Passed IAM - now what?

[trashbat]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

That sounds more like the test was what I'd expect, but you perhaps didn't get enough open-road stuff during the course. Having said that, it would be fairly standard practice to introduce The System on simple left turns and slow speed junctions, rather than throwing an associate at a fast bend and hoping they sort things out in time.

I reckon the more enjoyable aspects of Advanced Driving tend to be found out of town, and often think it's a shame that the IAM preparation isn't more biased towards this. Once the examiner has satisfied themselves you're not a total liability, they'll be looking for how you actually drive the car rather than how you park it.

Our group is based in centre of Southampton, and does the majority if not all of its drives on a one hour, once a month Sunday session. It takes a reasonable amount of time to get anywhere more interesting (A272 etc) so it is a kind of self limiting arrangement. This is not necessarily true of all groups - some may make individual arrangements with longer run times.

It's that kind of driving that was the motivation to join the IAM, and although I didn't get to do any observed sessions really focused on that, I did learn a lot that I applied to it in my own time.

[Art0ir]

Synchromesh said:

I think the real benefit is making you more conscious of your own driving, improving your observation, anticipation and planning. This manifests itself in a number of ways. Better progress (town or country), a greater safety margin, smoother, more harmonious interaction with other road users, less wear and tear, less fuel usage, the list goes on...

I see, thanks.

[Synchromesh]

trashbat said:

ur group is based in centre of Southampton, and does the majority if not all of its drives on a one hour, once a month Sunday session. It takes a reasonable amount of time to get anywhere more interesting (A272 etc) so it is a kind of self limiting arrangement. This is not necessarily true of all groups - some may make individual arrangements with longer run times.

Yes, Tony's and my IAM group do the latter - individual arrangement with one observer seeing an associate through from start to finish. I think this works better as is gives the associate consistency, and both the flexibility to find appropriate times to meet. The only disadvantage is if the associate is drawn the short straw of having a lacklustre observer.

P.S Tony: Needs coil packs on cylinders one and two and a set of spark plugs for good measure. Will report tomorrow on collection.

[trashbat]

I was asked for feedback on the course and discussed a few things like that - I'll check what I wrote and share that later.

[trashbat]

The feedback I gave on the overall course:

me said:

The approach of different observers for each run is an interesting one that I'm sure comes up a lot. On one hand it offers variety and different areas of focus - I found that each observer typically places most value on a particular aspect. This is valuable, especially towards the end when polishing.

On the other hand I think there is a lack of a continuous narrative that you get with most forms of training, especially with regard to candidate progress, and if you take something like brake/gear separation then it is a slow transition that needs evaluation and refinement, rather than being binary ready-or-not. I got a couple of hints that some observers discuss progress with each other, and the run sheets also help to a degree, but perhaps there could be more. I don't know quite what.

I have talked to a few people that took various advanced driving courses and they all say that there's a slump in the middle. A web poster here describes it well, under 'Saturday 6th March':

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I agree with that - there is a point in one's progress where brake/gear separation in particular does not come easily and yet (at that point) it's hard to see what the real benefit is going to be in the long term, even if you can understand the theory of why you're doing it. It's easy to forget this in retrospect once the system is ingrained. I don't know what candidate attrition is like but if it's an issue then this may be a reason. Perhaps setting the learning expectations or some kind of mentor contact would help, I'm not sure - back again to the narrative issue.

I found that different observers varied between dogmatic ('we always do it this way') and pragmatic ('you judge what's appropriate in this context'), especially in earlier sessions where I was looking for total guidance and answers to questions, rather than refining my approach. This can appear to produce contradictory advice, even if it isn't necessarily. The same dogma can also make its way into the focus of a whole run; in one later session push-pull technique was concentrated on as an answer to better manoeuvres and an underlying problem of not really knowing the bounds of the car.

It's more of a wish and difficult to accommodate given time and location constraints, but I personally would have liked to see a bit more route tailoring. The type of driving I enjoy most is typically something like a progress-oriented run of about two hours on the A272, and this is naturally not very well represented. Equally I commute out of Southampton to the countryside north of Romsey, and being able to do observed sessions relating to a regular journey like this would in my view create far stronger mental links about what to improve on - 'ah, this is that bend where I need to improve my positioning' etc. The underlying message is making sure it's relevant to the individual's typical driving environments, because it's in unsupervised driving that the real improvements are made.

So, at exam time... The assessment sheet includes scores on:

• Safety
• System
• Observation
• Positioning
• Hazard Management
• Planning
• Anticipation
• Eco-Driving
• Vehicle Sympathy
• Gear Changing
• Use of Gearbox
• Acceleration / Sense
• Braking
• Steering
• Mirrors / Rear observation
• Signals
• Cornering
• Overtaking
• Restraint
• Progress
• Smoothness
• Concentration
• Courtesy
• Legality
• Slow manoeuvring
• Knowledge
• Commentary

These are all scored 1-5, meaning excellent/good/satisfactory/poor/unsatisfactory.

You receive some written feedback, for example :

remarks said:

Excellent drive, progressive/spirited when appropriate, speed limits complied with. Good understanding of the System. Observation levels & hazard perception also presented well in the drive. Good positioning & safety distances.

You are then recommended/not recommended. All credit to my examiner - he made it a very pleasant experience with good conversation that let the driving come naturally, rather unlike the silent DSA test where I was bricking it.

[Glosphil]

waremark said:

Congratulations.

Contrary to the comments made by some others about becoming an Observer for IAM, I think you would find that becoming an Observer would seriously develop your own driving, as well as being good for your own personal development (unless you already teach/coach in some other environment), giving you a sense of satisfaction, helping your group and helping other drivers.

