Advanced Driving Tests (IAM, ROSPA) In an Auto
Discussion
Thanks for the info.
I'm definetely don't my ARDS before the end of the season and am not sure whether or not to do IAM / ROSPA, though I think it's a good idea to have some Advanced Driving behind you (and it brings the insurance down!!)
Bit more advice really which one is the better course?
I'm definetely don't my ARDS before the end of the season and am not sure whether or not to do IAM / ROSPA, though I think it's a good idea to have some Advanced Driving behind you (and it brings the insurance down!!)
Bit more advice really which one is the better course?
In a non-tiptronic car, does it not make the test that much harder due to the likelihood of the car changing gear at an inopportune moment?
(I grant most of the gearchanging can be controlled using the throttle and occasionally the restrictor, but there's still the chance of the car deciding to change at the wrong moment...)
(I grant most of the gearchanging can be controlled using the throttle and occasionally the restrictor, but there's still the chance of the car deciding to change at the wrong moment...)
Timberwolf said:
In a non-tiptronic car, does it not make the test that much harder due to the likelihood of the car changing gear at an inopportune moment?
(I grant most of the gearchanging can be controlled using the throttle and occasionally the restrictor, but there's still the chance of the car deciding to change at the wrong moment...)
Roadcraft is written with both automatic and manual cars in mind. When testing in automatics, the examiner will always take account of any idiosyncracies of the vehicle, including the behaviour of the automatic gearbox.(I grant most of the gearchanging can be controlled using the throttle and occasionally the restrictor, but there's still the chance of the car deciding to change at the wrong moment...)
Timberwolf said:
In a non-tiptronic car, does it not make the test that much harder due to the likelihood of the car changing gear at an inopportune moment?
(I grant most of the gearchanging can be controlled using the throttle and occasionally the restrictor, but there's still the chance of the car deciding to change at the wrong moment...)
My cars a 330 Ci so it is a tiptronic, I take it that would be the done thing rather than sticking it in drive? Though if you are foot down to the floor it won't let you change up until it hits about 6500revs!!(I grant most of the gearchanging can be controlled using the throttle and occasionally the restrictor, but there's still the chance of the car deciding to change at the wrong moment...)
car.chic said:
Timberwolf said:
In a non-tiptronic car, does it not make the test that much harder due to the likelihood of the car changing gear at an inopportune moment?
(I grant most of the gearchanging can be controlled using the throttle and occasionally the restrictor, but there's still the chance of the car deciding to change at the wrong moment...)
My cars a 330 Ci so it is a tiptronic, I take it that would be the done thing rather than sticking it in drive? Though if you are foot down to the floor it won't let you change up until it hits about 6500revs!!(I grant most of the gearchanging can be controlled using the throttle and occasionally the restrictor, but there's still the chance of the car deciding to change at the wrong moment...)
I'm an IAM Qualified Observer and have just put my current associate in for his test which will be on Monday (fingers crossed). He drives a Merc ML auto and has had no trouble in getting to test standard. The advice we got from IAM head office was to show some manual control of the box (we've got a couple of nice hills around here where there are sudden plateaus which cause the box to hunt a little). Once had had mastered that (previously he only ever used Park, Reverse and Drive). he was away.
More than 70% of my Associates in the last 7 years have been auto drivers - no problems...I copy this to every one of them...from Julian Smith at Ride Drive...an excellent source of information;
""What about automatic gearboxes? There has been no mention of them so far and yet more and more cars these days have them. How do you drive with an automatic box? Has anyone ever taught you what to do with it other then stick it in ‘D’ and press the accelerator?
One case that I have personal experience of illustrates how effective the efficient use of an auto-box can be of benefit was that of a client we served about 2-years ago who was a chauffeur to the director of a large business conglomerate. He was on a 3-day programme and had brought along the ‘company’ car. The vehicle was a BMW 750 stretched and armoured limousine with automatic transmission. Like one of the Royal Navy’s finest aircraft carriers, the car probably weighed in at about the same tonnage and with the same handling characteristics. I was running the job on this particular day, his first practical day on the road. As we left the urban environment from which we started, onto a nice playful B-class road I said to Nick, “Okay Nick, let’s see a nice progressive drive keeping it all nice and smooth.”
As we went through the de-restriction signs the auto box kicked down a cog and we accelerated up to 60 before reaching the first of many bends, with many different gradients to come as well. There was much huffing and puffing coming from the drivers’ side of the car as Nick literally fought with the beast along the road. He was finding it very much like hard work and after letting him suffer for about 10 minutes I suggested he might find it easier o manually select third gear, and to remain locked in that gear until the road environment changed and told us it was appropriate to do otherwise.
The difference it made was fantastic. Instead of endlessly coasting and running on the car now actually decelerated when Nick lifted his right foot. Also, by introducing acceleration sense and with it advanced road positioning, he was now able to set the car up for bends and corners often without having to brake – still pushing along quite nicely too. He was no longer fighting with the car. He was making the car work for him, blending with it and becoming more part of it.
