Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM)

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Makes you a safer and better driver .  Cheaper insurance premiums .
Disadvantages:	Not a thing !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

~ ~ Many moons ago I went through (and passed) the Institute of Advanced Motorists test in the UK. This was back in the 1970’s, and I did so simply because I was requested to do so by the company I was then working for as a salesman.
I got a nice A4 Certificate, which I duly relegated to the back of a drawer and subsequently lost, and a wee sticker for my car windscreen, which I forgot all about when I changed the (company) car. I didn’t pay the small yearly subscription required to remain a member after I left the aforementioned company, and over a period of time probably forgot most of the new driving skills I’d gleaned from the instruction.

~ ~ But this year I was interested in a new taxi insurance package that was released here in the Republic of Ireland, from an indigenous Irish insurance company called Hibernian Insurance.
They wished to enter the (lucrative) taxi insurance market, and had got their heads together with an organisation called TOCA (Taxi Owners Co-operative Association) to produce an interesting new proposal for drivers. Simply put, it was that they would ONLY insure drivers who first agreed to sit a two-hour driving assessment carried out by a driving instructor from the Irish Branch of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) to ensure they were safe drivers. Subsequently, if you passed the assessment, you were given a small reduction on your insurance premium, and they offered to pay for you to sit the IAM test which would entitle you to a further 10% discount on your premium the following year.
Being a true Scot, the idea of saving money definitely appealed, and so I enrolled straight away.

~ ~ My initial driving assessment was a wee bit of an eye-opener!
I’ve been driving a car for nigh on 40 years now, starting when I was only 13 years of age, and passing my driving test as soon as I was 17. In all that time I have only ever been involved in one serious crash (when I was 21) that resulted in severe injury, (to me!) any other incidents all being of a fairly minor nature and always the other driver’s fault. I worked in sales before I became a taxi driver and journalist, and my average yearly mileage has always been astronomical.
Because of my extensive driving experience, I’ve always considered myself a very good (and safe) driver, who is always in complete control of the car. In fairness, the instructor during my driving assessment gave me high marks, and I was immediately accepted for insurance cover. But he pointed out numerous “bad habits” and faults in my driving that had crept in over the years and ingrained themselves into my driving style. I’ll tell you just a couple! I’d developed a tendency to hog my own side of the road, and not to use all the space available to me in potentially hazardous situations. When coming to a halt, I tend to use the gears too much to slow down the car, and also have a habit of knocking it out of gear and freewheeling to a halt in slow moving traffic or when approaching traffic lights.
These are just a couple of the (numerous) faults he pointed out to me during my initial assessment.

~ ~ The next step after my initial assessment was to attend a day long classroom seminar that went into enormous depth about road safety, and the skills required by a driver on today’s extremely dangerous roads.
Extensive use was made of actual footage of crashes captured on CCTV, (closed circuit TV) and we were grilled as to the cause of the crash and ways in which we thought it could have possibly been avoided. The instructor always uses the word “crash” when talking about incidents on the road, by the way, and never the word “accident”. This is because they preach the doctrine that “accidents happen, crashes are caused”, and that about 95% of all crashes could be avoided if the drivers involved had been more alert and more skilled in the control of their vehicle. There was one harrowing piece of video footage of a rear end collision between a private car and a lorry on a motorway where a young driver was very seriously injured, in an incident that was totally avoidable if he had been slightly more aware of the potential danger.
Every aspect of driving a car is gone into in depth, including things like night driving, driving on motorways, and driving in hazardous weather conditions, none of which are looked at during the initial state run driving test. I could prattle on for hours about the skills they attempt to impart to you, but the whole ethos of the organisation can probably be summed up in one phrase. “SPACE AND TIME”.
Crashes are caused by two vehicles being so close together that they cannot avoid colliding, so if you try your best to always leave plenty of SPACE between your car and other vehicles then you give yourself the TIME to react if something unexpected should happen, and thus avoid the collision. It’s common sense really, but how many of us can, with our hand on our heart, honestly say we have never been guilty of impatience, and practically driving up the rear end of the car in front of us in our impatience to make progress.

~ ~ The next step after the classroom seminar is two sessions of practical on the road tuition from a qualified IAM driving instructor, each lasting about 3 to 4 hours. They cover all aspects of driving and car control on all types of roads, from motorways, to busy city centres, to wee country lanes. You’re shown how to use the controls in your car effectively, how to take corners properly, when (and when not!) to use hard acceleration, and above all how to spot dangerous situations that could potentially result in a crash. So far I have completed my first instruction session, (I do my second tomorrow) and I’m convinced that my overall driving ability has improved enormously as a result.
Once you’ve completed the practical instruction then you go off and practice your new found driving skills, and when you feel you’re well enough prepared then you apply for the actual test. The test itself is about 90 minutes long, and the Institute use only either serving or ex-police officers who hold the Police Advanced Driving Certificate, and who have wide experience of working in the Traffic divisions of the police force.

~ ~ Once you’ve (hopefully) passed the test you get that much coveted wee sticker to put on your car windscreen, plus your pass certificate, and for a small yearly fee you remain a paid up member of your local branch of the IAM.
As of the beginning of the year, the IAM had about 208 separate branches operating in the UK, (with over 112,000 members) and have only recently opened operations here in the Republic of Ireland, where they have branches in most major towns and cities. The test has been in operation since 1956, and as I mentioned earlier, the IAM have arrangements with various insurance companies to who will offer their members large savings on their yearly insurance premiums.

~ ~ In the UK it will cost you £85 to prepare for and sit the IAM test, and this also includes the IAM driving manual (£7.99) and your first year’s membership of the Institute. If you are under 25, then you’re entitled to a 10% discount on this price. Here in Ireland the cost is about the €100 mark, but as I’m getting my instruction free (heh, heh) I’m not 100% sure of the total cost.
The IAM also have an excellent website http://www.iam.org.uk where you can go for further more detailed information.
Highly recommended by the mad cabbie, and truly a “skill for life”.

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PS. I’ll let you all know when I (hopefully) pass the test.

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© KenJ August 2004

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