in a 42 year old doing the pass pluss and iam test for a reduction in insurance ?

or am i too old and fat to drive fast enough to have an accident

I asked my insurer whether pass-plus would help me, but they only offer discounts for people who have taken pass-plus within 12 months of passing their actual test.

IAM should get a reduction I would hope.

thanks for the quick reply

i will try to make some enquiries but my shifts may hold things back a bit :(

Some insurance companies offer decent reductions for IAM, and I dont think your age is against you, my group chairman is in his 70's and only started when he retired, needless to say he's a good driver.

Its also a good thing for personal achievement as well as the discounts associated with them.

IMHO Pass plus would just be wasting your time, the sorts of things they will teach you are things you will have picked up long ago, thats not to say its not a good thing for young drivers newly past their test though.

IAM is definitely worth it, but I would (no pun intended) steer clear of pass-plus.

I think it depends what your motivation is for doing it as to whether it's worthwhile. If it's just to save money you may be disappointed and IMHO, the insurance discounts are variable - Adrian Flux gave me a 25% discount on my premium which covered the cost of the course and the exam but others are less generous.

If you want to do a bit of homework, it's worth having a read of Roadcraft which outlines the syllabus of what is covered. There are also quite a few videos on Youtube now if you search for advanced driving, but the quality of the driving does vary so go in with open eyes!

I'd recommend wandering along to a local IAM/RoSPA group meeting or find someone local to you who's happy to give you a taster of what it's all about.

Chris

Edited 29 September, 200817 yr by ScoobyChris

Just noticed your location Neil, You will have the same local IAM group as me, Forth Valley Group of Advanced Motorists

If you want a wee demo drive prior to committing to it feel free to give me a shout and I'm happy to do so.

i would also suggest to go along with bigw to a meeting so you can see what its like before commiting (try before you buy). i found some meetings good while others were rather knuckle shuffle old mans stuff. Ive passed my IAM and have found my driving has calmed down alot, you certainly think more of the road and respect it more as you more inclined to think what if and prepare for that what if as most drivers dont think of the what if till they get halfway round a bend to find a tractor sat in the middle of the road. You will also learn to read the roads, prepare in adavnce for things and actually find your fuel consumption improves and journey times decrease legally, especially at roundabouts where you have prepared for it, kept rolling and gone. You will also get a lot of satisfaction out of it too when you realise that you are above most drivers in the terms of you know what you are doing and have planned which they havent.

feel free to keep coming back to post here if you do the advance as it can be hard but certainly a satisfaction buzz when you pass and do it naturally.

lastly remember many of us on here were at your stage once umming and uffing about doing it or not.

I will take you up on the offer Bigw

and thanks to the rest of you for the advice

unfortunatly the forth valley iam site is down just now

but i'll see if i can get hold of the book (why did i quit working for a book publishers )

the two books to get are the roadcraft advance police drivers handbook and the IAM one will come with the joining pack when you join IAM. there is also a useful dvd on the roadcraft advance drivers course available too which might help you. but remember on your test not to do any of the bullying tactics and high revving done in the police dvd one as i asked about this at the start of my test and he wanted to see a smooth safe drive and didnt want to see the police style as in the dvd even through it explained quite alot of points like ipsga etc.

At the risk of starting a religious war, I'd also investigate RoSPA (ROADAR) as the course is graded, offering a bit more potential to be recognised for the level of driving delivered, and you also get a comprehensive report (mine was several pages!) from the examiner outlining what he thought and suggestions on areas to develop. RoSPA also retest every 3 years to ensure the standard is maintained and the cost of the test comes from your annual membership fee which is around £20 so you don't need to pay for it specifically.

Achieving RoSPA Gold will also set you up nicely should you wish to stretch yourself further and join somewhere like Club Driving or HPC.

Chris

sorry chris, my apologies completely forgot aboutt he rospa one!!

IAM is definitely worth it, but I would (no pun intended) steer clear of pass-plus.

So, when are you going to join and get yours done, then? :haha:

So, when are you going to join and get yours done, then? :haha:

Hopefully before we teach him lots of bad habits on Saturday

Chris

I will take you up on the offer Bigw

and thanks to the rest of you for the advice

unfortunatly the forth valley iam site is down just now

but i'll see if i can get hold of the book (why did i quit working for a book publishers )

A month later .... how did you get on?

Chris

A month later .... how did you get on?

Chris

Our Date's not till next week :P

thanks for reminding me

ps nice forgetmenot

ps nice forgetmenot

Thanks, Its one of my favourite flowers :P reminds me of my family

see you sunday

So how did it go? Did he show you everything on the first date? :eek:

Chris

That good, eh? :rubchin:

Chris