Safe Speed Forums

What did you take ?
How useful is it ?
When did you take it and how close to your original Driving Test ?
Did you do this to ensure a pass?
When did you take the 'test' or final exam ?
Did it encourage you to learn more ?

Do you recall much of what you were told - (do you think) ?
Do you think you are a better driver for it - as perhaps opposed to those around you that you know have not taken it?
Have you encouraged other to take (which) test and have they ?
Do you think point remembered help you to inform others with your hints and tips, and do they 'listen' and follow that advice ?

Answer only those points that you wish to ? (of course1)

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I did a Ridedrive course just under a year ago. About 12 years after passing test. It was with a police Class 1 advanced trainer so a pukka tutor. The session basically emphasized observation and making better use of the road and improving a few bad habits like steering technique and gear changing. Did a bit on rev matching on a downshift. I thought I was getting a bit blase so thought it would be a good idea. I did discover during the session that I was more aware than I thought I was as there was more going on in the lizard brain than I noticed consciously which is why I thought I'd be come a bit dopey as I wasn't generally noticing things that weren't going to be an issue. The chap also said I shouldn't be so hard on myself and that even the best drivers make mistakes. Was also told to ignore him indoors as he's complained a few times about me doing gear changes too slowly, so I sped them up, so this police chap slowed them down again!

I would definitely like to do more. I'm with Paul on this - I want to know everything!

I've kept with a lot of thing things I have been taught but sometimes you find yourself slipping back into bad habits. I think it is definitely worth doing the odd refresher every so often to keep you on the right track. I am generally calmer and less stressed about driving. Do still have the odd day where I feel like everyone is trying to crash into me and I'm not doing the best job of coping correctly. Getting flustered is still an issue, and always was. Still looking for a cure!

http://www.ridedrive.co.uk/index2.html

teabelly Those courses are good value for money and you are spot on about the "refresher courses" which as you know, is part of what me, Ted and Vrenchen keep harping on about.

Think Ted already put his post L-test qualities on the table when he joined here. I've also tried to give some insight into what RPU really involves both in the intensive training and the job requirements over the past few years - and tried to get across the message that "speed is not essential nor important in everyday motoring - but that safety is!". I have also tried to get across the message that RPU cannot do "as they please/are not above the law" and even when on an emergency still have to apply common sense and adopt safe speed and apply any exemptions under pressure carefully as we are still open to prosecution same as anyone else if it goes very .. very wrong.


I have also always said that "training" does not "magic" immortality into any of us... nor does it make us the best driver on the planet either..


HOWEVER, the further training should enhance and seek to further develop the existing skills to an improved level as constant - and thus reduce the dangers for all out there all the same. Done the right way - a person should become motivated for life... as is the case with the Ride Drive courses


OK.. Age 17 - learned to drive. Passed L-test within 8 weeks of starting. Applied for test on my 17h birthday as had been driving on PRIVATE land prior to this.

Gained more experience with my Dad (once guv' of m/way police in his " crisp green salad followed by cream doughnut" days)


Did a skid course soon after passing my L-test. Did another skid course when visiting the Swiss when they were all living in their own country. Was no different than the one I did here as I recall. Same set up - and in them days more basic than the ones I described and gave links to in samandben's winter driving thread.

Took IAM at age 18. To ensure a pass? I took to heart what my then adviser tried to impart to me. I practised what I was taught each time I drove.. with a view to improving myself.


Went off to Uni .. did a rally/racing/HPC type course at age 21 just before Finals

Dallied and dabbled in my final year at Uni with the idea oif teaching Physics/Maths.. then pondered over Accountancy during the "Milk Round" .. but passed the Plod recruitment stand and realised I could not fight my paternal family genes - apart from the fact it offered a pretty solid career which also allowed me to "do my OK - self-satisfying" bit for society at large"







OK .. answered the first part.


On graduating - joined the police. Graduate training programme. As such - after initial training - I started on the beat. and moved through a few departments to gain experience quickly - and had to take some plod exams on the way... and ended up up being trained as a young Trafpol at Hendon... and this was perhaps the start of the best part of my career to date - especially my driving one professionally and personally.

Do I remember all they taught me? Oh yes. They were tough teachers Very tough teachers who really made you evaluate your skills and constantly think fast and sharply clear! Am I a better driver as a result?


