Tim's take on the Advanced Driver Course

A friend had urged me to join him at an IAM meeting in Lincoln for the last couple of years. In October 2016 I finally succumbed to his request, the meeting was an evening when some of the observers took folk like me out for a drive in our own cars to give an assessment of our driving skills. I and another driver new to IAM went out for an assessment drive with the observer. I was asked why I wanted to look into taking the advanced driver test, my reply was that when working as an electronics engineer I drove seventy thousand miles or more a year which took me around most of the big cities in Great Britain. Since early retirement some twelve years ago I have only driven ten thousand miles or so a year and thought my driving skills may now not be as good as they were.

The observer told me that as I drove he would give me direction instructions and would also make notes as I drove. He took me on a route out of Lincoln and along dark country roads that I didn't know existed, we arrived back in Lincoln. The observer then made comments about my driving and gave me an assessment form with indications of my driving ability and what needed to be improved before taking the IAM test.

I applied to take associate membership and on November 21^st. I took my first one-hour session with an observer who was Ashley Behan, this session included an introduction to IPSGA, cockpit drill and observation, he explained various points in the IAM’s “How to be a better driver” book. During this drive Ashley made various comments as I drove following his directions, after this first drive he was very encouraging in his debrief. Ashley took me on three more observation drives before Christmas and then arranged for me to be taken for a Check Drive with another observer to confirm I was ready to take the test. In January, I went for a drive with Gary Hill who confirmed I was ready to take the test, this was duly arranged for 7^th April with Mark Carlin.

Mark put me at ease with his calm and relaxed attitude. I drove for about one and a half hours on a variety of roads from one that seemed little better than a cart track, dual carriageways and through to urban areas. At the end of the test drive Mark gave me a copy of my IAM Test Report with the box Recommended ticked.

The monthly meetings at the Fire Station in Lincoln are a valuable asset to the learning curve of associate members. There is always a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at the monthly meetings and the speakers I have found to be very interesting and helpful.

My thanks to Ashley and Gary Hill for their help and support, also to all IAM volunteers who give their time to making our roads a safer place to drive.

Tim Smith - Lincoln IAM Member