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

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) latest poll has concluded that the proposed European MOT rules represent a road safety danger issue, with 60 per cent of motorists saying the first MOT should continue to be carried out after three years.

The new European Union directive is proposing we move to a minimum of four years for the first test and then every two years thereafter, rather than the annual MOT test in the UK. In Europe this is known as the four-two cycle.

In the UK, according to data released by the IAM, 27 per cent of all three year-year old cars fail their first MOT however in France, the failure rate for the first MOT (after 4 years) is only 6 per cent. The survey also found that most motorists are comfortable with the current UK MOT test procedure with 63 per cent believing the test will always pick up potential dangers.

IAM chief executive, Simon Best, said,”In a time when people are struggling financially, the MOT seems to be one cost they are happy to pay. The IAM is wary of abandoning our well-established and accepted cycle of MOT testing. The poll suggest that most motorists are happy with it”.

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.

Peter Rodger is the chief examiner at the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), the UK’s largest independent road safety charity, dedicated to improving standards and safety in driving, motorcycling and cycling.

As wet weather is forecasted for the next few days across the UK, the IAM has issued some safety tips for driving in the rain;

• Before you set off, set your heater controls as rain makes the windows mist up in seconds. You don’t want to be fiddling with the controls when you should be concentrating on the road.
• Slow down. In the rain your stopping distance should be at least doubled. Giving yourself more space between you and the driver in front helps you to avoid spray, especially when following a large vehicle.
• Keep your eyes on the road ahead and plan your driving so that you can brake, accelerate and steer your car or van smoothly – harsh manoeuvres will unbalance the vehicle.
• If you have cruise control, avoid using it on wet roads – it may create problems if you start to aquaplane.
• See and be seen. Put your lights on – as a rule of thumb, whenever you need to use your wipers you should also turn your headlights on, and before overtaking put your wipers on their fastest setting to pass safely.
• Making sure your car is properly maintained will make a difference too. Check your wipers regularly, that your tyres are properly inflated and have enough tread, and that all of your lights work and are clean. By law, you must keep the windscreen washer filled, but remember, to keep your windows clean, you must do the inside as well

Mr Rodger, commented,”There’s nothing quite like getting to your car in the rain. It’s a haven for the elements. But be cautious, especially after prolonged dry spells- rain on a dry road is dangerously slippery”

The Institute of Advanced Motorists subsidiary, IAM Drive and Survive, has just released some tips for preparing your car for winter, as forecasters are predicting another cold, hard winter. Simon Elstow is the head of training and he explains,”Now is the time to give your car a health-check before winter conditions take their toll. Bad weather can strike quickly, and more severely than you expect, so it’s really important to be ready”.

Here are the tips:

1. Make sure your windscreen wipers are in good condition and that you clean the inside of the windscreen regularly.
2. Do a proper check of your vehicle, including the tyres. Top up the windscreen washer fluid with a suitable mixture of water and de-icer fluid and make sure your ice scraper and de-icer are still OK, if you are using a product from last year.
3. The legal minimum for tyre tread in the UK is 1.6mm but for optimum safety, start looking for replacements if the depth is below 3mm.*
4. Check that all your lights are working, including indicators.
5. Pack an emergency kit in your vehicle. This should include a warm coat, high visibility jacket, some food and water, a pair of boots, de-icer and scraper, a torch, spade and a mobile phone with a welll-charged battery. And don’t forget to store your emergency breakdown number as well.

The IAM has also launched a new website @ www.drivingadvice.org.uk where you can find traffic updates, weather forecasts and tips on how to drive safely this winter.

* tyre replacement on a “with maintenance” contract hire arrangement varies with each leasing company so check with your leasing supplier.

20mph limits

A recent poll conducted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) of nearly 4,000 people found that 67% think a 20mph limit should be used outside schools and a further 38% think it should be used on road with amenities i.e. parks, shops, etc. Interestingly opinion is split when it comes to the 20mph limit outside their own house, with 43% in favour and 39% against.

Measures to slow down people are less popular, with 40% preferring speed limit road signs and letting the police enforce the limit, rather than safety cameras (20% in favour) and speed humps. But blanket 20mph speed limits or limits at places where drivers’ deem them inappropriate do risk being disregarded.

IAM head of road safety, Kevin Delaney, commented,”The IAM supports the selective use of 20mph limits where there is clear evidence that the risks of casualties will be reduced. But blanket 20mph speed limits or limits at inappropriate sites risk widespread disregard by drivers who do not recognise a necessity for them. Consultation with, and buy-in from, local people here is essential”.

The Highways Agency has just revised the rules for pothole repairs in the UK, which now state that potholes smaller than 15cm wide or 4cm deep are not classed as urgent for repair. These new guidelines refer to trunk roads and motorways. Previously contractors were supposed to ensure that all road defects in the surface of a road were repaired within a 24-hour timeframe.