I would say .. that they improved and even corrected some of my existing skills .. gave them some extra "spit and polish" - so I would say YES. Does my Hendon training make me superior to you or anyone else who has undertaken IAM.. HPC etc or even someone who has gained expertise by driving over many years? Well . no .. not if we are all applying the same fundamentals of COAST normally... and as human beings - we can all make the odd slight error which we correct. As COAST led drivers - we can usually make a successful defence and diffusion of a potentially hazardous or tricky situation too. The dangers? Red mist.. complacency.. the odd slip of an unccorected or inveigling bad habit. And that's why plod do offer refresher courses to their teams and why I would encourage such a scheme - but accept there has to be an incentive to make this a viable option for most out there.

On this board - and I certainly know the rest of the Swiss have likewise encouraged elsewhere.. WIldy and Ted on the PH board.. Marianna on a general consumer board and Willi and the rest elsewhere .. we've always suggested training.. recommended IAM/Defensive driving/HPC/Skid and Braking courses. We've supported some. Hell .. we even encouraged A Cyclist to take IAM and he's now an observer (He was C+ stalwart. He was "anti-car" once . He does not appear to be now ) We will continue to encourage all to go for further training and remind about COAST. How else can we help? - and by doing so . we may just get folk out there to respect speed and their cars and take pride their skills a lot more. Driving is a lot more involved than "mere speed" and that's why it is short sighted to put so much emphasis on speed per se and ignore the more pertinent issues as a result.

As for folk heeding my advice. I think most on here see the value of COAST and appreciate my comments.

If they were to meet me professionally - I rather think they would most certainly learn from the experience (even them darned Mad cats behave themselves in my presence. )

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

Passed car test in 1992

in err, 2001ish I did a SADA advanced driving (lite) course . It was a kind of introduction to Rospa. Piece of cake, but there were some shockers there

I got around to doing the full fat RoSPA course in 2005. Really enjoyed it, but had a mare on my test and only got a silver, soz.

It has been usefull and I do try to put it into practice. I would like to refresh it, however that will be after a prolonged reduction in the amount of fuel duty I am fleeced for and when all the speed carmera in Essex have been placed on a large fire. There is no way I am paying 106p for 30p worth of fuel, to sit in traffic jams and drive past speed cameras. Advanced driving hasn't given me lower insurance premiums, nor has it reduced the amount of tax I have to pay, so stuff it.

IG forgot to mention his RoSPA and his RoADA which I know he had before joining the police as a fresh graduate on their "career cop course"


W A R N I N G !!!!

OFF TOPIC SLIGHT ASIDE REMARK ON LIFE IN GENERAL MOMENT!
From reading these boards and stuff one cop with whom Paul sparred and fenced - wrote (amidst the 20K posts over 40 months ) -this cop was rather dismissive of these "fast trackers" claiming that "nothing really beats the "university of life entry" and climbing the North Face the old fashioned pioneering way. I agree. I happen to think "working your passage up by sheer hard graft/determination with an apprenticeship which gives a full and solid foundation to build on" makes for a more professionally seasoned and balanced person to do a hard job, You note this in nursing - which now has uni graduates in nursing. Whilst these nurses are fine and very well educated - I seem to feel they do not have the same " touchy -feely empathetic bedside nous" as their older "sisters" in the professsion who came up via the more traditional route from auxiiary to cadet to probationer to qualified SRN and upwards and onwards. SOMETIMES I JUST HAVE TO GET THINGS OFF MY CHEST - SORRY

We have tried to get this back into training for medics and nurses alike. I have to say medics.. particualry those of my own generation are notoriously regarded as "arrogant sh1ts" - and I guess sometimes to my patients .. I may be just that when I say "No... I cannot prescribe this.. but this does the same job even though it's cheaper and not what the internet says"








Sorry you feel that way. As most know .. started driving on 17th birthday in late 70s. My birthday's in July. School I attended refused leave for paltry things like driving tests ..so I resolved to try to get that licence in the summer hols before the hard A Level year..

Parents did what I did'do for our own brood. They booked lessons in a block at different times of the day. Then had me out to practise in the family cars with them - any journey. I had a final block before start of term.I later found out why (I did the same for William/Steff and Nick and the fosters of driving age under our care - and will do likewise for Zoe ... and since we head to USA .all tooo soon now.. she can start immediately at age 16 over there.


