Tips and Blogs

It’s that time of the year to bring out your wellies, rain capes and lose yourself in the music because the summer festival season is here. This week’s tips give advice on riding and driving to and from festivals from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Finding the time to take a trip abroad can be a challenge but many of us look forward to it. It can be a huge task especially for motorcycle users abroad. This week’s tips give advice on riding abroad from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Horses are powerful animals and have extremely heightened senses. They are ‘flight’ animals, so many revert to their natural instincts at any time. The outcome of this can be extremely challenging for the rider and other road users. There have been 2,570 road incidents reported to the British Horse Society in the last six years. Some 38 riders have been killed and 222 horses have died as a result of their injuries. Of these incidents 80% are because vehicle passed too fast or too close to the horse. This week’s tips give advice on riding and driving around horses from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Illegal substances can affect drivers in several ways, making them unfit for the road. But it is not only illegal drugs that we should be wary of. Prescribed or over the counter drugs can have similar negative affect’s on motorists too and driving while impaired by medication could see you banned from using the road. This week’s tips give advice on riding and driving with prescribed medication, from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman.

Drunk motorists cause thousands of accidents on UK roads every year. Some 1,380 people were killed or seriously injured when at least one driver was over the limit. This represents a statistically significant rise from 1,310 in 2014. A lot of people may be surprised to learn that accidents occur the most over the summer period. This week’s tips give advice on drink driving, from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman.

As the clocks have gone back and we are starting to practice “hygge”, the latest feel-good craze imported from Denmark (creating a nice, warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people around you), this is a time when we need to be extra vigilant and start looking and seeing.

Today is National Stress Awareness Day and MIND, a mental health charity, is focussing on its Blue Light Programme. This highlights the support needed for emergency services in regard to mental health issues. Their independent research stated “9 out of 10 of the emergency service staff and volunteers who completed their survey had experienced stress, low mood or poor mental health at some point whilst working for the emergency services.”

Social media, it seems can bring out the worst in people. For some it offers an opportunity to share negative opinions that would most likely be internalised, in any other social setting or interaction. Trolling and fat shaming are just two examples. A whole host of celebrities have ditched their social accounts due to harassment and bullying.

When I used to teach people to drive I was asked this all the time. I’d immediately ask what they meant by a better driver. This is where it became obvious that being a better driver means different things to different people.

I really can’t believe it’s been a year since I competed in the MPG Marathon! Two weeks before this event I hadn’t passed my test, driven on a motorway or tried ‘economy’ driving. This was an amazing opportunity for both me and my co-driver Rory Carmichael, and although it was a competition we had a lot of fun.