ADVANCED DRIVING EUROPE, Advanced Driver Training

      Know your car.         This may seem to be a somewhat irrelevant piece of advice but it is one of the important requisites to becoming an Advanced Driver.

To-day every professional driver has a strong input on the handling etc., characteristics of their vehicle that they can feed back to their team's engineers in order to make vital improvements. Now, you may not be in that league, but nontheless, having your car in tip-top driving condition car make your driving and your journey safer and more enjoyable.

I have written down a check list, not necessarily in the essential order, but one that is useful, practical and sensible that should become part and parcel of your everyday driving.

Are the four (and the spare) tyre pressures correct?   Have you filled the windscreen wash bottle?    Are the windscreen wipers working?          When did you last check the battery connections?   Has anything been left switched on overnight that could cause the battery to run down?    Have you recently checked the oil, brake fluid/clutch fluid levels?   Are all the lights working?   Are the lights correctly aligned?       Have you switched off the fog light?   Is your handbrake in good working order?   Are the floor mats securely positioned under the pedals?     Are your mirrors correctly aligned?    Have you got your driving seat in the correct position?    Are you wearing your safety belt correctly?    Have you enough fuel for your journey?    

You may be surprised at some of the items on this list, but  I know from experience, that many people are less than careful regarding car checks and tend to ignore these important pointers. In fact, the majority of call outs to emergency services are for flat batteries and no fuel...........

Enjoy your driving.

ADRIAN.

           In an earlier blog, I used  "CONCENTRATE" to catch your attention - and it did!     To-day, I want you to concentrate again, but this time on the word  "ADVANCED".

 Many of you out there are good drivers, but, there is a strong divide between the driver who is "good" and he or she who qualifies as being in the "advanced"category.     

 As a qualified Advanced Driving Instructor, I know this to be true.    I have undergone the rigours of being tested to qualify as an Advanced Driving Instructor and a Skid Control Instructor and there is a marked difference at being merely good and qualifying in the advanced category.

Lots of you would like to advance your overall driving skills.   If undertaking a course does not appeal to you, there are some excellent books on the market that you can read, assimilate and practice,  in order to reach a personally satisfying advanced driving level.    

Probably to the surprise of some of you, Advanced driving has little to do with speed but it has all to do with being a competant,  safe and efficient driver who has respect for other road users;  who does not get involved with accidents; who does not break the rules of the road and a driver whose passengers are safe in their hands.     

Advanced Drivers do not have masses of points on their Driving Licences nor a history of fines for driving offences!

Perhaps this sounds a little "holier than thou" but, if you attend any motoring/motorbike race or  event, take a really close look at the leader(s).         Note how smoothly they drive;  how they avoid getting entangled with other competitors;   how steady their vehicle is;  the lines they take and their ability to drive each lap at almost exactly the same speed as the previous lap!

As in the case of  professional drivers and riders, these indicators too, are the hall-marks of the advanced driver.      

Enjoy your driving.

Regards,

ADRIAN. 

    It is true that driving in to-day's heavy traffic can be a frustrating experience but that need not always be the case.     In fact, you should be able to enjoy your driving, even in the trickiest situations!

 The golden rules regarding driving for pleasure are (a)  time and (b) preparation.

 Over and over again, tests have shown that the driver in a rush may make up (if they don't get caught up in an accident or road-works, deviations, etc., ) only a few seconds, if even that, on  the driver who drives sensibly and within the speed limits.    

Always give yourself those few  extra few minutes for any journey so that you will not be grinding your teeth, mouthing imprecations or hitting the steering wheel because you are frustrated at your lack of progress.         Allow for unseen eventualities and arrive at your destination in good time and in good humour.

Be prepared.   By this I mean,  have the car prepared particularly if the journey is going to be a long one.       Even in this day and age people run out of fuel or suffer a flat battery (too many additional electronic gadgets fitted to their vehicle);    get a flat tyre (when did you last check your tyre pressures?)     or discover that their indicators/windscreen wipers, etc., are mal-functioning, while they are driving on the autoroute......

Most of us were desperately anxious to become drivers and to participate in the pleasure of driving a vehicle, but unfortunately with modern congested road conditions, some people now view driving as an extremely stressful occupation.    Well, if you drive like a lunatic, in a badly prepared car, yes, driving can be a nightmare.         However, by adding a little time to your proposed journey and by ensuring that your car is  properly prepared/serviced, etc., you may find that you are actually, driving, once more,  for pleasure!       

Start to enjoy your driving, again.

Regards,

ADRIAN.