disappointing first session of IAM training
Discussion
Alex_225 said:
Don't get me wrong, there's many great things I learned from the IAM but I do think you have to learn from it and apply it driving rather than be completely rigid about it.
It is a bit like going to a Billy Graham concert and getting hooked on the speaking in tongues stuff! You can take his preaching to the literal word and live and eventually die by it...or you can just take the essential bit like dont sleep with your neighbours wife after shooting your neighbour.
Sorry for my disappearance, work packed me off to Korea (now there is a country in dire need of advanced driver training...) for 3 weeks, and I subsequently forgot to update this thread.
I passed my advanced test, getting mediocre but satisfactory scores (mostly 2s with a few 1s).
I don't think I learned anything that I wasn't doing already, however it did act as a reminder of some of the things that I admit I had started to neglect, such as the importance of looking as far ahead as possible rather than just a few cars in front, and that the signage and road marking system in the UK is, on the whole, brilliant (though this is as much from driving in Korea as it is from doing the IAM course).
I do think, however, that the short course cheapens the advanced qualification. I'd have a much more positive view of the IAM system if I had spent more time within it, actually learning and absorbing the value of what I was being taught, so that it becomes a natural part of the way I drive rather than a conscious effort to do so (and therefore taking my concentration off what I am doing and making me a worse driver in the short term).
From my very brief experience, I would have preferred what I did to be considered a safe/competent/good driver qualification rather than 'advanced'.
I passed my advanced test, getting mediocre but satisfactory scores (mostly 2s with a few 1s).
I don't think I learned anything that I wasn't doing already, however it did act as a reminder of some of the things that I admit I had started to neglect, such as the importance of looking as far ahead as possible rather than just a few cars in front, and that the signage and road marking system in the UK is, on the whole, brilliant (though this is as much from driving in Korea as it is from doing the IAM course).
I do think, however, that the short course cheapens the advanced qualification. I'd have a much more positive view of the IAM system if I had spent more time within it, actually learning and absorbing the value of what I was being taught, so that it becomes a natural part of the way I drive rather than a conscious effort to do so (and therefore taking my concentration off what I am doing and making me a worse driver in the short term).
From my very brief experience, I would have preferred what I did to be considered a safe/competent/good driver qualification rather than 'advanced'.
your points are good - though perhaps worth considering whether a short course is better than none?
does the short course provide a clear encouragement to do more with IAM? If so, then it serves a purpose...
as for labels - agreed, Advanced Driving is a weird description at the best of times however it is well known and difficult to replace!
does the short course provide a clear encouragement to do more with IAM? If so, then it serves a purpose...
as for labels - agreed, Advanced Driving is a weird description at the best of times however it is well known and difficult to replace!
akirk said:
your points are good - though perhaps worth considering whether a short course is better than none?
does the short course provide a clear encouragement to do more with IAM? If so, then it serves a purpose...
as for labels - agreed, Advanced Driving is a weird description at the best of times however it is well known and difficult to replace!
The point is that the advanced driving test came first, and was so called because it was a step up from the ordinary test, an A level in driving so to speak. A perfectly reasonable relative term in that context. So naturally training towards that test became known as 'advanced training' because 'training towards the advanced as opposed to the DSA test' would be a bit of a mouthful. does the short course provide a clear encouragement to do more with IAM? If so, then it serves a purpose...
as for labels - agreed, Advanced Driving is a weird description at the best of times however it is well known and difficult to replace!
It's just unfortunate that the term has become used to mean anything above pass plus, or to imply that an IAM pass is 'advanced' in absolute terms. Perhaps it cold be renamed the 'intermediate driving test'?
One thing that struck me was whether the topic of improving driving capabilities would be better served by some continuous personal development type programmes. Is there a 'modern' approach to education that might help or be appropriate?
Bert
Bert
Edited by BertBert on Tuesday 1st October 23:31
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