Like IG .. applied for test on day I was eligible to learn. My parents and me kept phoning for any cancellation to give me that chance. In the meantime .. they did what they did for my older sister and brother (I'm child No 3 in an 8 sibling unit ) I did and do for our kids what they did for me too. I appreciated their efforts to educate me and I try to do likewise for my own kids... give them the opportunity .. encourage... motivate . but NOT PUSH nor dictate. They are their own selves. We just nurture and support/discipline thoughtfully and guide/steer towards decent values in life.) Sorry for another personal aside .. but I think it helps explain my character - integrity - keenness and enthusiasm all the same? I know in this day and age we probably seem "weird" to some in that we hold such family values .. but so what. Free country and my right to be that of that mould here.

Anyway.. my parents got word of a test date two days into autumn term.

Ironically on that day .. I awoke with a headache. Mum brought me a cup of tea as she usually did for us all on school mornings. I recall mentioning my headache and asked her for an Anadin. I think the reason why I recall this was the way she smiled and told me to get rid of the headache quickly as she wanted me to drive her somewhere on the way to school. This turned out to be the Driving test Centre! I sat my L-test in HER car A rather shocking and then mildy ageing 1965 Austin Cambridge (at 13 years or so at the time) complete with tail wings. (She still exists and is our collection of classics ) I think I was too bemused/confused to register nerves and I just rose to the occasion and passed my test. When I asked my parents why they did this to me like that.. they just said they gave me no time to develop nerves and fear of an examiner.. and that survival on the road meant I would have to react instantly .. make the right choice or face the outcome... I think they were right. and I have always asked them for some advice in bringing up our kids..

At the Xmas following my L test . my parental present was Skid pan and braking /defensive driving training.

Before I turned 18 - in the lull after A levels . I did my IAM.

In summer vacation after Uni exams. did RoSPA - got Gold . Do the updates as required.

Adam. I get a discount from Fortis for all this. Our three young drivers under 25s likewise. Shop around. By the way .. SILVER RoSPA means you are SERIOUSLY ABLE Do not be so hard on yourself here. You are very ableand skilled here.. and that silver places you as "much more enhanced and developed in acquired skills" In fact .. let's face it . to even pass a RoSPA or RoADA is an achievement in itself. These courses and pass level required are designed to test and stretch us all. Such passes matter and show expertise to aspire to.

I think our kids feel able to chat on this board now. They felt overshadowed by inexperience and we say . "learning curve benefits by chatting with like minded" by whatever medium.

Have since done HPC/

DO I encourage others.. Oh yes. I have always suggested such.. encouraged .. hope to inspire with my own enthusiasm, My wife likewise.

As you know . we put a watertight argument against speed cams.. so much so that the best they can do is try to assassinate our characters. That action alone tells us we've won by the way I mention as we are again a "topic of troll conversation somewhere again"

I thus think all of this has helped me develop my expertise and I certainly consider all cash spent on this to be money well spent given what I got in return.

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I took and passed the IAM in 2000 having originally passed my driving test in 1976. I suppose part of my motivation was that taking an increasing interest in road safety related issues I felt I should actually learn something about the subject in a formal sense.

I thought it was very useful in helping to encourage a more thoughtful, observant and systematic approach to driving. Some of the advice I have continued to follow, some I took with a pinch of salt.

In particular it taught me to do parallel parking properly, something I'd never been very good at before.

I would say, however, that after passing the test I attended a meeting of the local IAM group, and nobody bothered to speak to me throughout the whole evening, so I never went again.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Quite interesting to read about the other members experiences. I'll let you know when I pass

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

I did the IAM test with an observed session a week for 8 weeks before hand, I did it about 3 years after my initial driving test at the recommendation of my then boss who was an observer with Herts IAM motorcycle group, My main aim was to improve my driving standards (in my first 3 years I averaged 70k a year with 4 prangs in my first 18 months), clearly not a good idea to carry on like that.

I later had the chance to do the Class 1 training to be a volunteer driver for emergency doctors (I failed the 'fast drive' due to a fit of nerves) but a great learning experience.

I would say that I learned a lot from both experiences and my driving improved enormously from it.

TBH the big thing I noticed was that both driving instructors concentrated on getting me to pass the driving test, teaching me to drive came second (if at all). It's one thing that I have a bugbear about, I've taught staff how to carry out safety critical works correctly and safely, by comparison, driving (which could be likened to safety critical work) from my experience seems to have been taught with a bias towards passing an out of date and artificial test.

