The driver training specialist IAM Drive & Survive is offering motoring tips to drivers from its head of training, Simon Elstow (which we have been featuring) and this week he is advising on how to avoid getting whiplash:

• Make sure you keep a good distance in front of you so that you can slow down gently if required.
• Always look in the mirror before braking, except in an emergeny. Knowing what the  vehicle behind you is doing is always the best way to avoid getting hit from behind.
• Make sure you have a properly adjusted head restraint in your vehicle. The top of the head restraint should be level with the top of your head for maximum road safety.
• Do anticipate the road traffic ahead and drive smoothly to avoid stopping as often. Slowing down earlier gives the driver behind more time to react as well.
• Try and signal early for oncoming junctions to give time for the traffic behind you to react, if you are turning.
• Keep your foot lightly on the footbrake as traffic approaches from behind to show your brake lights as a warning, until you are sure it is stopping.

Elstow said: “The rise in whiplash compensation claims is driving up car insurance. Avoid injury and a hit to your insurance premium by following the above advice.”

The driver training specialist, IAM Drive & Survive, is offering weekly motoring tips to drivers from its head of training, Simon Elstow and this week Simon is advising on driving your car or van in the dark:

• To improve the view ahead as far as possible, keep your lights and windscreen clean at all times.
• Use your main beam, but when other drivers are approaching, and when following others, make sure you dip your headlights to avoid dazzling any oncoming traffic.
• Only use your fog lights when visibility is below 100 metres (it is illegal at other times). Rear fog lights distract other motorists because they look like brake lights.
• Make sure you always can stop safely within the distance you can see to be clear.
• If you are feeling tired, having caffeine alone is not a fix. Remeber to take a break, drink a cup of coffee and have a 20 minute nap after drinking your coffee.
• If an approaching car forgets to dip its lights, glance to the left-hand kerb to avoid being dazzled by their headlights.
• If it’s gloomy in the morning, don’t forget to put your headlights lights on.

Elstow said: “The risk of fatal accidents increases in the dark as visibility is reduced.¹ Have regular eye examinations to ensure you are wearing glasses or contact lenses if you need to.”

Kia Rio diesel returns 88.3 combined mpg

The driver training specialist IAM Drive & Survive is offering weekly motoring tips to drivers from its head of training, Simon Elstow. This week, Simon is advising on saving fuel and money and how green driving will save you up to 15% on your fuel bills:

• Keep your vehicle moving for as long as possible, even in traffic queues. This is far more fuel efficient than stopping and starting your vehicle, so slow down earlier, to avoid braking harshly and too often.
• Your cruising speed has a major impact on the fuel economy of your car or van so stick to the speed limit. This offers a good compromise between economy and getting somewhere on time. There’s a significant saving made by doing 70 instead of 80 – and you also avoid any risk of speeding fines.
• Reverse into parking bays when parking. If you do all the manoeuvring with a hot engine you can drive straight off when you come back and warm the engine up more quickly, thereby saving fuel.
• Check your vehicle regularly to ensure it operates efficiently and in particular check the condition of your tyres, and measure tyre pressures when they’re cold.
• Remove all unnecessary weight from your vehicle, including roof racks, car clutter and heavy items in the boot. The more weight you carry in the car, the more fuel your vehicle will burn.
• Keep the inside of the front and rear windscreens squeaky clean. Traffic fumes form a film on the glass which attracts moisture and makes them mist up easily – a clean screen will rarely mist up, so you won’t be using the heater and air-conditioning to clear them.

Elstow said: “We’ve all got better things to spend our money on than petrol. This will help you save cash and reduce your carbon emissions.”

Great advice from the IAM’s Drive & Survive, however choosing a fuel efficient car can also save you hundreds of pounds in fuel bills annually.

For example the new Kia Rio 1.1 CRDi 1 EcoDynamics 5-door hatchback returns a staggering 88.3 combined mpg and only emits 85g/km of CO2. The combined mpg of 88.3 is a remarkable performance and you can search for the most fuel efficient new cars using our Vehicle Type Shopper and see the vehicle lease rentals too.

The road safety charity, the Insitute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has issued some timely advice for driving in windy weather as severe gales have spread across the UK. 

