrake or rear-wheel drive :D This also made no difference to my insurance lol

Advanced motoring at that time was more about making 'adequate progress', which really meant driving quickly & safely. I suspect today's equivalent is more about 'Defensive Driving', meaning making good progress while watching out for the ever increasing numbers of knobheads on our roads who don't give a flying FK about you, anyone else or it seems their own lives :(

Until 'Advanced' become 'Normal' or at least a 10 yearly retest we're all in danger, even the fact that the OP is asking the question means they are more likely safer than the average

s***tttttty world we're in at the mo

Dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top