Reckon your driving skills are already pretty advanced? Seriously, not likely! The only way to make yourself a genuinely advanced driver is to go on a course, for instance from the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) or Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). These courses can improve your driving technique, make you safer and give you more driving confidence.
“I’ve never had a ding. Some of that’s down to luck but I class myself as a decent driver,” says Spurs and England star Peter Crouch. “When I was 17 I took an advanced driver’s test because it brought down the insurance. If you tell them you’re a young footballer insurance goes through the roof. In fact it costs more than the car!”
IAM Skill for Life
The IAM’s Skill for Life package takes three to five months. Kick off with a driving assessment, followed by six driving sessions with an advanced instructor, before you take the Advanced Driving Test or Advanced Motorcycling Test. As an IAM Advanced Driver you’ll get a discount on your insurance.
Cost: £139.
More at www.iam.org.uk
RoSPA Advanced Driver and Advanced Rider Tests
Join a RoSPA group in Essex for free training to improve your driving or motorcycling skills. Then you can take the Advanced Test, which takes 90 minutes. Besides being a better driver, once you pass you can get dosh off your insurance. RoSPA’s courses can also count towards a BTEC.
Cost: £41 for drivers, £47 for motorbikes
More at www.rospa.com/roadsafety