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Surely not beyond us to develop some sort of simulator to assist?
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Just out of curiosity, what would this motorway lesson cover?.
My submissions for possible syllabus content:
1)How to hold the car in a straight line.
2)Methods for staying awake/keeping alert.
3)The upper 50% of your engine's powerband...learn to love it as a friend.
4)De-programming the use of hand signals.
I can't think of any road that is easier to drive than a motorway. No side streets, no intersections, no tricky decreasing radius turns, no pedestrians to jump in front of 4X4s etc.
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At the end of every successful driving test the examiner recommends to the candidate that they take the Pass Plus course, which includes motorway tuition. Instructors also push it as it increases their income.
Take up rate is well below 10%, even here in Pembrokeshire where the council contribute £75 towards the cost of the course as part of their road safety initiative.
Perhaps it is time to make it manditory.
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I can't think of any road that is easier to drive than a motorway. No side streets, no intersections, no tricky decreasing radius turns, no pedestrians to jump in front of 4X4s etc.
Trancer - my thoughts exactly, though I refrained from saying so first time round. Motorways are by far the safest roads, there are fewer distractions and less navigational decisions to be made and everybody is travelling in the same direction.
- is there a case for saying if you can't drive under those conditions, you shouldnt drive at all
ducks for cover and goes somewhere isolated for the weekend.......
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" is there a case for saying if you can't drive under those conditions, you shouldnt drive at all"
Absolutely.
A driver who can only cope with a defined set of conditions is not fully trained.
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I can't think of any road that is easier to drive than a motorway. No side streets, no intersections, no tricky decreasing radius turns, no pedestrians to jump in front of 4X4s etc.
Trancer - my thoughts exactly, though I refrained from saying so first time round. Motorways are by far the safest roads, there are fewer distractions and less navigational decisions to be made and everybody is travelling in the same direction.
- is there a case for saying if you can't drive under those conditions, you shouldnt drive at all
ducks for cover and goes somewhere isolated for the weekend.......
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The Pass Plus test can also lower your insurance costs.
A mate of mine has just taken the Pass plus, Passed it & his insurance company gave him £250 back, Result!
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Pass Plus gives you 48% off your insurance with Norwich Union. A friend of mine used this discount aged 17 to insure a 2.5 V6 Omega as his first car.
When I passed my test 3 years ago, I elected not to do Pass Plus. The insurance discount was roughly 10%, and I felt that taking the IAM course and subsequent test would be far more beneficial to my driving.
Insurers couldn't care less. The most I've been offered is 10%, which compares poorly with the immense discounts now given for Pass Plus. At 20, with an IAM Certificate, my insurance was more expensive than my younger friend with Pass Plus.
Seems insurers think a few hours bashing up the Motorway in a BSM Corsa with no test at the end makes you a far safer driver than hours of observation by a trained observer and a test with a Class 1 Police license holder.
I think it's pathetic.
Rant over :)
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The "standard" discount for Pass Plus is 1 year's NCB (25%?)
There are some insurers who give discounts for IAM.
Agreed not many, but it exists.
Anyway, the IAM is only a "one-hit-wonder".
For insurers to give discounts for ever for something, say, 10 years ago?
At least RoADA tests are 3-year retested.
So, I suggest, more meaningful long-term.
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Agreed it is a one hit wonder, but then Pass Plus is even worse - not only is it also a One Hit Wonder, but there is also no test to pass either!
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There is no indendant test to pass at the end of a Pass Plus course, but you do have to satisfy the instructor that you have reached a minimum standard before he will issue and sign the certificate.
Not ideal, as the instructor will mostly be the one who taught the trainee in the first place and cannot therefore be said to be an impartial observer, but the main purpose of Pass Plus is to give the newly qualified driver experience of motorway conditions before they venture out on their own.
As for motorway driving being easy, it is in one sense. But when it does go wrong the outcome isn't the same as misjudging your parking manouvre in Tescos.
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Driving on a motorway is not very different from driving on a busy trunk dual-carriageway with slip roads and grade-separated junctions. Differences: Typically, 3 lanes instead of 2, a hard shoulder, the absence of certain categories of vehicle and blue signs instead of green.
Cheers, SS
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IAM is no more of a one-hit-wonder than the Pass plus test, also IAM drivers don't get as much of a financial incentive.
IAM drivers average age is certainly higher than that of Pass Plus holders, one-hit-wonder or not IAM or PAss Plus driver _ i know who I'd rather be in a car with.
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My son gained his IAM badge at the age of 28.
He is still constantly and continually seeking to update and hone his driving skills several years later.
That is the whole point of being an advanced driver. You realise that you always have something new to learn every day, of every week and of every year.
As for those who feel motorway driving should be part of the driving test, if they are so berift of logic or common sense then there's little hope for them.
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My son gained his IAM badge at the age of 28. He is still constantly and continually seeking to update and hone his driving skills several years later. That is the whole point of being an advanced driver. You realise that you always have something new to learn every day, of every week and of every year.
Excellent. Attitude to be admired.
I wish more had similar.Unfortunately, many don't.
If the IAM is treated as it should be - the 2nd step up the ladder - it is very useful.
I have talked to several Groups whose members think it a good achievement in itself.
When I suggest regular re-tests, there has been a mixed reception. From "Yes - we already do that" through silence to outright antagonism - "We passed 10 years ago, so must be OK".
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