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.

There’s something extremely bland about turning 37. With the much-celebrated big 4-0 still well beyond the horizon, 37 is a beige age, possessing only the dubious honour of being ‘the beginning of your late 30's.’

Government announcements – don’t you just love them? Well, yes and no. Yes, in that they bring IAM RoadSmart loads of media coverage, and no, because the latest came out at 10.30 on a Saturday evening – not easy to plan for! The latest was an important announcement about the long touted idea of allowing learners on motorways. We had already supported the concept in a consultation reply many months ago and it was good to see the government adopting all the recommendations we liked.

I started motorcycling when I was 14, back in the ‘60s! Not on the road, but on our private farm lane and in the fields. With a group of friends I bought and sold British bikes for £5-£15 … those same bikes would be worth thousands today!