Advanced driving for advanced drivers

[meehaja]

Hi, I'm Jim. I'm looking at developing my driving skills a bit, maybe freshen up my knowledge a little and ensure that I'm still driving to the standard that I like to think I am.

Driver training-wise I am all ready fairly qualified with being a Paramedic, with several years of driving fast response cars under my belt and also having a C1 license.

Am I going to learn anything new from doing advanced driving courses, or would I be better just getting a refresher through work? I'm under the impression that legislation has changed and we may have to have an "emergency driving" license at some point, so i'd imagine that would be a good few days training.

So thanks for reading my mumbly post and any suggestions are welcomed!

[johnao]

meehaja said:

Driver training-wise I am all ready fairly qualified with being a Paramedic, with several years of driving fast response cars under my belt and also having a C1 license.

Am I going to learn anything new from doing advanced driving courses, or would I be better just getting a refresher through work?

You are only likely to learn anything new from an advanced driving course if you genuinely believe that you have something to learn.

[R0G]

Try and get hold of a traffic cop who will put you through your paces and then see what more you need to learn

[Flat6er]

Reglocal has a book. It might be just the thing.

[akirk]

The starting point is there - in that you want to do something...
you have already had a certain amount of training, but not all response drivers are good drivers, so don't start at that assumption...
I would look at any of many courses out there or IAM / ROSPA etc. to get an assessment to highlight what you might need, and then work from that... a couple of hours with a good instructor / coach will give them more than enough time to see the strengths and weaknesses...

[waremark]

akirk said:

The starting point is there - in that you want to do something...
you have already had a certain amount of training, but not all response drivers are good drivers, so don't start at that assumption...
I would look at any of many courses out there or IAM / ROSPA etc. to get an assessment to highlight what you might need, and then work from that... a couple of hours with a good instructor / coach will give them more than enough time to see the strengths and weaknesses...

Personally, if he has had response training, I would not expect him to find a volunteer Observer/Tutor from IAM or Rospa at a suitable level to help. There are plenty of professionals who can do so, of whom I would recommend the course managers of the High Performance Course:

http://www.high-performance-course.com/

They are good value but not cheap. If not wanting to invest in their services, try attending one of the driving days of the Advanced Driving UK forum - you would find a number of very advanced drivers to assess and advise:

http://www.advanced-driving.co.uk/forum/

[SVS]

I agree with Mark. This is ideally one for an HPC Course Manager or, alternatively, one of the more advanced people from AD UK.

An AD UK driving day would obviously be the cheaper option! Though half a day with a HPC Course Manager would be money well spent, IME.

[akirk]

waremark said:

akirk said:

The starting point is there - in that you want to do something...
you have already had a certain amount of training, but not all response drivers are good drivers, so don't start at that assumption...
I would look at any of many courses out there or IAM / ROSPA etc. to get an assessment to highlight what you might need, and then work from that... a couple of hours with a good instructor / coach will give them more than enough time to see the strengths and weaknesses...

Personally, if he has had response training, I would not expect him to find a volunteer Observer/Tutor from IAM or Rospa at a suitable level to help. There are plenty of professionals who can do so, of whom I would recommend the course managers of the High Performance Course:

http://www.high-performance-course.com/

They are good value but not cheap. If not wanting to invest in their services, try attending one of the driving days of the Advanced Driving UK forum - you would find a number of very advanced drivers to assess and advise:

http://www.advanced-driving.co.uk/forum/

Fair points, and I am a big advocate of the high performance course having done it myself... I think I was just meaning - get out there and somewhere get an initial assessment... joining AD UK might be a good starting point, and there are observers / trainers on there who would be able to help...

[daz6215]

meehaja said:

Hi, I'm Jim. I'm looking at developing my driving skills a bit, maybe freshen up my knowledge a little and ensure that I'm still driving to the standard that I like to think I am.

Driver training-wise I am all ready fairly qualified with being a Paramedic, with several years of driving fast response cars under my belt and also having a C1 license.

Am I going to learn anything new from doing advanced driving courses, or would I be better just getting a refresher through work? I'm under the impression that legislation has changed and we may have to have an "emergency driving" license at some point, so i'd imagine that would be a good few days training.

So thanks for reading my mumbly post and any suggestions are welcomed!

I'm not sure about an emergency response licence but sec 19 of the Road Safety Act is reportedly coming in by the end of the year. If so you will be required to have regular assessments to drive on blue lights. Try to remember also about subjective and objective skill perception, they should be calibrated to reduce risk exposure so you need to be honest with yourself about your skill level if you want to develop. Where are you located?

[mph1977]

daz6215 said:

meehaja said:

Hi, I'm Jim. I'm looking at developing my driving skills a bit, maybe freshen up my knowledge a little and ensure that I'm still driving to the standard that I like to think I am.

Driver training-wise I am all ready fairly qualified with being a Paramedic, with several years of driving fast response cars under my belt and also having a C1 license.

Am I going to learn anything new from doing advanced driving courses, or would I be better just getting a refresher through work? I'm under the impression that legislation has changed and we may have to have an "emergency driving" license at some point, so i'd imagine that would be a good few days training.

So thanks for reading my mumbly post and any suggestions are welcomed!

I'm not sure about an emergency response licence but sec 19 of the Road Safety Act is reportedly coming in by the end of the year. If so you will be required to have regular assessments to drive on blue lights. Try to remember also about subjective and objective skill perception, they should be calibrated to reduce risk exposure so you need to be honest with yourself about your skill level if you want to develop. Where are you located?

fronm what i've been told the DVLA and DVSA are trying to distance themselves sufficiently that they get some say in who and how but not actually have to deliver it/ assess it or put it as a category modifier on licences ...

however a number of blue light services i am aware of have increased the numbers and training of their trainers and assessors in the light of regular reassessments.