From IAM Member to Observer - Long story...
Discussion
Hi again,
To be honest, the thought of anyone under the mental age of 100 turning up at my old IAM car group fills me with horror
. Not age, but stick-in-the-mud attitudes are a big problem in some car groups. (I used to be active at IAM Regional level, so know many a group.)
My old car group would turn off any younger driver from the IAM. To be honest, the car group meetings would turn off any driver full stop. This group even gave our Regional Examiner a hard time when he visited (!) because some of the committee and senior observers thought they knew better than the Regional Examiner about driving
A Young Driver Nework is sorely needed in my neck of the woods, if the IAM is to have any chance of recruiting and retaining anyone under 40, let alone under 30.
I've long since left my car group, but would re-join a Young Driver Network if I'm not too old now.
If you want a melting pot, invest in joining the High Performance Club
On the other hand, my bike group's great
, like most bike groups 
Can't answer your insurance question, I'm afraid. Try posting your query on the YDN group in Facebook.
To be honest, the thought of anyone under the mental age of 100 turning up at my old IAM car group fills me with horror
. Not age, but stick-in-the-mud attitudes are a big problem in some car groups. (I used to be active at IAM Regional level, so know many a group.)My old car group would turn off any younger driver from the IAM. To be honest, the car group meetings would turn off any driver full stop. This group even gave our Regional Examiner a hard time when he visited (!) because some of the committee and senior observers thought they knew better than the Regional Examiner about driving
A Young Driver Nework is sorely needed in my neck of the woods, if the IAM is to have any chance of recruiting and retaining anyone under 40, let alone under 30.
I've long since left my car group, but would re-join a Young Driver Network if I'm not too old now.
If you want a melting pot, invest in joining the High Performance Club
On the other hand, my bike group's great
, like most bike groups Can't answer your insurance question, I'm afraid. Try posting your query on the YDN group in Facebook.
Edited by SVS on Saturday 29th December 20:10
SVS said:
If you want a melting pot, invest in joining the High Performance Club
What exactly is this? I think it was this that I was discussing with Tony Hetherington about a year ago but it seemed fairly intensive.I would love to get some further driver training along the lines of the IAM or similar, but it all seems so complicated!
A Ride Drive course, you pay your money, arrange a date and do it. However, I would like more on-going tuition ... a bit like golf lessons, you never stop having them, even if only to keep you up to scratch (no pun intended!).
Can anyone suggest a kind of "beginners route to driving better" option in East Yorkshire please?
burriana said:
SVS said:
If you want a melting pot, invest in joining the High Performance Club
What exactly is this? I think it was this that I was discussing with Tony Hetherington about a year ago but it seemed fairly intensive.I would love to get some further driver training along the lines of the IAM or similar, but it all seems so complicated!
A Ride Drive course, you pay your money, arrange a date and do it. However, I would like more on-going tuition ... a bit like golf lessons, you never stop having them, even if only to keep you up to scratch (no pun intended!).
Can anyone suggest a kind of "beginners route to driving better" option in East Yorkshire please?
Have a look here if you want to start with the IAM?
http://www.iam.org.uk/iamgroups/groupdirectory/nor...
Not sure where your looking specifically in EY, I have details for the Hull group if you want?
Ad
Matters not a jot where the wheel is.
I suggest you do the IAM first, as it gets a grounding for you to start analysing your driving. But of course it is all done under the strictest of speed limits.
However, that grounding then gives you somewhere to move forward on; ride drive/HPC, whatever it may be.
I suggest you do the IAM first, as it gets a grounding for you to start analysing your driving. But of course it is all done under the strictest of speed limits.
However, that grounding then gives you somewhere to move forward on; ride drive/HPC, whatever it may be.
[quote=TonyHetherington]
But of course it is all done under the strictest of speed limits.
quote]
As was my IAM test.
Then, as an Observer, I had a Class 1 assigned to me, for an annual check.
He had, prior to our runs, looked at the distribution of his colleagues.
Ah, days gone by, when discretion was more to the fore.
Not this current lowest idiot capability decides.
Explains so much about our Society, not just driving.
But of course it is all done under the strictest of speed limits.
quote]
As was my IAM test.
Then, as an Observer, I had a Class 1 assigned to me, for an annual check.
He had, prior to our runs, looked at the distribution of his colleagues.
Ah, days gone by, when discretion was more to the fore.
Not this current lowest idiot capability decides.
Explains so much about our Society, not just driving.
When I had my original "to get into IAM" test the copper who took me out was great. 20minutes in he said "yup, you can drive, let's drive properly now"....and although we didn't go crazy, he started instructing me (slightly) and affording me some leighway when overtaking down country lanes with respect to the speed limits.
Very, very good bloke for whom I held a lot of respect.
Very, very good bloke for whom I held a lot of respect.
There are a few things that our group say and dictate that I disagree with. I discussed these with my examiner (Senior Observers test) and he told me that I should have more confidence in my own opinions. So, one should use one's discretion where appropriate*. My experience of Class 1s is that they are jolly nice and sensible.
