Do I Need Advanced Driver Training?

Before we get to whether you need an advanced driving course we need to talk about what it is. Advanced driver training is any further input in the form of driving skills a road driver will receive after passing the DSA driving test.

If the driving skills are over and above the techniques that are taught during standard learner driving tuition, that could be defined as advanced driver training. That being the case it could be argued the DSA Pass Plus scheme is a form of advanced driver training (heaven forbid), by point of fact it provides driving tuition to drive on motorways, which of course can only be achieved after the driving test. However, if Pass Plus is to be regarded as a form of advanced driver training then it is the very lowest form.

There are varying degrees of post–test training levels, ranging all the way up to those driving skills taught during a Police advanced driver training, with those delivered by organisations such as RoSPA and IAM falling somewhere between there and Pass Plus.

Track Driving Skills Are Not Advanced Road Driving Skills

When someone is looking for advanced driver training it can all get very confusing. A quick search on the Internet, for example, using the search term, Advanced Driver Training, will bring up all sorts of websites. The same applies if you use the search term, Advanced Driving Course.

Some make rather dubious claims of advanced driver training delivered by ex–competition and track driving people, who will have you believe that throwing a car around a few traffic cones on an airfield is all you need to gain those higher grade driving skills to make you a more effective road driver. You will find other providers during your search who are no more than DSA L–plate instructors, which is rather worrying too.

So, advanced driver training means different things to different people, so make sure when you are searching to check out the background of the service provider and be careful to make sure they have the required pedigree to provide a genuine service.

What is Defensive Driving?

Defensive driving is the strategies taught during an advanced driving course and comes from the Road Craft driving system. Road Craft is the title of a book, which is known as the police driver’s handbook, is the text book used for advanced driver training by police forces all over the UK.

The Road Craft Driving System

The defensive driving part, without going into a long explanation, is the concept of always creating distance between the car and areas of actual and potential danger, as well as a risk management strategy to ensure safe progress on the road. It is about giving space to others in which they can make their mistakes.

The Road Craft book began life only as a police advanced driver training manual, and at a time in history where the advanced driving course for the public was unheard of. However, in recent years, post test driver training has become very popular, with the Road Craft system being the favourite for developing driving skills.

Road Craft forms the basis for the advanced driving course used for training drivers of the emergency services. As a result of having to appeal to drivers outside the emergency services the Road Craft driving manual, through its evolution, has now become more of a soft advice book rather than a hard–hitting training document it once used to be.

Your Driving Skills Development

It has long been voiced that the standard of driving skills attained at DSA test level are woefully inadequate. Well, let’s stop beating about the bush and tell it how it is. The driving skills at DSA test level ARE woefully inadequate, because if they weren’t, there would not be the huge number of road traffic accidents attributed to driver error.

That may be a rather purist view, as for someone to develop their driving skills to the point whereby they would never have a road traffic accident would be something of a tall order. However, advanced driver training has been proved to be an effective method of reducing traffic accident figures.

Our first outings on the road after passing the driving test

We perhaps drive our cars a little nervously to begin with, when venturing out after first passing our test. After all, it is quite a change to suddenly be driving alone and having to make decisions about where we drive to. As time goes by we relax as we get used to the road environment and gain experience.

We note how others will tackle certain situations, and we might think that what we have witnessed is so effective that we will take on that style as our own, developing our own driving personality. As we manage to get away with doing what we do unscathed we will continue to think it is a great way to carry on, even if it isn’t. We will do this because we know no different.

Evern the very worst driver can feel comfortable with what they do,
because their methods just become habit.

By the time we are about two years old as a qualified driver we reach a plateau, and this is where we now have settled into our habit; our driving habit. As we go on from there we rack up further years of experience, further reinforcing habit, and the trouble with habit is that it is comfortable.

If you think about all areas of human life, whenever we form a habitual way of doing something we stick with it. This well rehearsed and familiar procedure is continued because it is easy and so requires little thought or effort to maintain.

The same goes for driving, and even the worst driver can feel comfortable driving badly, because that is their habit and therefore what they are used to. Yes, as a species, we human beings are resistant to change.

Don’t mistake gaining experience for the gaining
of additional skills, because it isn’t.

Greater experience is the more fluid application of the existing set of driving skills, as provided by a most recent period of training. To put that into context, when doing everything right according to your training level, if you then get yourself into a sticky situation on the road, you might realise a degree of understanding as to why it was awkward.

However, unless you have something to use that comes from a higher level of training, you will not know the answer to your problem. Some may stumble on the solution to one problem, but there are higher grade driving skills for doing so many different things it is impossible to get them all without advanced driver training.

You Can Only Perform to Your Level of Training

When giving consideration to furthering your driving skills always remember this. You can only perform to the level of ability you were taken to by your last period of training. Therefore, if you want to go through the rest of your life on the road at a point where you were after your driving test, you crack on.

You may have a great deal of natural ability, and so the potential to develop great driving skills, but unless you are given training that will provide those higher grade driving skills you have nothing new to work with. That means you could go through a whole motoring lifetime and never realise what you could have achieved.

Driver training is just so boring, and
I don’t want anyone picking holes in what I do

The trouble is that any form of further post–test driver training has earned such a poor reputation, and it is unfortunately true it is the driver training industry that has made it that way. Holier–than–thou preaching, finger–wagging, twittering on with condescending sentiment punctuated with plenty of don’t do this and don’t do that by the bucketful? Who wants that?

