Tips and Blogs

We’re starting to experience windy, chilly starts to the day. And driving home from work in the dark confirms that autumn is officially here.

Although the sun is still shining, the chilly mornings are starting to creep in. Richard Gladman, IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, has put together some tips to prepare you for the colder weather that’s nearing us.

Getting private practice while learning to drive plays an important role in gaining vital experience behind the wheel before taking the driving test. Before you offer to take someone out make sure you have the relevant information.

In support of Project EDWARD and the FIA’s “Slowing down saves lives” campaign, IAM RoadSmart, the UK’s largest independent road safety charity, has put together a set of tips to help you manage your speed.

Whether you’re starting your first year at university or heading back for the final time, travelling there can be an emotional rollercoaster. One moment you’re excited at the thought of seeing friends and getting your independence back, then you’re full of nerves and finding it hard to part with those at home. So worrying about your motorway journey is the last thing you need.

The media enjoy talking about age – everybody’s age matters, except our own of course. We’re always hearing things like “younger drivers are dangerous,” or “older drivers should be taken off the road.”

It’s often easy to forget as advanced drivers that our journey started, as did everyone else’s, as a learner driver.

You may have read in the past week that Nigel Mansell, IAM RoadSmart President and 1992 Formula 1 World Champion, joined us with his IAM RoadSmart hat on to take part in a feature with The Times and The Sun to offer his advice on driving on the roads over the winter months.

My last blog entry described my journey since passing my IAM test in 1971. In 2015 I’d had a wake-up call, realising my driving skills had slipped badly, and the subsequent few months had been devoted to recovering and improving – all leading to one thing.

It was something I’d said I would never allow to happen. I’d passed my IAM test in 1971, full of enthusiasm and grand intentions never to let my standards slip. Then someone pushed the fast-forward button while I slept and, like a latter-day Rip Van Winkle, I woke in 2015 in a very different world where driving was not fun but a stressful chore.