We make better drivers and riders

Do fashion and driving mix well?

Blog post posted on 15/05/18 |
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Advice

Have you ever thought about how your outfit can impact the way you drive? For most people, they get ready for the day, get into their car and drive to their destination without thinking about what they’re wearing. Richard Gladman, head of driving and riding standards, provides some useful tips to making sure you’re wearing the right gear when driving.

Note: If you have friends or family who drive, please share these tips with them to help them stay safe on the road.

  • Choose the right shoes. Never go bare foot as you have to put pressure on the pedals which your shoes can do a lot easier, and we do not advise wearing flip flops or open-toed sandals as they can get caught between the pedals. Wearing a sturdy pair of trainers or shoes is the best option when driving; you can always leave your favourite shoes in the boot of your car and change into them once you arrive at your destination

  • Do you have enough leg room? Your trousers can restrict your movement. For example, skinny jeans are designed to be upright and barely bend. Go for trousers that are loose enough for your legs to move around in

  • Following on from skinny jeans – before getting into your car, think about the type of clothes you’re wearing. If they’re tight fitting, then this will limit your movement in your car

  • Fashion accessories. Smart watches now have the ability to connect to your phone. So even if you’ve put your phone out of sight and on silent, will your watch vibrate when you receive a message or call? Either change your settings to avoid this or put this away with your phone

Richard said: “Dressing to impress may be excellent for the meeting you are attending but consider the journey there: it may well be that a change of clothes is required at your destination to make the journey more comfortable. Your smart watch may well fall into the ‘like device’ definition in relation to mobile phone legislation, so don’t allow it to distract.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.      Richard Gladman is IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards.

2.      IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com

To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://www.iamroadsmart.com/local-groups

Media contacts:

Further information from:

IAM RoadSmart press office – 020 8996 9777 

press.office@iam.org.uk / www.iamroadsmart.com

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