IAM RoadSmart has published a suite of new resources to help ‘time poor’ drivers develop their skills.
Aimed at ‘a new generation of drivers’, the resources include an app, e-learning modules and single-subject, one-to-one practical driving sessions.
The new products are designed to run alongside IAM RoadSmart’s existing Advanced Driver Course, Young Driver Review and Mature Driver Review, which are all still available.
The range of ‘bite-sized’ safer driving sessions for private drivers address six specific driving needs: motorways, rural roads, urban roads, vehicle management, overtaking and confined space manoeuvring.
The sessions, which last between one and two hours and cost £49 each, are conducted by IAM RoadSmart’s advanced driving experts in the customer’s own vehicle.
The seven e-learning modules, designed to ‘improve your knowledge and abilities before you even set foot outside your door’, cost £5 each and offer up to 20 minutes of interactive tuition.
Topics covered include motorway driving, parking and manoeuvring, driving on country roads, driving in towns, managing distractions, managing speed and managing overtaking.
The charity says the e-learning modules focus on specific aspects of driving that many drivers find challenging, and their interactive nature, with pictures and animations, help make the key points ‘easily memorable’.
The new IAM RoadSmart app, IAM RoadTrip, offers users the chance to help the ‘world’s worst driving family’ become safer drivers on a series of journeys designed to be both ‘fun and factual’.
The app takes users through a light-hearted journey and covers a variety of topics from driving around a bend, parking, managing the school run to driving with a baby on board.
Mike Quinton, IAM RoadSmart’s CEO, said: “Technology enables us to communicate with drivers in many new and different ways, providing them with the means to improve their driving not just behind the wheel but away from it too. It is important that drivers’ minds are in the right place, and our app and e-learning modules are perfect for this.
“Our one-hour driving sessions tap into exactly what our customers say they want – extra help with aspects of driving they find difficult, at an affordable price. We know people are time poor but these new products means that that excuse is no longer available.”
I have done the 7 eLearning I am Roadsmart modules – a wonderful experience – the information is of crucial importance, irrespective where in the world you drive a vehicle. Excellent courses to help improving safety on the roads! The modules are excellently-presented! Young and old can benefit tremendously. I have been driving now for more than 45 years and the modules were excellent refresher road safety learning! Are you Roadsmart? I am!
Joseph, Cape Town, South Africa
0
In reply to M.Butler I maybe gave the wrongful impression that IAM assessors/ instructors are paid and I know that is not the case. However they are a membership club and in order to undergo a course of instruction some payment is made to that organisation. As members, which they all are they can pay the organisation for a course of such training which is allowable but if they were like yourself an ADI then as I understand no unauthorised persons can undertake the training of others and ask or be be payed monies for such training.
Or do I have it wrong and the payment of monies only applies to ‘learners’ and not to qualified drivers or riders. Perhaps someone can qualify that.
M.Worthington
0
It’s good to hear from an actual member of the IAM. Any training/improvement is going to be worthwhile but I know some perceive, or even presume from the word ‘advanced’ driving to be ‘high performance’ driving or to put it bluntly ‘fast driving’ or ‘driving with a competitive edge’ which I hope it is not. Having said that, what is it? Theoretically everyone who passes their test is a competent driver and should at the very least – again theoretically – not be causing collisions through their behaviour, however, a long time ago, I heard a talk given by the IAM and their claim/boast was ‘..we guarantee that if you pass our advanced driving test, you will not be in a collision for which you were responsible..’ !! Wow. A better and more worthwhile aim surely would be to bring drivers up to a level where they will not be involved in a collision…at all… regardless of fault – i.e. defensive driving, but I don’t see that phrase mentioned in the IAM Roadcraft publicity and which brings me back neatly to single c/way overtaking again. Defensive driving should not be about manoeuvres which carry a risk, which is why very early on in this thread I mentioned restraint and self-discipline as being fairly central for safe driving.