- Just so long as your not talking out of your arse you should be fine
Edited by EmmaP on Tuesday 22 January 15:21
EmmaP said:
LaSarthe+Back said:
Well, I've been assigned my first associate. I won't be trying to cover too much, just get used to everything. haven't been in contact with him just yet, awaiting a call to get things moving.
Woohoo! It's actually happening!!
Best of British Woohoo! It's actually happening!!
Well, I actually haven't covered anything at all with this associate yet, because he hasn't turned up twice now. It's disappointing, because after the first no show (cancelled 30mins before we were due to go out), we arranged another date which he seemed enthusiastic about, and I was looking forward to getting stuck in.
He's about the age of my dad, which isn't retirement, but 50+. I can't think that "it's me" because we haven't even met yet! He wasn't at the group meeting, which is starting to make me question his motivation. I wonder if he has a slight problem taking instruction/ideas from someone half his age and if it's this that is putting him off. If that was the case, why not just ask to be paired with an older observer?
And people say it's the yoovs.... Grrr
Andy,
Glad to hear that you have started your observing mate. I'm Ben, the guy you refered to earlier. I just wanting to clear things up before the hand bags are brought out. ;-)
The YDN will operate seperate from the Group network, HOWEVER it will not be an 'OR' choice. I would love to see people being members of both YDN and their local Group. The YDN will also, the same as the Groups, offer training for anyone wishing to join the IAM without going through the Groups - please read old people, no offence meant. We will also be offering a range of social activities to keep everyone interested: track days, skid pans, go kart competitions...
If anyone wants more info please don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail ben.devlin@iam.org.uk AND Andy could you fire me a couple of pics of your car mate I'm interested to find out what you drive.
Ben
Glad to hear that you have started your observing mate. I'm Ben, the guy you refered to earlier. I just wanting to clear things up before the hand bags are brought out. ;-)
The YDN will operate seperate from the Group network, HOWEVER it will not be an 'OR' choice. I would love to see people being members of both YDN and their local Group. The YDN will also, the same as the Groups, offer training for anyone wishing to join the IAM without going through the Groups - please read old people, no offence meant. We will also be offering a range of social activities to keep everyone interested: track days, skid pans, go kart competitions...
If anyone wants more info please don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail ben.devlin@iam.org.uk AND Andy could you fire me a couple of pics of your car mate I'm interested to find out what you drive.
Ben
Hi Ben, thanks for getting involved. I am surprised you have not found your way over here before now! How'd you find us??
Please don't take any offence by the post you refer to. I do not mean any malice. It was just that while I think the YDN is a great initiative, if it means the destabilisation of the groups, as was pertained to at the regional forum, then I wouldn't be as supportive. Mainly because I think the Groups are the skeleton of the organisation and without them, it may struggle.
I drive a 20v Turbo A3, remapped and modded about as far as it will go without internal upgrades. Pics will have to wait until tonight, I did have some on my work PC, but they've been moved on.
Cheers,
Andy
Please don't take any offence by the post you refer to. I do not mean any malice. It was just that while I think the YDN is a great initiative, if it means the destabilisation of the groups, as was pertained to at the regional forum, then I wouldn't be as supportive. Mainly because I think the Groups are the skeleton of the organisation and without them, it may struggle.
I drive a 20v Turbo A3, remapped and modded about as far as it will go without internal upgrades. Pics will have to wait until tonight, I did have some on my work PC, but they've been moved on.
Cheers,
Andy
Hi again,
From personal experience, I especially recommend RideDrive's accredited courses. You might like the First Step Advanced Driving Course: www.ridedrive.co.uk/do-ocn-t02cn.htm
Why don't you contact RideDrive and your local IAM group, then compare which best suits you personally? (If you were prepared to travel, Cadence are top notch too - at least as good as RideDrive.)
Cheers
TonyHetherington said:
I suggest you do the IAM first, as it gets a grounding for you to start analysing your driving ... However, that grounding then gives you somewhere to move forward on; ride drive/HPC, whatever it may be.
I would offer a different view as food for thought: start with a RideDrive (or similar) course. If you're going to take some tuition, then invest in professional expertise. The IAM is a great option for little money, plus the IAM test is valuable for the membership benefits alone. However, the IAM merely offers amateur guidance and support. Whereas the likes of RideDrive (or Cadence) offer professional instruction.burriana said:
A Ride Drive course, you pay your money, arrange a date and do it. However, I would like more on-going tuition ... a bit like golf lessons, you never stop having them, even if only to keep you up to scratch (no pun intended!).
Can anyone suggest a kind of "beginners route to driving better" option in East Yorkshire please?
I would agree. You could always take two half-days with RideDrive, instead of one full day. Two half days are better than one, because many people reach information saturation after half a day and you need time to consolidate learning in between sessions.Can anyone suggest a kind of "beginners route to driving better" option in East Yorkshire please?
From personal experience, I especially recommend RideDrive's accredited courses. You might like the First Step Advanced Driving Course: www.ridedrive.co.uk/do-ocn-t02cn.htm
Why don't you contact RideDrive and your local IAM group, then compare which best suits you personally? (If you were prepared to travel, Cadence are top notch too - at least as good as RideDrive.)
Cheers
Edited by SVS on Wednesday 20th February 19:08
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