But I also endorse all the other suggestions.

The IAM group for which I am Membership Secretary and an Observer is desperate to recruit younger Observers. Although we assist some younger motorists in passing the IAM test very few of them stay members of the group after passing and none have become observers in the last few years. As a group we are keen to encourage younger drivers to improve their driving via the IAM Skill For Life programme and having younger Observers within the group would certainly be a help.

We allocate one observer to each Associate and observed drivers are around 1½ hours (as is the IAM test). It is up to each observer and associate 'pair' to arrange how often they meet for observed drives, but we suggest at least once every two weeks. One of our observers gets all his Associates through the test in less than 8 weeks and had 6 passes last year. We are fortunate that our area includes motorway, dual-carriageway, decent NSL roads, country lanes and 2 large towns so we can include all aspects of driving (as does our local IAM examiner).

So I would encourage you to become an observer for the local group. As well as assisting other drivers to improve their driving it will also keep you thinking about your own driving and assist you in not slipping back into bad habits.

[R0G]

Synchromesh said:

Yes, Tony's and my IAM group do the latter - individual arrangement with one observer seeing an associate through from start to finish. I think this works better as is gives the associate consistency, and both the flexibility to find appropriate times to meet. The only disadvantage is if the associate is drawn the short straw of having a lacklustre observer.

Leicester group do 1 to 1 as well

We also inform the associate that they can change the observer and observers have the same option, after all, we humans do not always get on with each other !!

[Synchromesh]

R0G said:

We also inform the associate that they can change the observer and observers have the same option, after all, we humans do not always get on with each other !!

Yes. This is very important. We also have a 'check drive' system so when an observer thinks their associate is ready, they send them to another observer (their team leader) for a second opinion before they go in for test.

[R0G]

Synchromesh said:

Yes. This is very important. We also have a 'check drive' system so when an observer thinks their associate is ready, they send them to another observer (their team leader) for a second opinion before they go in for test.

DITTO - if either the observer or associate thinks that is necessary

[MagicalTrevor]

Well done, really pleased you found my diary useful

I don't need to say much more than the other guys have said already, for me I learnt a huge amount by having a few 'AD' drives with like mind individuals (I.e. not an official IAM drive) and both really improved me. Just that different perspective really helped so I'd really recommend finding people nearby and spending a few hours on the road with them.

Then look at other courses

[R0G]

Any sort of on-road driving where another is looking at your driving and getting you to think about it is good because most drivers do not give themselves that option and simply rely on what they did on the basic test and the fact that they have not been involved in too many incidents

[BOF]

waremark said:

Congratulations.

Contrary to the comments made by some others about becoming an Observer for IAM, I think you would find that becoming an Observer would seriously develop your own driving, as well as being good for your own personal development (unless you already teach/coach in some other environment), giving you a sense of satisfaction, helping your group and helping other drivers.

But I also endorse all the other suggestions.

In a bit of a rush reading this thread...one word...exactly...

BOF

[jamesallport]

I'm an HPC member (and IAM observer and RoADAR tutor) based in Chichester. Very happy to go for a drive if you'd like. PM me and we'll sort something out.

James

[trashbat]

I'm in the US briefly and then away for a few days, but thay sounds like a great offer, thank you - will be in touch when I'm back in town.

[MC Bodge]

do HPC members exist further north (Lancs/Cheshire way)?

[MC Bodge]

MC Bodge said:

do HPC members exist further north (Lancs/Cheshire way)?

Presumably not...

[7mike]

MC Bodge said:

Presumably not...

I once saw a HPC sticker on a car in our local Morrison's and that's in Lancs

[R0G]

MC Bodge said:

do HPC members exist further north (Lancs/Cheshire way)?

Try asking on the ADUK site

[DukeDickson]

Glosphil said:

The IAM group for which I am Membership Secretary and an Observer is desperate to recruit younger Observers. Although we assist some younger motorists in passing the IAM test very few of them stay members of the group after passing and none have become observers in the last few years. As a group we are keen to encourage younger drivers to improve their driving via the IAM Skill For Life programme and having younger Observers within the group would certainly be a help.

We allocate one observer to each Associate and observed drivers are around 1½ hours (as is the IAM test). It is up to each observer and associate 'pair' to arrange how often they meet for observed drives, but we suggest at least once every two weeks. One of our observers gets all his Associates through the test in less than 8 weeks and had 6 passes last year. We are fortunate that our area includes motorway, dual-carriageway, decent NSL roads, country lanes and 2 large towns so we can include all aspects of driving (as does our local IAM examiner).

So I would encourage you to become an observer for the local group. As well as assisting other drivers to improve their driving it will also keep you thinking about your own driving and assist you in not slipping back into bad habits.

Dunno if still the case but I suspect the reality (or perception) of a certain lack of flexibility probably puts many off.
A simple example would be that when I were a lad, the local group did their stuff on a Sunday morning. While I was happy enough for a few weeks, persuading me or indeed others in their teens/twenties and beyond to give up a few beers on a Saturday night on a regular basis is not an easy ask.

I guess the other element is probably that at least some of the younger end of the world struggle to some degree with the regimental (and certain sense of golf club) that comes with the older & more committed to 'the rules' end of the advanced driving world, once they've taken the first step, of course.
Impetuosity of youth, but at the same time not necessarily wrong, just that it will be frowned upon or even crushed. These things, amongst one or two others certainly stopped me at the time and even now, when not quite so young, make me think more than twice. I'd like to do something but probably still tend toward the naughty step, so probably still can't/won't.

[jcochrane]

MC Bodge said:

do HPC members exist further north (Lancs/Cheshire way)?

Yes they do and there are a number up in Scotland as well.