Tips and Blogs

Road law continues to evolve, and this year we’re seeing some significant changes that will affect millions of Brits. Let’s look at the recent and imminent changes and how they could affect us.

This week it was announced that the number of recorded vehicle thefts in the last 12 months has reached nearly 90,0001. With the majority of police forces around the UK recording an increase in car thefts over the last year, IAM RoadSmart is on hand to give their top tips to help keep your car safe from thieves.

With many of us set to travel over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, IAM RoadSmart are looking at some of the common confusions that drivers and riders face when travelling on UK motorways.

Filtering is the act of overtaking slow moving or stationary traffic by travelling between lanes and it’s completely legal if it is done safely. Richard Gladman, Head of Driving and Riding Standards at IAM RoadSmart, is on hand to give his expert advice to filtering safely and helping all road users to know the rules around filtering.

Roadworks can slow down your journey, cause major disruption and bring havoc to your day. With 6,590 traffic incidents reported on UK roads between 2016 and 2020, navigating the maze of roadworks on our highways has never been more important. IAM RoadSmart’s Head of Driving and Riding Standards, Richard Gladman, has some top tips to help make navigating them a little bit easier.

In this week’s blog ‘The IAM Family’, Christopher Dunn, Vice Chairman of West Yorkshire Advanced Motorcyclists, shares his delight at how his IAM RoadSmart colleagues from across the country have rallied round to provide support when he and his local group have needed it.

Telematics policies, sometimes called ‘black box’ insurance, traditionally rely upon small pieces of kit known as black boxes installed in a vehicle to record driving style. In this week’s blog, Richard Hardesty, National Observer for the IAM Roadsmart Lincolnshire Group, and his new driver son Oliver share their thoughts on telematics insurance for younger drivers.

What do you get when you take a bunch of Nepalese riders and a couple of IAM RoadSmart trainers? The only trained bikers in the country, that’s what! Read about Area Service Delivery Managers Scott Tulip and Pete Doherty's trip to Nepal to deliver off-road motorcycle training to The Gurkha Welfare Trust on behalf of IAM RoadSmart. This blog is extracted from an article in Motorcycle Sport & Leisure magazine, December 2020.

Living in Bedfordshire I was commuting daily to Welwyn Garden City, around 35 miles each way via the busy A1. However, the thought of facing this again after so long started to play on my mind and I was getting increasingly anxious. I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2013. My condition is well managed most of the time, but I still struggle when faced with something I can’t fully control.

James Hall, IAM RoadSmart’s Director of Sales and Marketing shares the story of his life-long love for cars and bikes. "My passion for cars and motorbikes started at a very young age and has been heavily influenced by my father who is ex-military and slightly obsessive about his cars. He’s the only person I know who would remove the wheels to clean the inside alloy as well as the outside!"