What does "advanced driving" teach you?

[jamoor]

JamesFiesta said:

WeirdNeville said:

Try and get a lift with an IAM observer or a police advanced driver and perhaps you'll get more of an insight of what all drivers should aspire to.

This would be a good insight. I got the opportunity to work with a Traffic Officer in my tutorship as a Special (he is an Advanced ticket holder). It was one of the most interesting driving experiences I've had... a truly fantastic driver. Everything is smooth, calm and calculated. Nothing was rushed or last-minute, never saw anything that was even close to excessive.
It was a real eye-opener to see that the visible movements are very calm and planned, but he was thinking about everything, checking side-roads, looking ahead, watching his position/speed and so on. His attitude was totally different too... we got cut up on a roundabout during a response run... I did the 'oh ffs' type thought process, but he didn't appear to be phased by it at all.

When driving, we 'made progress', whilst keeping the car balanced (noted OP's comment about sliding) and safe.

It's why I've become interested in doing IAM, to change my attitude, improve observation skills and become safer. The guy is a model driver, it was impressive stuff.

I am surprised that people can drive WITHOUT doing all of that!
Essentially drive with the assumption that noone can see you.

[vonhosen]

jamoor said:

I am surprised that people can drive WITHOUT doing all of that!

Sounds like you don't get out much.

[BOF]

""WeirdNeville said:
Try and get a lift with an IAM observer or a police advanced driver and perhaps you'll get more of an insight of what all drivers should aspire to.""

Agreed...especially if a Trafpol gets behind the wheel of YOUR car and takes a few minutes to show you how to really handle it...after my first session with John Lyon I felt like putting the L plates up...same recently with a Trafpol Instructor who gave me 5 hours of his time to prep for the SA...awesome!

BOF.

[WeirdNeville]

Jamoor, not to sound trite, but it sounds like you missing one of the vital elements to advanced driving: An open mind.

You have to accept that your driving is less than perfect, but that it can be improved, before you will gain any benefit from "advanced driving" tuition.

If you're writing advanced driving off as "common sense" and "I do that already" without any first hand experience then you may as well go back you your cars eyes wide shut, pootle over your 20,000 miles and 0.3 accidents a year and never be any the wiser. That's why I suggested trying to find an advanced driver in order to learn what it is about. You might be surprised, or it may simply confirm what you already seem to know: You're the best driver on the face of the planet.

[jamoor]

WeirdNeville said:

Jamoor, not to sound trite, but it sounds like you missing one of the vital elements to advanced driving: An open mind.

You have to accept that your driving is less than perfect, but that it can be improved, before you will gain any benefit from "advanced driving" tuition.

If you're writing advanced driving off as "common sense" and "I do that already" without any first hand experience then you may as well go back you your cars eyes wide shut, pootle over your 20,000 miles and 0.3 accidents a year and never be any the wiser. That's why I suggested trying to find an advanced driver in order to learn what it is about. You might be surprised, or it may simply confirm what you already seem to know: You're the best driver on the face of the planet.

I guess I should, one of my dads friends is an IAM motorist, I ought to hitch a ride with him some time, thing is these things are one of the things that you meant o do, but never actually get round to doing

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

jamoor said:

I guess I should, one of my dads friends is an IAM motorist, I ought to hitch a ride with him some time, thing is these things are one of the things that you meant o do, but never actually get round to doing

I don't want to cause any trouble, and of course I don't know your dad's friend, but I would caution that not all IAM members will be inspirational drivers. Some will, but most won't. Ideally, you need a demo from someone with more training - higher levels of Police driving, HPC members, possibly RoSPA Gold.

If you decide to go further then reading Roadcraft is a good start, but you'll also need practical tuition. Otherwise it's a bit like trying to learn championship level tennis without ever going on a court.

In the meantime, have look at Advanced-Driving.co.uk/.

Edited by S. Gonzales Esq. on Wednesday 19th March 11:10

[SVS]

I second everything that S Gonzales Esq said.

jamoor said:

Can anyone give me a link to a decent resource with information?

Yes, I can suggest a couple of resources:

- You might like to read some of the 'Tip Offs' in the RideDrive website:
www.ridedrive.co.uk/tipoffs_index.htm

- The best definition I've seen of 'advanced driving competencies' is on the High Performance Club web site. You might find it insightful to browse through the Club Entry Level competencies:
www.hpc.org.uk/standards/index.html

If you thought advanced driving was common, I suggest reading through the Overtaking competencies by way of example. I rarely see a driver who demonstrates this level of expertise!

jamoor said:

I guess I should, one of my dads friends is an IAM motorist, I ought to hitch a ride with him some time, thing is these things are one of the things that you meant o do, but never actually get round to doing

In which case, I'd very highly recommend a half-day like this:
www.ridedrive.co.uk/do-sc-s01pm.htm

You could be astonished how much you can learn in only half a day with the likes of RideDrive I guarantee you'll pick up skills that will last a driving lifetime

I hope this helps. Enjoy your driving, whatever you decide to do

Edited by SVS on Wednesday 19th March 20:14