Tips and Blogs

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.

Pollen is in abundance during springtime, and this is when flowers start to bloom resulting in pollen levels becoming high. To help you to cope better with your hay fever symptoms whilst driving and riding, IAM RoadSmart are on hand with their top tips for hitting the road with hay fever.

The Easter break is nearly upon us, and many people will be setting off on that Spring getaway for a chance to unwind. But with airports reporting cancellations and lengthy delays, will you be choosing to take the car?

Welcome to the first in IAM RoadSmart’s new series of expert driving tips from Head of Driving & Riding Standards Richard Gladman. Over the coming weeks we’ll cover everything from safe motorway driving to how to navigate a single-track road, a steep incline or preparing for driving abroad. This week Richard talks us through what we need to think about before we’ve even left home.

The Highway Code was updated earlier this year to introduce a risk-based hierarchy of road users, which places more responsibility on the drivers of larger vehicles to look after more vulnerable road users. But are pet owners aware of the rule that relates to having four-legged passengers in the car?

Kiera Woods shares her experience of taking the IAM RoadSmart Advanced driving course. "It had been over three years since I passed my driving test and I had only been driving short distances. I was keen to rebuild my confidence and skills when, at the start of 2020 the opportunity to join IAM Lincolnshire free of charge arose, thanks to the Police and Crime Commissioner initiative. I jumped at the chance."

Peter Burridge who is a motorcycle examiner, who has been an IAM RoadSmart member for 40 years delves into the finer aspects of motorcycle control. He says ‘This important area is not usually covered within the RoadSmart Advanced Motorcycle course. It is something that I am passionate about and I’d like to share some thoughts and ideas.

"There is a lot we can do as drivers to avoid accidents and road closures too." Advanced driver Struan Stevenson, columnist with the ‘The Herald’ (Scotland), shares some motorway madness stories with us.

Craig Shaw recently passed his IAM RoadSmart Advanced Rider test. Having enjoyed his experience, he put together a few words about his training journey and the positive experience and skills it gave him.

Jacob Dossett and Ella Pearson are a young couple from Lincolnshire who have recently become advanced drivers together. In this blog, they reflect on their advanced driving coaching experience and the benefits it’s brought.