Are there any members of Briskoda who are 'IAM' certified?

I am thinking of joining one of the advanced driving schools and improving my driving skills. What I'd like to know is whether it's worth the cost and what exactly the benefits are.

Some questions:

1) Will it guarantee a reduction in insurance premiums?

2) How does it differ from some of the other advanced driving schools?

3) How do the police and other driving law related services view the certification?

1) No

2) It's a membership based thing, it seems largely voluntary. Subscribed but not done a lot with it (yet) due to lack of time - will do soon though

3) I doubt it will make much difference if you get nicked speeding for example. You apparently do get police drivers involved in sessions though, so there is involvement/interest from that angle.

IIRC Walkie is a member too, he may have been more active then me to actually follow it up.

For me it is more a way of improving my driving skill again, hopefully making me a safer driver when I want/need to be and sharpening up my knowledge of the current rules/regs.

Another course I'd like to do is one of those 'skidding' type courses, sounds like that would be a good skill too

Are there any members of Briskoda who are 'IAM' certified?

I am thinking of joining one of the advanced driving schools and improving my driving skills. What I'd like to know is whether it's worth the cost and what exactly the benefits are.

Some questions:

1) Will it guarantee a reduction in insurance premiums?

2) How does it differ from some of the other advanced driving schools?

3) How do the police and other driving law related services view the certification?

I'm a fully paid up member and certified.

In answer to your questions

1) No - and don't join if that's all your interested in!!

2) Not sure as I have not look at any others. It is generally regarded that the IAM certification is equivalent to the Rospa Bronze award' date=' but like I said I don't know what's involved with that.

3) All IAM tests (AFAIK) and theory days are carried out by police advanced drivers so I can only guess that they view the certification favourably.

The IAM certifcation will teach you to plan your driving so that your style becomes more fluid and efficient. It will not teach you to drive at excess speed or how to chuck your car round a track.

If you want to find out a bot more about it before signing up contact your local membership secretary [url']www.iam.org[/url] and have a chat with them before hand.

HTH

I too am a fully paid up member and have been for 13 years now and concur with what has been said previously.

Insurance through IAM has never been cheaper and the Insurance Companies that offer IAM Discounts are normally more expensive than the usual internet providers.

Has it made me a better driver? I would say so teaches you various things better observation, anticipation etc and I shouldn't say this as I'll be tempting fate but in 22 years of driving I still have a clean licence and full no claims. And I don't drive a Rover on Sundays only and wear a flat cap do 30K+ miles a year.

And yes it is well worth joining and doing the test which was conducted in my case by a Police Driving Examiner back in 93.

Yearly membership is

IAM is a good thing - but also consider ROSPA(RODA) Advanced driving group.

1. Membership is £10 a year (+ test fee when you are ready). Tuition is free, however you have to re sit a test every 3 years.

2. 3 Standards Gold, Silver, Bronze (no just pass fail).

3. Organisation is run as a charity.

As to the questions

1. No. It's a pitty but most insurance companies don't give discounts.

2. Mentioned above. Rospa is a charity (IIRC IAM isn't and costs more) St John's ambulance now demand their drivers pass at silver.

3. Favourably. Our group (Cambridgeshire) has a police examiner. The guys come down and give talks etc. We even went out (in groups) in police cars last Sunday. Indeed the head of Cambs Police driver training always stresses how good the ROSPA organisation is. That said some of the police guys were at IAM on Sunday, the others were with us, so I suspect they look positively on both organisations.

1) Yes - you'll never crash Admiral also offer a discount for advanced drivers

2) IAM is £85 IIRC but is a lifetime membership (once you pass). RoADAR is the Rospa run course and is £25 for the first year and then £12 every year thereafter.

3) Advanced driving is not a licence to break the law. It teaches you to make better progress than the L-plate test driver in the safest manner, while whithin the legal limits. I suspect if you told them you were an advanced driver when they'd pulled you for speeding they'd throw the book at you as a) you should know better and your extended observation skills should have spotted them

I'm currently doing the RoSPA run RoADAR as I'm a cheap skate and also because there's more granularity in the grades. Both are examined by (ex-) class1 police drivers and my driving has improved significantly in the 3 observed runs I've had. Getting a good grade will also enable you to get on the High Performance Course which looks like a lot of fun

Chris

Thanks very much guys. Your information is pretty much what I expected. I do not see it as a simple way to reduce insurance costs or gain favourtism with the law.

I would genuinely like to enhance my current driving skills and it was just the fact that there is more than one scheme that made me wonder why I should choose one over the other.

