ADVANCED DRIVING

Firstly, let’s discus what advanced driving isn’t.

It's certainly not about boring, slow driving! Nor is it about driving along at 52mph for no good reason, especially if the speed limit is the 60mph national! But it's also not about driving beyond the legal speed limit either, or thinking you're better than the other drivers on the road.

It's about driving with a very high degree of concentration, observation, anticipation and planning; letting nothing else get in the way of these four vital mental processes during the drive!

Our course is a very individual course, as it has to be – it’s dictated by you!

For some people, all they want is a 2-hour session to give them some tips to consider aspects of driving skills that they’d never thought of.  For others, they decide that they’d like a planned course, laid out in advance, with specific targets, such as:

• better fuel economy
• a higher degree of car control
• a greater chance of not being involved in an accident
• more proficient at reversing manoeuvres
• winter driving skills (click on Winter Driving tab above)
• or any other skill in which YOU want to improve

 These are some of the questions that all drivers should continuously ask of themselves.

THE PRINCIPLES OF ADVANCED DRIVING

• Do you concentrate and avoid distractions?
• Do you read the road and anticipate potential hazards in good time?
• Do you always react to hazards early enough and do you deal with them in a planned and systematic way?
• Do you use the mirrors and all round observation links effectively before changing speed or position, and do you give the appropriate signals in time when they would benefit other road users?
• Do you drive with reasonable restraint, but not indecision?
• Is your judgement of speeds and distances always accurate?
• Do you drive with courtesy and consideration for other road users, including pedestrians? 

• ADVANCED DRIVING HANDLING SKILLS
• Do you steer the vehicle safely and effectively?
• Do you brake smoothly and progressively?
• Are your gear changes made at the right time and at the right road speed?
• Do you use acceleration sense?
• Do you use the controls with finesse and sensitivity? 

• ADVANCED DRIVING SKILLS ON THE ROAD
• Where conditions permit, do you maintain a safe and sensible level of progress?
• Do you anticipate and react correctly to situations that develop ahead?
• Do you adopt the correct road position, and maintain the right distance from other vehicles?
• Do you approach all signs, signals and road markings correctly and obey them?
• Do you overtake smoothly, decisively and safely?
• Do you exercise proper restraint and sensitivity of control when roads are slippery or visibility is reduced?
• Do you carry out parking and reversing manoeuvres safely, smoothly and competently and with all round observation?