The sky’s blue, sun is shining and the snow, fog and rain are a distant memory. It’s time to get the top down, the shades on and celebrate the great British summer with some open-air motoring. But hold on a minute - those shades might make you look cooler than an ice box, but are they OK for driving? Are sunglasses a boon or burden for the safe driver?

I like building flat-pack furniture. Not enough to actually want to spend any time in IKEA, but enough to view flat-pack as a grown up version of Airfix, with a bit of added practical value. My colleagues and I agreed this morning that it can be an enjoyable, somewhat therapeutic pastime, but doesn’t always result in furniture that possesses a great deal of structural integrity.

A runny nose, headache and constant sneezing – these are just a few of the symptoms hay fever sufferers deal with during the summer. These symptoms can affect motorists in a number of ways.

It was 29 May and it was a beautiful, bright, hot sunny day. Later that evening I’d be doing my favourite type of presentation, a co-presentation with mature driver ambassador and rally driving legend, Paddy Hopkirk, to South of London Advanced Motorists.

Now that half term is over, the chaos of the commute to work has resumed for some drivers. However, it doesn’t have to be a hectic journey. IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman, has put together five tips which can help you have a smooth, stress-free commute to and from work.