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So you’ve passed the IAM Advanced Test and become a full IAM member – congratulations! What are you going to do now to keep your interest in advanced driving and to ensure that your driving standards remain high (whether or not you choose to display an IAM badge on your car)?
Most people do nothing. They regard the Advanced Test as a pinnacle of achievement and then lose interest in the subject. That’s a great pity, because if you do that your driving standards will inevitably deteriorate and bad habits will begin to creep in – as they probably did after you passed your initial driving test. There are lots of things you can do to avoid that, most of which involve little expenditure of time or money.
The easiest way to maintain your interest and driving standards is to read and talk about advanced driving and to put it into practice on every journey you make. Read Roadcraft and the IAM’s Advanced Driving magazine, watch the Roadcraft video from time to time, attend Group meetings, join the IAM Forum if you have e-mail access. Think about your driving all the time and do a commentary, especially when you are alone in the car.
Going up one level, you might want to consider becoming an observer for the Newbury Group. We are always seeking new observers, and the training does not take a great deal of either time or effort. Helping new associates to prepare for the Advanced Test is a great way to hone your own driving skills. You don’t have to become an instructor: you just need to be friendly and patient and able to relate to other people. Of course, we recognise that not everyone wants to become an observer, and most people who do have already been recommended by their own observer or by the Examiner.
Any IAM member who wants to refresh an elderly test pass can apply for a Driving Assessment. It is an opportunity for members to undertake a beneficial learning experience with an IAM Examiner that positively supports the IAM policy of improving driving standards for the advancement of road safety. It is conducted by an Examiner and is similar in most respects to the IAM Test. However, a member undertaking it will not be considered to have either "passed" or "failed" and the result will not affect your continued membership of the IAM. The debrief which follows the assessment will provide a useful learning experience.
If you want to improve your advanced driving skills further, there are several other hurdles to jump. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has an Advanced Drivers’ Association (RoADA), and its Advanced Test is based on Roadcraft, like the IAM’s. The differences, however, are that the RoADA Test can be passed at any of three levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold, you receive a written report, and the qualification is valid only for three years. After that, you have to take a retest to retain or increase your pass level, which is a great incentive to maintain or improve your standards. The nearest RoADA group is the Thames Valley Group (TVG), which meets at Sonning near Reading. Several members of Newbury IAM Group are also RoADA members and Tony Parish is a member of the TVG Committee.
Next is the IAM Special Assessment. This is an advanced challenge for IAM members who feel that the IAM Advanced Test is not challenging enough. It is not a test, in the sense that there is no ‘pass/fail’ and the result does not affect continuing membership of the IAM. However, like the IAM Test, it is conducted by an Examiner – only a limited number of Examiners in the UK are qualified to conduct the Special Assessment. After the Assessment the Examiner will give some verbal feedback in a debrief session. The member will then receive comprehensive written feedback from IAM Head Office, including an analysis of the driving and an overall evaluation of it expressed as a percentage against an ‘ideal’ drive. The contents of this report will remain confidential between the IAM and the member.
For those who are really ambitious (or masochistic!) the RoSPA Diploma represents the highest driving qualification you can achieve as a non-police driver. It involves an extremely high standard of driving, two theory papers and a presentation. Tony Parish wrote a comprehensive account of his successful year-long journey towards the Diploma in our July 2003 issue.
If all that is not enough, there are plenty of other things you can do. Skid pan training and track days, where you drive either your own car or other cars on racing circuits, are widely advertised on the Internet. And those who are really keen might want to consider the High Performance Club.