Congratulations mate, I guess you must be around Bristol too then if Andy was your Examiner?

I'll tell you what, the IAM course really helped when driving around in this snow.

Congratulations!

My campaign to reach every PH'er in Bristol with the IAM message claims another success!

well done, hopefully santa brought you some new rubber

Congratulations. You will find that it will help you for years to come. Even though you may not use the system all the
time, it is still there.
I passed my IAM car test in 1984 and have since passed the motorcycle test. Both of which help your appreciation of other
drivers and factors around you.
Safe driving.
Andy..

Well done and congrats.

Got my Silver RoadaR/RSoPA Pass recently, thought I didn't deserve a Silver but was told I nearly scraped getting a Gold!

Just a little update on my advanced driving 'progress' for all who are interested...

After my test in January I felt I needed a little time to reaffirm and 'bed-in' what I had learnt, but, having missed the event in 2010, decided to go to the HPC Young Drivers' Day in August. And what a great day it was. Had drives with two top guys (both had Porsches funnily enough, but then this was HPC!) as well as seminars on some very pertinent topics. Being driven by these guys gave me the elusive (but hard to convey) feeling of both fast progress yet absolute security, an ethos I aim to reflect in my own driving.

Following this, I decided that HPC entry was the direction I wanted to take my driving in, so I took up the very kind offer of a day's tuition from another highly rated HPC member. I found this day much more productive as it was one continuous session which gave me plenty of time to work on what I was being told, but just as enjoyable as the YDD.

I then attended my local IAM group's '3-in-a-car' session. This involves members going into groups of three and taking turns to drive, with the two passengers providing comments and criticism on the driver. As luck or good fortune would have, I was trio'd with not just one of the group's senior observers, but also the familiar face of Andy Poulton. It turned out to be one of my worst drives for a long while, which I was annoyed with myself about, but Andy very kindly offered to take me on another occasion for a proper one-to-one session, which I accepted without hesitation.

And I think this session with Andy turned out to be my most productive so far. I soon adapted to Andy's unique style and after a shaky start, I felt like my driving had made a discernable improvement. This session (as they all all do) also showed me how far I still have to go but I now feel one small step closer to being the driver I want to be.

So, what next? I'm lining up half a day with an HPC gatekeeper to see in I'm ready to take the entry course and I'll take it from there. I also hope to be able to show my face at a few ADUK days by the end of the year. I'd love to go into observing for my local group but I've missed the boat for a while (and not being 'in' with the influential members doesn't help my case) so I'll be looking for other opportunities of a similar nature. However if anyone has any ideas whatsoever then please get in touch.

On a side note, the last thing Andy taught me just before we finished was how to change gear without touching the clutch. Not an AD technique I know, but insanely cool nonetheless.

Well done for passing Mr Syncrho - and even better to have realised that your better driving journey is still just beginning. Also, top blagging - getting all those experts to take you out!

Matching speed and revs allows up and down changing of gears without using clutch

I often find that pausing in neutral for a second helps

to set off from a stop with no clutch - engine off, select first gear, turn key and release handbrake at same time - you're off

It's a technique that works particularly well in hired or loan cars.