I've been thinking about doing an advanced driving course. Its only becuase it would be at no loss really, bar a few hours a week and about £85 i think it is- and i should save that on insurance easily.

Has anyone done an Advanced driving course and did they save anything on insurance? What are they like?

i did a day on the skidpan at knockhill and some rally driving

the skidpan stuff was really helpfull

iam doing my pass plus soon but i would love to do a advanced driving course iam going to look into it once i have done my pass plus

oh aye, i did the pass plus aswell, i quite fancy some advanced driving, would be good, speak to your local police and see if they offer anything

yeah i dont want to do pass plus for no reason other than a mental block about it, i think getting hounded by my instructor when i was learning put me off. Really want to know how insurers reacted to a ADC for someones premium as well- might help cut mine down

I did my Advanced with RoSPA and to be totally honest, it totally changes the way you look at driving. You don't actually realise how much is going on the roads that you're not aware of until you've had advanced training.

There are two main organisations who do advanced driving, Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and RoADAR (RoSPA Advanced Drivers And Riders). With RoADAR, my membership and exam cost under £50 (lessons are free), IAM costa a bit more generally. Basically, it's very similar training and assessment, the difference lies in the fact that the IAM test is pass/fail, and the ROADAR test is graded pass (Gold, Silver, Bronze)/Fail. An IAM pass is considerred to last forever, RoADAR needs renewing every 3 years to keep current (makes sense if you think about it). Other companies do do advanced training, but don't waste your money.

Will it save you money on your insurance premiums? Bluntly, probably not, the insurers who will knock you a bit off tend to be the ones who are more expensive in the first place. Will it save your NCB and possibly your life? It most likely will, there's been a few times where I think something a bit nasty could well of happened to me if I hadn't had the training I have.

Also, don't think it's all about driving like a granny. One of the most common reasons for failing a RoADAR test is "insufficient progress" - ie not going fast enough!

Edit: links below

RoSPA/RoADAR: http://www.roadar.org.uk/

IAM: http://www.iam.org.uk/

Edited 6 January, 200818 yr by Yeti

I did the IAM course and found it very worthwhile. The insurance discount isn't a huge chuck but a discount is a discount, but to go on the course without the thought of an insurance discount is good enough.

Teaches you alot about driving and shows you really how shit you are/were. I went there with it set in my head...yes I'm a good driver, left thinking...was I bollocks.

Don't have time to go into the details of the course but I will say its worth it and everyone should do it!

always been keen to take the IAM test :)

I did my Advanced with RoSPA and to be totally honest, it totally changes the way you look at driving. You don't actually realise how much is going on the roads that you're not aware of until you've had advanced training.

There are two main organisations who do advanced driving, Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and RoADAR (RoSPA Advanced Drivers And Riders). With RoADAR, my membership and exam cost under £50 (lessons are free), IAM costa a bit more generally. Basically, it's very similar training and assessment, the difference lies in the fact that the IAM test is pass/fail, and the ROADAR test is graded pass (Gold, Silver, Bronze)/Fail. An IAM pass is considerred to last forever, RoADAR needs renewing every 3 years to keep current (makes sense if you think about it). Other companies do do advanced training, but don't waste your money.

Will it save you money on your insurance premiums? Bluntly, probably not, the insurers who will knock you a bit off tend to be the ones who are more expensive in the first place. Will it save your NCB and possibly your life? It most likely will, there's been a few times where I think something a bit nasty could well of happened to me if I hadn't had the training I have.

Also, don't think it's all about driving like a granny. One of the most common reasons for failing a RoADAR test is "insufficient progress" - ie not going fast enough!

Excellent! Thanks very much for that. And thats a fair point you made about the NCB and your life, a slightly less materialistc approach than mine When did you take your ROADAR test, or have you and do you intend to "renew" it? How long did it take?

Sorry for the questions, quite up for doing this now, maybe in summer or easter perhaps :).

oh aye, i did the pass plus aswell, i quite fancy some advanced driving, would be good, speak to your local police and see if they offer anything

Would speaking to the police about it help?! Id imagine i might not be so likley to get pulled after i asked

At the minute, mine's been lapsed for 6 months. I'll definately be renewing it, it's just hours in the day sadly.

I did a classroom safer/defensive driving course before I joined RoSPA. It was worth doing as it got me introduced to driving in system, and motivated me to read roadcraft a couple of times, but I wouldn't say it's essential. After that, I had 4 one-hour sessions, then a practice test and a real test.

I'd say traffic police would normally know what's available in your area, the examiners in our branch are all ex-traffic, but RoSPA or IAM would be able to tell you as easily. Some police forces do run a driver education programe, though this varies from force to force, for example, if you're prepared to spend some money, Lincolnshire police do skidpan classes (very, very worthwhile).

I've been a member of the IAM since I was 18. Passed the 90 minute test with no minor faults.

It takes a lot of preperation and commitment to get your driving up to standard. I know a few people who started and then gave up. I'm lucky that from day one I was taught the correct methods as my teacher was in the Traffic Police...he was also free...and available most nights after dinner before the good TV started haha.

There is a great satisfaction that comes from improving your driving standards.

I've done my road craft....now I want to start on my track craft.

Also, don't think it's all about driving like a granny. One of the most common reasons for failing a RoADAR test is "insufficient progress" - ie not going fast enough!

thats why i failed my test today :( because i didnt go for the gaps how lame

I failed my IAM test for using too high a gear which was annoying - I don't know why I did that on the day but never mind. Still I learned a lot but you end up spending a lot of money on petrol. I also got £10 off because I'm under 25 (I think) which is useful.