• Plan your journey in advance – is there a route with less exposure to the weather and less risk of fallen trees?  If there is, choose a sheltered route if you have this option.
• Strong winds are not constant, they are usually gusty so ensure you hold the steering wheel firmly at all times.
• Overtaking high sided vehicles or driving past buildings can result in a sudden gust from the side of the other vehicle as you clear it – take care.
• Give cyclists, motorcyclists, lorries and buses more room than usual as they get blown around more by side winds.
• Watch our for trees and bushes on the roadside – their branches will show you how strong the wind is.  Look well ahead as that way you don’t need to take your eye off the road. You can then see any windy patches ahead before you get to them.
• Go slow enough to cope with the strong gusts.  Wind can get underneath a car or van and reduce its handling and braking significantly.
• Keep an eye on what is happening to other vehicles on the road – where they are affected by strong winds will give you a pre warning.
• Keep an extra distance between you and the car in front.
• Be careful of any debris in the road and try and have space beside you in case you need to dodge it.

IAM chief examiner Peter Rodger commented: “I have seen a parked car moved by the wind.  Don’t underestimate how powerful it is and how it can affect you whilst in the car.”

To help drivers stay safe this winter, the IAM’s website, www.drivingadvice.org.uk, offers traffic updates, weather forecasts and tips on how to drive safely in winter. These tips include driving in rain, snow, ice, fog and wind.

Clear windscreen?

The winter so far has been pretty mild but it is likely that colder weather will come over the next few months. Driving in winter conditions can be treacherous and many road users forget to remember some of the basics. For example how many times have you seen a driver switch on their fog lights when it is not necessary (i.e. visibility is still over 100 metres)?

The Highway Code section on the Directgov website has a great section covering all areas of driving in conditions such as fog, ice, snow, heavy rain and even high winds, so it is always worth reading through and reminding yourself of the basics of driving in adverse weather conditions.

New Porsche 911

Porsche is inviting fans to build a new Porsche 911 using the Porsche car configurator on the Porsche website,with the lucky winner of the competition picking up the keys to this iconic sports coupe for a half day out at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone.

The new Porsche 911 configurator uses 3D technology computer modelling to generate some remarkable, realistic images of the car, enabling visitors to really see what their dream car might look like. You can select various colour exterior combinations, wheel options, different interior trim colours and much more. The competition closes on the 31st January 2012 and the lucky winner can expect a great half-day out at the Porsche Experience Centre in the summer.

The new Porsche 911 Carrera costs from £71,449 and the Carrera S from £81,242 with an impressive standard equipment list on both models. The standard vehicle equipment list for the 911 Carrera includes leather interior, sports seats, automatic climate control, Bi-Xenon headlights, 4.6-inch colour touch-screen Porsche Communication Management with sat nav, audio interface offering MP3 connectivity, Porsche Stability Management (PSM) plus a three year warranty.

Opt for the 911 Carrera S and you get 20-inch alloy wheels, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) with limited slip differential, plus of course the larger 3.8-litre engine. So if you fancy a drive in a 911 Carrera this summer give the Porsche car configurator a go.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists has reduced its Skill for Life advanced driving and riding training programmes by 10% this Christmas, with prices down from £139 to £125, as part of a special Christmas gift voucher scheme. The Skill for Life course consists of regular coaching sessions with one of 200 regional volunteer groups and when you are ready, you are put forward for the advanced test, which has an eighty per cent pass rate “first time”.

There are many other driving and riding courses on offer, including track “Skill Days”, “Momentum” courses for younger drivers and even a cycling course as well. Further information can be found at the IAM website through the following link;  www.iam.org.uk/xmas

Foggy conditions

The Institute of Advanced Motorists, driver training specialist, IAM Drive & Survive, has been providing some great driving tips for driving this winter and the latest advice is around driving in foggy conditions.

Simon Elstow, head of training at the IAM, said,”Don’t underestimate the effect fog has on your perception of speed. Adjusting your driving to the weather conditions will help you to become a better driver”.

Here are the tips for driving through fog.

• Before setting off, clean your windows and windscreen and ensure all your lights are working correctly. 
• Let others know you are likely to be delayed due to the fog.
• When you’re ready to leave, switch on your dipped headlights. Only use your front and rear fog lights where visibility is less than 100 metres.
• Use your windscreen wipers on an intermittent setting to clear the fine mist that collects on the windscreen.
• Slow down and keep enough distance between yourself and the vehicle in front. Make sure you can stop safely within the distance you can see clearly ahead of you.
• Avoid relying on the vehicle in front as a guide to any hazards ahead. Fog makes it much more difficult to judge how hard vehicles are braking and they might be slow to react.
• Brake gently but earlier than usual so your brake lights warn other drivers behind.
• At junctions, wind the window down and listen for oncoming traffic.
• Take high-visibility clothing in case you have to leave the car for some reason.