Another example of effective driving with an auto-box is the overtaking manoeuvre. Many a driver has been heard to complain, or at least comment, that the kick-down with an automatic takes too long to happen and is a nuisance. You can actually eliminate kick down all together and get the same response from the car as you would if it had a manual transmission. All you have to do is decide what gear the car would select, at your current road-speed, to accelerate passed the vehicle you are going to overtake and then select that same gear manually by moving the selector to 2 or 3. Now when you do go for the overtake the car will respond at the required rate immediately.
Just side-stepping for a moment, it never ceases to amaze the number of drivers that you see going for an overtake on a two-way road in fourth or fifth gear. You can spot them a mile away as they are the ones that take about 10 days to get passed anything and then get flashed by the oncoming driver who has had to make room for them to get back in. That signals another problem. How many drivers out there were never taught how to overtake?
Going back to HMS Ark Royal a moment, and again arriving at an urban environment, Nick was encouraged to manually select and hold second gear. Immediately the lumbering great beast became so completely manageable it was as easy to drive as a car many time smaller.
If you listen to your car when it speaks to you will come to know its capabilities. That way you can tune into it and become part of it. By choosing the right options there is so much less stress involved in the act of driving. Not only that, there is less stress on the vehicle, which means less running costs and you remain in control. It can even make driving more fun too.
Julian Smith
Ride Drive Limited""
Good Luck with it...
BOF.
""What about automatic gearboxes? There has been no mention of them so far and yet more and more cars these days have them. How do you drive with an automatic box? Has anyone ever taught you what to do with it other then stick it in ‘D’ and press the accelerator?
One case that I have personal experience of illustrates how effective the efficient use of an auto-box can be of benefit was that of a client we served about 2-years ago who was a chauffeur to the director of a large business conglomerate. He was on a 3-day programme and had brought along the ‘company’ car. The vehicle was a BMW 750 stretched and armoured limousine with automatic transmission. Like one of the Royal Navy’s finest aircraft carriers, the car probably weighed in at about the same tonnage and with the same handling characteristics. I was running the job on this particular day, his first practical day on the road. As we left the urban environment from which we started, onto a nice playful B-class road I said to Nick, “Okay Nick, let’s see a nice progressive drive keeping it all nice and smooth.”
As we went through the de-restriction signs the auto box kicked down a cog and we accelerated up to 60 before reaching the first of many bends, with many different gradients to come as well. There was much huffing and puffing coming from the drivers’ side of the car as Nick literally fought with the beast along the road. He was finding it very much like hard work and after letting him suffer for about 10 minutes I suggested he might find it easier o manually select third gear, and to remain locked in that gear until the road environment changed and told us it was appropriate to do otherwise.
The difference it made was fantastic. Instead of endlessly coasting and running on the car now actually decelerated when Nick lifted his right foot. Also, by introducing acceleration sense and with it advanced road positioning, he was now able to set the car up for bends and corners often without having to brake – still pushing along quite nicely too. He was no longer fighting with the car. He was making the car work for him, blending with it and becoming more part of it.
Another example of effective driving with an auto-box is the overtaking manoeuvre. Many a driver has been heard to complain, or at least comment, that the kick-down with an automatic takes too long to happen and is a nuisance. You can actually eliminate kick down all together and get the same response from the car as you would if it had a manual transmission. All you have to do is decide what gear the car would select, at your current road-speed, to accelerate passed the vehicle you are going to overtake and then select that same gear manually by moving the selector to 2 or 3. Now when you do go for the overtake the car will respond at the required rate immediately.
Just side-stepping for a moment, it never ceases to amaze the number of drivers that you see going for an overtake on a two-way road in fourth or fifth gear. You can spot them a mile away as they are the ones that take about 10 days to get passed anything and then get flashed by the oncoming driver who has had to make room for them to get back in. That signals another problem. How many drivers out there were never taught how to overtake?
Going back to HMS Ark Royal a moment, and again arriving at an urban environment, Nick was encouraged to manually select and hold second gear. Immediately the lumbering great beast became so completely manageable it was as easy to drive as a car many time smaller.
If you listen to your car when it speaks to you will come to know its capabilities. That way you can tune into it and become part of it. By choosing the right options there is so much less stress involved in the act of driving. Not only that, there is less stress on the vehicle, which means less running costs and you remain in control. It can even make driving more fun too.
Julian Smith
Ride Drive Limited""
Good Luck with it...
BOF.
car.chic said:
My cars a 330 Ci so it is a tiptronic, I take it that would be the done thing rather than sticking it in drive?
The best advice on the subject is probably here:http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/advice/driving/automatic_gearboxes.htm
The bottom line is that you still need to think about which gear you will need for any hazard just as you would driving a manual. If the car will select the appropriate gear for you then that's fine; If not then you will need to select it yourself (or prevent the car from changing out of it). The thinking is the same, the mechanics of selecting the gear are dependent on the car.
Edited by Strangely Brown on Monday 20th August 10:10
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