How can i make myself a safer driver?
Discussion
SamHH said:
Rochester BMW said:
thanks for the reply simple question but whats the difference between IAM and ROSPA?
Are both of these bodies both reconised institutes? Or is one more reconised than the other?
The licence i hold now is from the DVLA... if i pass my advanced test does my DVLA licence change to suit in the same way I had to send my licence off when i passed my bike test to be updated.?
What the DVLA licence says is the important thing surely?
Thanks
Lee
Are both of these bodies both reconised institutes? Or is one more reconised than the other?
The licence i hold now is from the DVLA... if i pass my advanced test does my DVLA licence change to suit in the same way I had to send my licence off when i passed my bike test to be updated.?
What the DVLA licence says is the important thing surely?
Thanks
Lee
With ROSPA you are graded Bronze, Silver, Gold or fail. You have to retake the test every three years or yearly if you get a Bronze grade on your previous test.
With IAM it's just pass or fail and you don't have to re-test.
Some people say one is better than the other, some say they are just the same. I can't comment on that. Anyway I suspect many people's opinion of the organisations has more to do with the observers that are assigned to them than the organisations themselves.
If you pass the IAM or ROSPA test your licence will remain exactly the same. Neither test is officially recognised by the DVLA or the Driving Standards Agency. The qualifications have no legally recognised status.
Edited by SamHH on Thursday 8th March 14:25
oh really! that surprises me, yet they are recognised by insurance companies... (i.e lowering premiums)
Which do the traffic police use? IAM or ROSPA?
Rochester BMW said:
Which do the traffic police use? IAM or ROSPA?
Neither. The police have their own internal driver training programmes.
It works the other way around really. Both the IAM and ROSPA syllabi are based on the techniques used by the police and both organisations use police instructors as examiners.
SamHH said:
Rochester BMW said:
Which do the traffic police use? IAM or ROSPA?
Neither. The police have their own internal driver training programmes.
It works the other way around really. Both the IAM and ROSPA syllabi are based on the techniques used by the police and both organisations use police instructors as examiners.
oh i see, sorry for what must be obvious questions, this is all new to me.
I think i will haveto buy a copy of this roadcraft book and have a read.
R_U_LOCAL said:
Don said:
Oh I should add: IIRC you have points on your licence?
If you have six points the IAM currently let you do the course but won't allow you to do the test to become a full member.
Beats me why - I've thought that people with points are going to come to the IAM wanting to learn how to avoid getting any more by being a good driver and it seems a shame not to let 'em go all the way. But there you go.
Rospa may be stricter or more lenient. Don't know.
If you have six points the IAM currently let you do the course but won't allow you to do the test to become a full member.
Beats me why - I've thought that people with points are going to come to the IAM wanting to learn how to avoid getting any more by being a good driver and it seems a shame not to let 'em go all the way. But there you go.
Rospa may be stricter or more lenient. Don't know.
I'm very surprised at this. Surely people who have a growing collection of penalty points are exactly the kind of people the IAM should be encouraging to take their test?
Any IAM members on here who could exapnd on this?
I think the reasoning is...if you have 9 points then one more speeding offence and you will be banned. The IAM don't want someone standing up in court defending their actions by saying they are a qualified advanced driver (bad publicity). Not sure if that's right or wrong personally but I can kinda understand where they are coming from.
martine said:
R_U_LOCAL said:
Don said:
Oh I should add: IIRC you have points on your licence?
If you have six points the IAM currently let you do the course but won't allow you to do the test to become a full member.
Beats me why - I've thought that people with points are going to come to the IAM wanting to learn how to avoid getting any more by being a good driver and it seems a shame not to let 'em go all the way. But there you go.
Rospa may be stricter or more lenient. Don't know.
If you have six points the IAM currently let you do the course but won't allow you to do the test to become a full member.
Beats me why - I've thought that people with points are going to come to the IAM wanting to learn how to avoid getting any more by being a good driver and it seems a shame not to let 'em go all the way. But there you go.
Rospa may be stricter or more lenient. Don't know.
I'm very surprised at this. Surely people who have a growing collection of penalty points are exactly the kind of people the IAM should be encouraging to take their test?
Any IAM members on here who could exapnd on this?
I think the reasoning is...if you have 9 points then one more speeding offence and you will be banned. The IAM don't want someone standing up in court defending their actions by saying they are a qualified advanced driver (bad publicity). Not sure if that's right or wrong personally but I can kinda understand where they are coming from.
Nope - I don't agree with it at all. If someone has a number of points on their licence, then they should be actively encouraged to change their driving habits and improve their skills.
Disqualifying the very people they should be welcoming just because of the possibility of some bad publicity (which could easily be countered), seems to me to be a very weak decision.
I agree - it's a weak decision and would seem to undermine the IAM's commitment to improving road safety. Can sort of see where they are coming from, but a campaign based on "you've got points, therefore you're dangerous/your driving needs to improve or you'll get banned, come to us and we can help" (but a slightly more catchy slogan 
) may prove successful.
It's worth bearing in mind that, at a more local level, many IAM observers (at least at my local IAM group) lend their skills to the driver improvement/awareness courses that are court-sanctioned, which has to be positive.
) may prove successful. It's worth bearing in mind that, at a more local level, many IAM observers (at least at my local IAM group) lend their skills to the driver improvement/awareness courses that are court-sanctioned, which has to be positive.
vonhosen said:
Rochester BMW said:
Is it true that if you get pulled over for speeding and have an IAM membership sticker in your windscreen the police are more likely to turn a blind eye?
