I’m not superstitious but sometimes weird things happen that I can’t explain and I get a bit spooked. For example, one evening last week I was sitting in my favourite chair, thinking about plans for the weekend. Nothing unusual there. Suddenly I remembered that my girlfriend Kim (playing with her phone on the sofa opposite) had made some tentative plans to have lunch with a friend. “You still meeting Jen on Saturday?” I asked. At that precise moment, Kim’s phone went ‘ping’ announcing a text message from (you’ve guessed it) Jen, cancelling on lunch.

We have all come across road rage at some point in our driving lives. When it happens, it can leave you feeling intimidated and scared. But with a bit of planning you can prevent the situation altogether. Richard Gladman, head of driving and riding standards, provides a few top tips about how to avoid being a victim of road rage, and what to do if it escalates.

The ‘beast from the east’ left many things in its wake; poor retail sales figures, an extended skiing season in the Scottish mountains and of course lots of potholes! Even before the storms, my phone had already started ringing with local journalists looking for comments on poor road surfaces and social media was full of pictures of bathtub sized holes.

This week’s tips, provided by IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman, are all about how to filter through traffic safely on a motorcycle. No matter if you’re a new rider who’s nervous about filtering, or an experienced motorcyclists, it’s always good to be reminded of the following key tips...

At IAM RoadSmart we talk a lot about the dangers of distraction when it comes to driving – and yes distraction plays a very large part in many accidents. Music can be both a distraction and a way of keeping the driver alert. Too loud or too high the bpm, the greater the chance the driver will go faster and less able to hear of other things around them.