We spend a lot of time behind the wheel of the cars, so its vital we know what we’re doing on the road and especially with our customers travelling with us.
At the start of the year I became a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). I was assigned a mentor, and we met up for a two hour drive each week. He observed my driving and taught me how to improve my driving skills. Taking the key elements of advanced driving skills from Roadcraft, (the book behind all police driver training) I learnt about the system of car contol, (Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration), ‘limit points of observation’, making good progress while driving safely. I attended a theory day and studied the theory behind being a safe and professional driver. After about eight sessions I was ready for the test. Pretty much like doing the driving test all over again, my examiner was a Gloucestershire policeman, pretty nerve wracking because I really wanted to do well, but he put me at ease and I relaxed in to the test. After an hour and a half we finished and I was told I had passed, but not just a pass, I was given a ‘First’, which is the highest award for the Advanced Driving Test. Extremely happy to say the least with the result and a thoroughkly worth while course which I definitely recommend taking to anyone who wants to improve their driving skills.
