(Almost) FREE Driver Training in Basingstoke

[Don]

The Basingstoke IAM Group are holding a "Better Driving" course which is open to the general public as well as new IAM Associates on the following dates:

Tuesday 4th October 7:15pm - 9:30pm
Tuesday 11th October 7:15pm - 9:30pm
Sunday 16th October 9:00am - 12:00noon (ish)

Richard Aldworth School Basingstoke.

Admission is by pre-booking only with the Group Secretary contactable via e-mail here:

basingstoke-iam_AT_tiscali.co.uk

(Remove all the spaces and replace the "_AT_" with the "@" sign - this is to stop the evil spammers!)

Admission cost is just £10...payable in advance or, by arrangement with the Group Secretary, on the first night. The £10 contribution will be put towards the cost of the room. Rest assured we will be making a loss!

I will be lecturing - as well as other members of the Group.

The evening sessions are lecture based and will cover a range of topics including Observation, Hazard Identification, Junctions, Bends and Corners, Limit of Visibility, Car Control, Manouvers and more...

The Sunday session is intended to provide each attendee with a "demonstration drive" showing them how the various aspects covered in the previous lecture sessions come together into a smooth, safe drive. There may an opportunity to get an Assessment drive - I can't promise that at this juncture.

If you are local enough that those times are doable and you fancy listening to some, hopefully, thought-provoking material about DRIVING then please get in touch with the Group Secretary.

I'd also appreciate it if you posted on this thread saying you are coming. It will help me guage the response threads on PH create.

Please keep all other comments and questions to e-mail or other threads. Thank you.




>> Edited by Don on Thursday 8th September 15:54

[Don]

The course is made up of two lectures each covering half of the material - the second is NOT a repeat of the first. The final Sunday is a opportunity to get a demo drive - and no more...

[Don]

nigelgt3 said:

sent an email to the address but have had nothing back ??? nigel

You should do, shortly. I'll be checking with our Secretary in due course.

[Don]

m12_nathan said:

Thanks for the info, will confirm I can make it and get booked.

Apologies for no earlier reply, Nathan. K is right - although some of the "fun" stuff is on the second evening...

Thanks to you all for your interest. I hope at least one or two of the topics covered gives you pause for thought and you are able to make use of that!

[Don]

m12_nathan said:

Don, you'll get the chance to play with a proper flappy paddle system too - upchanges in 0.08 seconds and the best noise ever on the way down (overlapping with braking obviously )

What a car!

Actually this is something of an issue for the IAM/ROSPA/Authors of Roadcraft and so on. Sequential systems are now working their way from racecars into performance cars (like yours) and will go on into everyday cars that we can expect people turning up to IAM courses to own.

The IAM has "best practice" advice it offers to drivers of "automatic" transmission vehicles...including use of lower gears and so on. As yet I have not seen best practice advice for sequential systems.

Now - sequential manual (i.e. with clutch) systems are unlikely to get fitted to very many road cars just yet (I can, of course, think of a few exceptions!). But clutch-pedal-free systems are now becoming common - and the IAM/ROSPA/etc etc must respond.

In the mean time I would read the manufacturer's manual and glean the advice they have to offer about using their product!

From an "Observer's" point of view I am very keen to see these "flappy paddle" systems, get to know them (there are various sorts from what I can tell) and understand how best to use them.

I have a suspicion that since the car's onboard computer is matching revs on the downshifts AND the driver's hand need never leave the wheel pretty much all the downsides of brake/gear overlap are being dealt with by the technology...and so the fact that the technology of the system virtually *requires* the driver to make such downshifts whilst decelerating its best to do so. But then how best to do that? Of course the changes should be in a straight line wherever possible...and completed before the hazard. But what do you do when coming to a halt or going at a roundabout? There must be specific cases of what is best to do - and what the car does for you and what you have to instruct the car to do.

I await the "official" line with interest. But in the meantime I am going to enjoy every opportunity I can to discuss/ride/review with owners the ways they find best to exploit the technology.

So. YES PLEASE, Nathan!

And I hope you find some topics we cover of interest...and useful.

[Don]

If in doubt - email.

[Don]

Thanks to all of you who came tonight.

Kinky: my apologies we didn't get a longer chat - we should have a beer sometime!

[Don]

m12_nathan said:

I didn't have the chance to start properly on steering I'd be interested to take Andrew Walsh along to one of those sessions as he used to train police drivers, he states that his method of steering not only allows you to apply more lock quickly but also to know where the wheels are pointing so correct a skid better. The observational stuff is great but I'm going to stick with the steering I know, I have been trying hard not to indicate most of the time too (as a BMW driver this is obviously very hard ) and drove home down the twisty bits moving the car as described.

To be honest: I'd be interested in spending a while with Andrew Walsh - I've certainly enjoyed his Carlimits video.

Steering is only a small part of Advanced Driving. Although I feel every driver should have at his fingertips the various techniques to use as most appropriate. Out local Group teaches push-pull as its pretty good for general road use - but rotational steering is jolly handy for manouevers (I use it). I wouldn't consider using anything other than "fixed position" on track...

So. If I were you I would continue to use the technique you have already worked so hard on. If you feel our course has given you something to work on in the Observation area I am *really* delighted.

Good driving.

[Don]

Mods - the course went well: Thanks for making this thread a "sticky". If you like you can "de-sticky" this thread. I'd appreciate it if you could extend the same courtesy when we run our Spring course.

Thanks again!

[Don]

Kinky said:

Don, Care to share how the course went, the feedback, etc? Did all/many of the folks sign up to the group? How did the Sunday drives go? K

Sure.

Course went pretty well, as they go, although attendance was only average - we have attracted more people on other occasions.

We got good feedback from the lecture sessions with most people finding the Advanced Observation and Skids sections most interesting.

The drives went OK with most people commenting that their Observer seemed to be looking ahead further than they would have and that their control movements were smoother and more measured. Of course - no one commented in the "systematic" approach - but they wouldn't until they've been trying for a bit!

We believe four attendees will be signing up with the group...


So not bad in all.