Potholes

We have seen a massive increase in potholes over the least three years, having had three severe winters with 2010/2011 being the coldest one for 100 years, plus an underinvestment for many years in routine road maintenance.

Neil Greig, director of policy at the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists), commented,” This just seems to be storing up larger repair bills for the future. All large potholes start off as small potholes-it’s easier and cheaper to fix them early and reduce the risk to road users. The reaction of the Highways Agency to this crisis is worrying beacuse it seems to be an attempt to switch their legal responsibilities to maintain safe motorways and trunk roads from themselves to their contractors, in the hope they will come up with something”.

If you do have a large pothole in the road near you and want to report it you can do so at www.potholes.co.uk where you can also find out how to claim back for any damage repairs to your vehicle as well.

SEAT Ibiza Copa Ecomotive S offers 80.7 mpg

The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) has conducted a recent poll of 2,500 people and over half said they had changed to a more eco-friendly driving style and eighty per cent said they had changed their overall driving behaviour in a number of other ways.

Changes in overall driving behaviour;

• Making fewer journeys – 38%
• Walking shorter journeys when perhaps they had driven before – 35%
• Using public transport more – 21%
• Cycling shorther journeys when previously they would have driven- 19%
• Buying a more fuel efficient car – 18%

However 74 per cent were against giving up their cars completely, but more than half said they stick to the speed limit to keep fuel consumption down and more than 70 per cent check their tyre pressures regularly. In addition taking the heavy clutter out of your car i.e. tools, bikes etc and turning off the air-conditioning were also popular in saving fuel.

IAM director of policy and research, Neil Greig, said,”The days of cruising the motorway at eighty regardless of cost are over. With rocketing fuel prices it is clear that drivers are changing their behaviour, which is good for their health and the environment. You don’t need a new car to become a greener driver. You just need to change your driving style”.

The IAM has provided some useful tips as well on saving fuel and if you are thinking of buying or leasing a new more fuel-efficient car then try the Vehicle Type Leasing Shopper to help you. For example the SEAT Ibiza Copa Ecomotive pictured above offers you 80.7 combined mpg.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has reported that men are more likely than women to be involved in crashes because of their bad driving habits i.e. driving too fast and drink-driving. The IAM’s research was conducted for their latest report, Licenced to skill: Contributory factors in road accidents.

Men are twice as likely as women to be involved in a collision and the main differences in the report were as follows;

• Driving carelessly, recklessly or in a hurry is recorded more frequently for men (ten per cent) than for women (six per cent).
• Travelling too fast for the road conditions is recorded more frequently for men (seven per cent) than for women (four per cent).
• Men reported poorer driving behaviour or inexperience more frequently (14 per cent) than women (ten per cent).
• Twice as many men as women claim to be “very confident drivers”.

Simon Best, chief executive of the IAM, said,”These results show that we need to look at the psychology of male drivers to reduce risky behaviour and over-confidence, but for both sexes accidents could be easily reduced by improving driver skills and lives could be saved”.

The IAM is the UK’s largest independent road safety charity dedicated to improving standards and safety in driving, motorcycle riding and cycling and they offer a wide range of road safety courses. If you want to see the copy of the report it can be downloaded @ www.iam.org.uk/reports

As fuel prices reach £6 a gallon, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is urging UK drivers to adopt fuel saving driving techniques in order to save fuel. As prices continue to rise, drivers are already trying to drive less, with a 3.4% drop in fuel sales reported in the third quarter of 2010. However the IAM believes we can all do more.

The IAM chief executive, Simon Best, said,” Green driving techniques will improve fuel efficiency by up to ten per cent. In other words, if the monthly price of filling up is typically two tanks at £70 each, an advanced driver can save £14 a month, or £168 a year”. The IAM also offers an advanced driving course, called “IAM Skill for Life“, which costs £139, if  you also want to improve your driving techniques.

IAM top tips for saving fuel;

1. Read the road ahead to anticipate traffic and reduce the need for hard acceleration and braking.
2. Stick to the speed limit - If you reduce from 85mph to 70mph, you can save up to a litre of petrol every 20 miles.
3. Switch off the engine when stationary for a long time, for example at a level crossing or slow changing lights.
4. Lighten your load- Check that the contents of your boot are essential and also if you have a roof luggage box, remove it if you are not planning to use it for a time.
5. Check your tyres - If your tyres are under-inflated this will increase your fuel consumption by up to 3 per cent. Always check your tyres once a month and when the tyres are cold.
6. Get trained in eco-driving – The IAM offers an eco-driving course that will teach you the skills to increase your MPG.

Good advice from the IAM, however it is also important when choosing your next car (or van) to select a vehicle that offers you great fuel economy. Try the Vehicle Lease Body Type Shopper as you can select combined MPG ranges, say 70mpg upwards, to find the most economical cars when it comes to fuel economy.