No. You are more likely to get a severe bollocking because, as an "Advanced" driver, you ought to know better...
...the truth is you are less likely to get pulled over because you won't be doing anything worth being pulled over for...
...which won't help at all if one is taking ones chances with the scamera vans however safely (or not) one might be doing it...as how they are going to see an IAM sticker at a distance of half a mile I have no idea.
I used to race cycles with a police sergeant who'd gone through driver training. They do endorse 'speeding' when conditions permit - i.e. 60-70 on a wide, open, empty, well surfaced, dry road. Mmm ... wide, open, empty, well surfaced, dry? He didn't say which country's police force he worked for!!
SamHH said:
Probably most 'advanced' driver training in the UK is based on the police driving manual, Roadcraft:
Good book.
It opened my mind lots more to simply thinking about what I was doing in a Roadcraft sense, wheras before I was just "driving"
Sounds odd to say it, but you really do adopt totally new though processes and considerations that you just didn't before, especially after a few reads and understanding all the principles!
It all makes sense and you think it's common sense after you've read it. It's just like you need it showing to you and apply it to make you realise!
Best £10 I spent when it comes to road safety anyway... I keep it on my bedtime reading pile and have a re-read every now and again. I like the pictures best
Dave
Edited by Mr Whippy on Friday 9th March 00:11
Don said:
Beats me why - I've thought that people with points are going to come to the IAM wanting to learn how to avoid getting any more by being a good driver and it seems a shame not to let 'em go all the way. But there you go.
I would have thought that if a trainee wanted to learn a new skill they would go to the most qualified person, so at first it doesn't make sense that you can't teach when you have points. However as a trainee I would have more confidence in an instructor with a clean licence then 1 who is 3 points away from a ban, they might both be giving me the same level of tuition yet I'd still be thinking what can they teach me? As an instructor it is better to teach through example and what better example could there be than keeping a clean licence. Also insurance premiums drop when passing with IAM/RoSPA as insurance companies know that an advanced driver reduces the risk of an incident by about 70% or more.
TheKeyboardDemon said:
Also insurance premiums drop when passing with IAM/RoSPA as insurance companies know that an advanced driver reduces the risk of an incident by about 70% or more.
Not in my experience, they don't (except, perhaps, for the already-more-expensive ones). In fact, it seems that insurance companies are ready to take any reason for considering you a higher risk and upping your premium, but couldn't give a monkey's about anything you do to reduce your personal risk.
To become safer, stay awake, drive slower and assume everyone is Mad and keep away from roads with mud on. Slow down for bends (no one crashes on the straights), avoid braking on sheet ice, avoid braking hard, avoid picasso's, avoid hourses.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
jacko lah said:
To become safer, stay awake, drive slower and assume everyone is Mad and keep away from roads with mud on. Slow down for bends (no one crashes on the straights), avoid braking on sheet ice, avoid braking hard, avoid picasso's, avoid hourses.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
and after all that you still drive!?
TheKeyboardDemon said:
Don said:
Beats me why - I've thought that people with points are going to come to the IAM wanting to learn how to avoid getting any more by being a good driver and it seems a shame not to let 'em go all the way. But there you go.
I would have thought that if a trainee wanted to learn a new skill they would go to the most qualified person, so at first it doesn't make sense that you can't teach when you have points. However as a trainee I would have more confidence in an instructor with a clean licence then 1 who is 3 points away from a ban, they might both be giving me the same level of tuition yet I'd still be thinking what can they teach me? As an instructor it is better to teach through example and what better example could there be than keeping a clean licence. Also insurance premiums drop when passing with IAM/RoSPA as insurance companies know that an advanced driver reduces the risk of an incident by about 70% or more.
I thought that 70% figure was based on a study by the IAM itself, not an independent organisation.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
jacko lah said:
To become safer, stay awake, drive slower and assume everyone is Mad and keep away from roads with mud on. Slow down for bends (no one crashes on the straights), avoid braking on sheet ice, avoid braking hard, avoid picasso's, avoid hourses.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
Ah, you forgot avoiding fences with rivers behind them! (just throwing in a learning experience from my junior driving days!)
Rochester BMW said:
jacko lah said:
To become safer, stay awake, drive slower and assume everyone is Mad and keep away from roads with mud on. Slow down for bends (no one crashes on the straights), avoid braking on sheet ice, avoid braking hard, avoid picasso's, avoid hourses.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
and after all that you still drive!?
Yes I still drive.
Oh yes another thing : In the dark and rain on a country B road Don't attempt the ultimate 8 car overtake. By all means go for a couple but 8 and once is silly.
Actually if one of the 8 cars is a Picasso you are doomed. You are already on a Muddy Road, you've forgotten that everyone else is mad or blind or both and you are being Over optimistic about Time travel.
jacko lah said:
Rochester BMW said:
jacko lah said:
To become safer, stay awake, drive slower and assume everyone is Mad and keep away from roads with mud on. Slow down for bends (no one crashes on the straights), avoid braking on sheet ice, avoid braking hard, avoid picasso's, avoid hourses.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
I think that would work given all the hits and misses I've had over the years.
and after all that you still drive!?
Yes I still drive.
Oh yes another thing : In the dark and rain on a country B road Don't attempt the ultimate 8 car overtake. By all means go for a couple but 8 and once is silly.
Actually if one of the 8 cars is a Picasso you are doomed. You are already on a Muddy Road, you've forgotten that everyone else is mad or blind or both and you are being Over optimistic about Time travel.
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