WW_VRS: I have booked myself on a skid-pan training session in June at the Castle Combe racing circuit. I thought it would be most useful too so I can report back here if you're interested in hearing what it's like.

I'd do the RoADA one personally (I did and got silver :grumpy: ) I am now redoing it as I last did it 7 years ago. I want gold this time round as it will allow me to go on and do the assesment course and then the diploma course (I want to be able to teach advanced driving). I have also "done" the HPC and it really is very good

1: I got a £125 discount.

Also, it's made me more efficient, faster and safer.

I think everyone should do some sort of advanced course because it really does make you MUCH safer - even though you may be a safeish driver already.

Yeah please report back any experiences like that, I am hoping to do some one day but it's been tight on my free time. I must get in touch with the local IAM peeps and start doing something there

I've paid my dosh an dhave attended one course so far. Very interesting (and there are a couple of very nice young ladies in my group) so I'll keep going with a view to passing the test ASAP.

I signed up 2 years ago, passed the test and am now a full IAM member.

Its a good thing, and I can recommend it to anyone. Its a good grounding in driving safely, systematically, progressively and economically.

I now find myself wanting more though - RoSPA is the next thing for me (as soon as I have Sundays free again), and then maybe HPC!

Did you pass the IAM test before or after you went off the road and drove through a field Tom ?

IAM is a Registered Charity, the Skills for Life Package is

Did you pass the IAM test before or after you went off the road and drove through a field Tom ?

Sorry, Tom, but...

Did you pass the IAM test before or after you went off the road and drove through a field Tom ?

Lol, before.

Lol, before.

But you crashed safely, stylishly and progressively right

This is getting silly

Yes of course it's worth it

if any sort of course improves your awareness and prevents accidents,

then it's worth it. it could save your and others lives.

A life is priceless, a car is a lump of metal.

I lost a close relative because a paper bag blew into the road, the unfortunate driver swerved to avoid the bag...........

This is getting silly

Yes of course it's worth it

if any sort of course improves your awareness and prevents accidents' date='

then it's worth it. it could save your and others lives.

A life is priceless, a car is a lump of metal.

I lost a close relative because a paper bag blew into the road, the unfortunate driver swerved to avoid the bag...........[/size']

So, based on that you have done IAM, RoSPA and HPC I take it.

Who did you do your HPC entry with?

So' date=' based on that you have done IAM, RoSPA and HPC I take it.

Who did you do your HPC entry with?[/quote']

Don't have a go at me!!

I did my IAM about 20 years ago, and my pcv IAM at work about 5 years ago.

I haven't done a HPC course, but when time permits I intened to.

consider myself reasonably aware, and I think 20 odd years of driving cars, buses and coaches throughout Europe with only one car based accident, which was my fault entirely and no-one hurt backs this up.

We get training at work ( skid pans etc ) and regular seminars through work.

Also our company is regarded as amongst the best in the country as regards driver training.

As I said, ANY sort of training MUST be helpful, surely?:confused:

I wasn't having a go, I was just curious that's all.

Need a hand putting your toys back in the pram?

I wasn't having a go' date=' I was just curious that's all.

Need a hand putting your toys back in the pram? [/quote']

As said before, I have a very small pram and lots of toys..

Seriously though, experience counts for a lot, imho, although I doubtless have plenty of driving faults, that would be hard for me to rectify because of my unfounded belief that because I haven't had an accident for years, I will never have one............

It's a lot easier for a newish driver to learn good habits, than it is for a more experienced driver to 'unlearn' bad ones.

Any sort of 'proper' training and advice must be a good thing and worth it surely (re. thread title..)

Right, grump over, I'm off to work ( driving safely, probably.):eek:

2) IAM is

I agree with you, experience counts for a lot. Learning good habits at an early age is very important too.

I count myself as reasonably experience and adequately trained. To save you asking:

Been driving since I was 11, so getting on for 30 years.

Driven a total of 1.3 million miles all over the world (in conditions rsanging from the Arctic to the desert)

I rallied for nearly 10 years

I have done competitive circuit driving

I have driven about 40,000 miles on track days and Ring trips

I did the RoSPA advanced and passed at Silver - this has now lapsed (about 5 years ago :( ) so I'm redoing it and going for Gold as I want to do the Diploma course to qualify as an advanced instructor. I'm also doing the assessors course

I have done the HPC

I have done various other courses eg defensive and evassive driving, wetter the better etc

My brother-in-law says that the biggest thing he did to improve his car criving was to start riding a motorcycle.