DIAmond Advanced Motorists, the company that organises and administers driving tests on behalf of the Driving Instructors Association (DIA) has recommended some motorway driving tips to reduce stress and improve road safety. Motorways are statistically the safest roads but as we know, when things do go wrong, it usually involves more than one vehicle and serious injuries.

The motorway driving tips;  

1. Plan your journey a day before you travel and have an alternative route if there is heavy traffic.
2. Check out the weather forecast and leave a reasonable time for your journey, with a stop every 2-3 hours to stretch your legs. Recent research has found that 15-20% of motorway incidents is caused by driver fatigue.
3. Do the basic maintenance checks on your vehicle – check the lights are working, tyre pressures, oil level, windscreen washer and water levels.
4. If you are an experienced motorway driver remember that many other drivers around you many not be, so keep on the lookout for the unexpected.
5. When joining a motorway on a slip road try and make sure your speed is the same as the traffic on the main carriageway when you pull onto the motorway.
6. Make sure you fully understand the motorway road signs before you set out (The Highway Code has all the details).
7. Take a few minutes to get use to the speed of the motorway and always look as far ahead as possible for potential hazards i.e. “is that car likely to pull out to overtake the lorry?”.
8. Keep your lane discipline and stay in the left hand lane (number 1) for normal driving - don’t hog the middle or outer overtaking lanes.
9. Check your mirrors regularly to see what is happening behind you before giving a signal and allow your signal to flash a few times before pulling out into another lane. Don’t forget to check your blind spot by a quick sideways look.
10. When overtaking move out briskly past the slower vehicles and only return to the left once you can see the vehicle you have passed in your rear-view mirror i.e. don’t “cut them up”. 
11. Don’t tailgate the vehicle in front as this is one of the most common causes of accidents on motorways. You should leave at least a two- to three-second gap between you and the vehicle in front.
12. When approaching a junction watch out for drivers who want to exit the motorway and may have left it too late, as they may make a risky manoeuvre.
13. Be aware that other cars or vans may be joining from the same junction so allow them to join by changing your speed or changing lanes.
14. Plan to leave the motorway in good time as the first exit sign is usually one mile from the exit slip road and sometimes two miles on busier exit junctions. The exit sign is repeated at the half mile stage and at the exit, so make sure you are in the left hand lane with plenty of time to exit.
15. And finally, when you have left the motorway do check your speed. You have been travelling at high speeds for some time and 30mph may appear “slow” when in fact it is the legal limit on most urban roads. 

Icy roads

Another harsh winter is forecasted throughout the UK and the driver training specialist IAM Drive & Survive continues with its weekly motoring tips, with advice this week on driving on icy roads. Simon Elstow is the head of training at the driver training subsidiary of the IAM and offers six tips below:

1. Check if your car or van has ABS or ESP. These systems will require a different approach when driving in icy and snowy conditions so use your vehicle manual for further information.
2. Ensure you have a de-icer and a scraper in your vehicle at all times.  Before setting off on your journey, make sure you clean any ice or condensation from all the windows so that your visibility is clear.  Air conditioning is very good at demisting a vehicle, so if you have this function in your vehicle do use it.
3. When you set off on level ground or if going downhill consider using second gear, releasing the clutch and accelerating gently.  Do try to park and stop your vehicle where you also don’t have to start uphill.
4. As you drive, stay in higher gears to minimise the possibility of wheel spin on icy roads.
5. Stopping distances are increased by up to 10 times in icy conditions, so do leave more distance than usual between your car and the car in front.
6. If your car does lose grip, take your foot off the accelerator, disengage the clutch and steer smoothly.

Mr Elstow went onto say,”We all need to respect the weather and make adjustments to deal with it. Being mentally prepared as well as having the right equipment is vital, so think about last year, what problems it caused you, and what you need to do to overcome them if they come this year”.

For more information about IAM Drive & Survive you can phone on 0870 120 2910 or try their website which is located @ www.iamdriveandsurvive.co.uk