Hugh Jones
+2
I am actually a member of Iam RoadSmart. When I requested to do a course on the Advanced Test I was NOT asked to pay for ANY lessons. And the instructor was NOT paid as mentioned.
Iam RoadSmart is run by volunteers Who are enthusiastic motorists with the aim of keeping drivers SAFE on our roads. No one is encouraged to overtake other cars unnecessarily or indeed dangerously. I am an ADI and I have always taught overtaking safely on dual carriageways (I am lucky where I live, I can use the D/C within a lesson). So in my opinion I think IAM Roadsmart is an ideal “ step up “ for drivers to keep themselves and other road users/pedestrians safer.
S Butler
S Butler, Bognor Regis
+1
…just as I thought – nobody knows! Personally I think it’s more to do with car image and driver ego and less to do with actually being a good driver.
Hugh Jones
--2
On a single c/way road, what is the purpose of overtaking a vehicle ahead, which is travelling within an acceptable speed range for the prevailing conditions?
Hugh Jones
--2
The IAM and all other training organisations have generally followed the basic principals and advice described in the Police Roadcraft Manual as their teaching aid for overtaking. That Manual has been printed for car drivers since the mid 1950’s and for motorcyclists since the mid 1960’s. Yet statistically overtakes still have one of the highest % of incident/collision rates on our higher speed country roads.
I know that they are one of the manoeuvres that increases the possible and probable danger on our country roads and unfortunately it appears that they frequently result in a disaster that involves not only the road user who wishes to undertake them but also create a further possible danger to others.
This seems to be going on and on and on. Decade after decade. No matter how many road users are taught by our current methods it seems to me that what we are teaching is somehow wrong or to some degree not right or perhaps misunderstood by trainees.
It really should be looked at in detail to try to ascertain where we are all going wrong and it needs putting right so that we can dramatically reduce the carnage caused by overtakes on our country roads.
M.Worthington
+2
The ’40mph everywhere’ club? Sounds like a name for a subsidiary of the ABD for their exclusively urban driving members.
Hugh Jones
0
Nothing wrong on giving ‘proper’ expert advice on overtakes that do not break the law or are dangerous and unnecessary.
If one looks at many Advanced Riders or drivers videos they are generally on country roads where the greatest overtaking danger is, [Police stats bear this out] and generally they overtake everything and anything that gets in the way seemingly irrespective of speed and safety.
I have no objections to overtakes being correct but not those that are unnecessary and possibly dangerous or an offence under the law. It is sometimes necessary to remain behind a slower vehicle for whatever reason and not to overtake if it would increase the danger to oneself or other road users, nothing in any Road Safety manual allows, permits or encourages that.
M.Worthington
+1
I would reckon that people do not wish to be stuck behind slow moving traffic, such as cyclists, tractors and members of the infamous “40mph everywhere, even through villages” club – and as such, why shouldn’t advice on proper overtaking be given?
David Weston, Corby
+7
“..motorways, rural roads, urban roads, vehicle management, overtaking and confined space manoeuvring.” All worthwhile subjects for further training… except ‘overtaking’???? Why not throw in “racing away from the traffic lights” or “accelerating to get through an amber signal before it turns red” while we’re at it? Do the IAM think driving on the highway is a competitive sport? Restraint and discipline needs to be encouraged more.
Hugh Jones
--4
The question is ‘should we overtake or not’. Not encouraging but discouraging unnecessary overtakes as what they may propose presumes that there are vehicles just waiting there to be overtaken and in many instance they are not… unless they make or encourage overtakes that they shouldn’t.
Not bad monies for an hours work, two hours at most and for what? I understand that the IAM is a charitable organisation primarily instructed by volunteers so who is in fact benefiting from these prices. Is it legal to take monies for driving instruction as I thought it was not. The IAM get away with it as all their candidates are required to become members and so monies paid don’t apply and the driving instruction is called advice. Will candidates be required to be made members for this hour as well?
M.Worthington, Manchester
+2