Advanced driving course - worth the money?

[rosaespanola]

Heh...I've never even been told to do a commentary. I agree that doing this and being more obvious about looking in mirrors is a good idea so the examiner knows exactly what I'm thinking, but I imagine it takes practice to be able to do this at the same time as driving and observing the next things that are coming up!

[Rampent]

Leaving 50 notes on the dash has the required effect.

[LordChaverly]

I took an advanced driving course some years ago, purely because I wanted to be a better driver, even though I had never had an accident and was generally regarded as a safe and courteous driver. I never took the test, mainly because of pressure of work and because my main purpose was to improve my driving skills, not to gain the certificate. Oh irony of ironies, a few months after I left the course, I had an accident. I don't know if there was any connection between the two events.

[rosaespanola]

Oh irony of ironies, a few months after I left the course, I had an accident. I don't know if there was any connection between the two events.

 

Oh dear! Maybe if you hadn't done the course you'd have been in more than one accident

One of the main reasons I wanted to take the course was because I was involved in an accident on the M1 a couple of years ago and it took me a LONG time to regain my confidence with driving. I still have my moments where I have to tuck myself in behind a lorry in the slow lane for a while until I relax again.

[DT Ralge]

Heh...I've never even been told to do a commentary. I agree that doing this and being more obvious about looking in mirrors is a good idea so the examiner knows exactly what I'm thinking, but I imagine it takes practice to be able to do this at the same time as driving and observing the next things that are coming up!

 

That you were never asked to do a commentary is fair and square ridiculous. It is fundamental to ANY driver training. There's an excellent DVD by Chris Gilbert that demonstrates this skill. Other than that, get together with a decent well-qualified trainer (as opposed to an observer) and go away and practice commentary and perfect your use of the "System". Get your trainer to demonstrate the System.

Edited January 30, 2011 by DT Ralge

[rosaespanola]

I think I'll probably get in contact with RoSPA and see about going out with one of their observers. IAM have had enough of my money now, they're not getting any more since I don't seem to have got much in return :-)

Thanks for all of your advice, it was really helpful.

[sexgod86]

think I'll probably get in contact with RoSPA and see about going out with one of their observers. IAM have had enough of my money now, they're not getting any more since I don't seem to have got much in return :-)

Thanks for all of your advice, it was really helpful.

[strikerPaul]

Is this advanced driving the same as pass plus?

[rosaespanola]

I think Pass Plus is something you do soon after you take your driving test, and does things like motorway driving that you don't do in driving lessons, whereas the advanced driving stuff is more for people who've been driving for a while and want to make sure they haven't got into bad habits and suchlike (there isn't a set number of years you have to have been driving though, so in theory someone who'd just passed their test could do it).

[Rupert_Baehr]

I'm looking for advice from anyone who has done an advanced driving course in this area.

For Christmas 2009 my parents paid for me to do an advanced driving course, as I have a long commute to work so want to be as good a driver as I can. I joined a local IAM group and have been going on drives with their volunteer trainers since Jan 2010, but I've now taken my advanced driving test twice and have failed both times - the guy who did my tests said I'm a very good driver and perfectly safe, just not at what is classed as an advanced level. I don't feel that I drove any differently in my tests to how I've been driving when out with the IAM trainers, but he pointed out several things that he said I was doing wrong or not doing at all, none of which had ever been mentioned by the trainers I've been out with on practice sessions. I also found that the different trainers had a tendency to contradict each other, for example one of them would tell me something I did was wrong, and then the next trainer I went out with would tell me the opposite.

I'm pretty disheartened by the whole thing, as I really wanted to improve my driving but having spent a lot of time going out with trainers and having paid £200 for the course and two tests, I really don't want to pour endless amounts of money and time into this if I'm not actually getting anything useful out of it. Has anyone done the advanced driving course locally and found it to be useful? I'm definitely not going back to the group I've been going to, but I know there are several groups in S Yorks so I'm wondering if one of them would be better or whether they'll all be the same.

Cheers for any advice you have!

 

You keep mentioning 'trainers'. Are you sure it's the IAM you've been going to? The IAM has observers who observe what you're doing, not trainers who train you to do something.

 

Did you read the 'Pass Your Advanced Driving Test' manual? Did you follow the advice in that manual?

 

The observer will (or should) point out your faults to you and before you were put in for the test, you should have had a thorough cross-check with another observer.

 

'Good driver and very safe' is indeed not what the examiner (who is a Police Class 'A') is looking for. The examiner will not require you to drive to Class 'A' standards, but your performance will be expected to be 'sparkling', you will be expected to 'make progress' and your standard of observation will be expected to be very high.

 

By all means go to another group - it may be that you've had a 'personality clash' and they may be able to help you.

 

You've already paid for IAM membership - so you don't have to pay for that. I've no idea what the current re-test fee is, but it's not that high. The observers don't charge you for their time (they are, after all volunteers) so you've no additional costs there.