Things like COAST, IPSGA and observation skills and observation links just were not covered by either of my driving instructors.

In a discussion with my observer, I commented that if drivers were taught to drive correctly and a proper test in place the IAM would have a lot less to do, he agreed with me.

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Learned in Germany aged 18 years. (car und motorbike) Took their tests . which include formal classroom teaching . theory test.. first aid.. basic mechanics.. Practical test . we to have supervised night drive logged even back then when I aged 18, (I am gulp in 40s now.. well I have to be since I have one son aged 22 years now. ., as well as 5 month old twins. )

Anyway.. the practical test had me driving on motorway at unrestricted speeds at that time. (Ist now 80 mph limit for learners/probationers) I also had a stretch on a rural too. .. as well as the normal roads. In fact the test was more like the updated one for UK now, We also had skid und brake courses


In England .. I did IAM/ RoSPA on motorbike as well as car Did HPC course too .

After the interlude of the accident all know about.. .. I would only take to road when sure .. und IG retrain me at this point und I do assessed drive with RoSPA to make sure all OK here.

Likewise .. IG has recently been "sorting me out drivewise" after the drama of the recent childbirth experience .. from which I just really emerging back to normal after a painful 6 months of general apathy. (Between you.. ,me und entire internet.. he ist one to satisfy though He ist rather strict as a teacher/mentor .. whatever.. . .

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You can buy a books/CD bundle from http://www.123discountshop.com
Bundle has
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- The Highway Code book,
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- Driving theory test, hazard perception CD for car & bike drivers
That's basically all you need for your tests.
Bundle is cheap - £7.99

Books are good, full colour, glossy pages, small enough to carry anywhere.

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http://www.pass-test.co.uk

Driving Theory Test | Mock Theory Test | Hazard Perception Test

I started off my driving career by passing my test on two wheels back in 1977,then in 78 I took and past my car driving test. I had now started work for a transport company and was working in the warehouse on nights,loading and unloading the wagons.

I was offered a job driving 7.5tonners the trucks then were Bedford TKs swap bodies if any one remembers them, then in 1981 I was sent to leeds for my the HGV for a week which I passed and I was then driving Wagon and Drawbar trailors,this took me up to 1989, when there were some redundancies knocking around and I was one of them. I always fancied joining the cops and this made me push forward in that direction, and i ended up getting in in January 1990.

I completed then 14months in the job and was sent for my standard police driving course,which then encouraged me to join my local IAM group,although I was a police driver I still had to take my IAM test which I did and passed.

I remained on division for 5yrs and then decided that I had a good grounding and was ready to further my career so to speak and applied for Traffic which i got being subject of me passing my Advanced driving course,so,no pressure then,I passed and was based as a divisional traffic cop,which I enjoy and still do to this day.

I have since completed an off road 4x4 course,which shows the best way to use these wonderful vehicles that no one seems to know what to do with them these days as most 4x4 ers think that off roading is parking there vehicle on the drive. I then completed a refresher LGV Class 1 which I found very rewarding and couldnt believe the difference in teaching from DSA to Advanced standard in a then 38 tonner.

I have completed a VIP and Cat A escort course along with numerous other different types of vehicles courses for new 4x4 cars and jeeps and also automatic vehicles with gearboxes like tiptronic DSG etc.

My last achievment to date is to become an Examiner for the IAM which I have been trying to do for years.

Stephen

Thank you all for adding to this topic.
I am trying to see what type of additional courses and how many are being voluntary taken, especially by those right across the board from beginners to experienced drivers.

I should only add my lot I guess !

Passed my Test in 81. In 85 went on excellent HPCourse with Mike Reed of Driving Management (they taught from many years the PM drivers etc etc ) near Thruxton, (defensive driving), skid pan courses (about 3 in 1 year) (also Thruxton) inc some anti- hijack training. Ladies Mobile security Course.
Skid Pan (95)
Many snowy private empty areas, used to practice skid controls.
Castle Combe Race Circuit. Driven Abroad USA & North Europe only - sadly.
Paul & I extensively read and debated all points about driving inc books esp ROSPA, and others.
We barely had any drive without a full discussion and analysis on various aspects of that drive - in real time usually.
Motorbike - Took CBT twice - 2003 & 05 got Schedule A and can now ride anything I want (afford).

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.