However, there must be a spark of interest in you, because you are reading this site, so what will it take for you to go to the stage od enquiring about further driver training? What has to happen to get you to step up to the plate, to challenge yourself and to break out of the humdrum life on the road that you have perhaps now settled into?

A negative reaction to the suggestion of completing post–test driver training is quite common, and given the evidence to sate, who can blame anyone for thinking in that way. At Ride Drive we are aware of this perceived culture, and as we always like to kick against tradition, to break the mould, we make our advanced driver training courses a whole load of fun.

No Highway Code Quizzes or Emergency Stops

Firstly, we do not thrust a copy of the Highway Code at you, have you doing turns in the road or reversing into road junctions. In fact, we don’t teach you how to drive at all, because you know how to do that already. You passed your driving test didn’t you? What we do is to build on your existing level, using it as the foundation of a new driving style so as to open up a whole new world for you on the road.

Cars are designed in a way to be exciting and fun to own and drive, so let’s bring in something radical here shall we? Let’s make the process of upgrading your personal performance something that is fun and exciting to do. Where have you seen the words Fun and Exciting appear on the same page as anything to do with driver training before? Well, now you have, because that’s what we deliver here.

What Does Ride Drive Know About Driving?

You will recall at the beginning of this page that we said post–test training extends all the way from the bottom level of Pass Plus all the way up to police advanced driver training at the top. Well, the top of that list is where our skills base comes from, because almost every one on our team, all over the mainland UK, has successfully completed a police advanced driving course. They are, by definition, at the top of the advanced driver training tree.

Through the line of work associated with the profession that delivered that advanced driver training they have spent a career studying driver behaviour, as well as attending and investigating countless numbers of road traffic accidents. This means, coupled with their highly regarded level of advanced driver training, they know what ingredients go together to make a road traffic accident happen, and when you have that information, you are better prepared to avoid becoming involved in one.

The Road Craft driving system leaves nothing to chance

Police officers on traffic patrol often have to drive on the public road under some extreme conditions, and sometimes at speeds that will be over and beyond anything that any member of the public will ever get near to. They know that one slip, one small error of judgement, can spell disaster. That is why their advanced driver training has to be to such a high level. It is those sharply honed skills that you, the Ride Drive customer, will be benefitting from when you book a Ride Drive advanced driver training course.

Is Your Advanced Driver Training Okay For Young Drivers?

Young people driving cars are a real worry to everyone, not least to their parents. We all know that statistically one in five newly qualified drivers will crash a car in their first year on the road, which means they are very vulnerable.

The advanced driver training offered by Ride Drive is suitable for all ages and levels of experience, and if you were to buy any of your kids a Ride Drive advanced driving course it would be by far the most worthwhile gift you could give them. It just blows away anything like Pass Plus, because you only have to look at our background and see the pedigree from which our knolwedge base and driving skills come from to see that is the case. There is nothing more satisfying at the end of the day to see how a young person has changed their inadequate DSA driving skills and emerge as an effective road driver.

We take on all levels of driving experience and ability, and any type of car too. Whether the customer drives a Ferrari or a Fiesta we see our role as being just as worthwhile for either. We also build the training input around the customer, tailoring the training to their specific needs, ability and the type of car they drive. We have a lot of fun with our customers, but work them really hard to ensure they get the driving skills that will make them into effective advanced drivers.

How Do I Know I am Going To Get Good Service?

If you have not been to us before then you don’t know the answer to that question. However, after completing an advanced driver training course with us, if you can put your hand on your heart and honestly say it had all been a waste of time we will give you your money back. You can reserve the decision make payment afterwards anyway, to have control over the quality. However, you only have to look at the customer feedback we get to know that quality will never be a worry.

Our team are absolutely passionate about driving, and whether you drive a fast car or a standard production car, you will find their enthusiasm is infectious. They are all very godo at understanding where you are and what you need, and will develop your ability to make sure that you get your very best out of your Ride Drive advanced driver training course.

How Do I Book a Course?

As you will see there are many different advanced driver training options to choose from, and it is important that you take time to read about the content of each to understand what they have to offer. You can access the information by clicking on the >> MORE links that you see next to each listed option.

No doubt your choice will be based upon your available budget and balanced against the content of the programme that may interest you. Whatever you choose, we will make sure that the content will be aimed at what you want to get out of it and is tuned to the type of car that you drive. However, if you don’t find exactly what you are looking for, just give us a call and we will see if we can build a bespoke driving course just for you. If you can’t make up your mind we are always happy to advise, and without hitting on you with the hard sell tactics either.

Can I Buy a Driving Course As a Gift Voucher?

You can buy any of our listed advanced driving courses as gift vouchers, or you can buy a gift voucher that represents a contribution towards the cost of one of our advanced driving options. Whether you are looking for a gift for her, or a gift for him, you can be assured the recipient of the gift voucher will be very well looked after. If you tell us what colour, make, model and year of car they drive we even try to match it with a photograph of one similar for the front of the gift voucher card.

Take advantage of the discount car insurance scheme

Ride Drive customer can get 25% off the cost of their car insurance. Visit our discount car insurance pages for more information.

First Published September 2009

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Saturday, 29-Jan-2011

Do I Need Advanced Driver Training?