Pray for dry weather please!

[TeePee]

I am a member and passed the bike test (first time) a year ago. It is very good in terms of developing your skill, especially in anticipating other road users.

The car driving part tends to be a bit 'pipe and slippers', but the motorcyling club I'm with is a laugh. The test was a good way to be chased by the police at 100mph*!

*All examiners are serving or retired traffic cops. He said 'travel at an appropriate speed', so I did! The examiners are pretty frinedly, but make sure you know what their attitudes are before you start!

[Shad]

Well it was all good

The guy is totally level headed and thankfully on the same page as me, so getting along was nice and easy. I've learned lots of things already which is cool too! It was nice to be told my driving is already at a high standard and just needs some polishing in some areas, so hopefully passing the course won't be too difficult

[Howard]

What sort of stuff do you learn / were you taught?

[Fox]

I've passed my IAM exam.

It'll either be great, or dull. Depends entirely on your observer. Some are great and others are cardigan wearing pipe smokers.

Good luck!

[Shad]

Well I learned that the white lines in the middle of the road mean. Obviously I know what they mean in terms of lane seperation... but I knew the dimensions of the broken lines meant something. Turns out that long broken lines, with a short gap in between, mean there is a hazard of some sort along the road. This helps with driving in fog and poor conditions.

Anyway for next week I need to work on better rear observation (I tend to rely on things being highly unlikely to happen so don't bother checking all the time), changing gear AFTER braking and getting the vehicle speed down (as opposed to keeping the engine in the power band ), and concentrating on hitting speed limits at the signs, i.e. slowing from an NSL into a 30/40 on the button, nice and smoothly.

No comments about my heal+toe yet, although the driving was pretty sudate so didn't really need to. But the instructor is great, and he's all for people like me coming through the Max Driver scheme who are really into their driving and want to learn and improve. He's totally against the flat cap brigade apparently

Looking forward to next week

[Howard]

Sounds pretty good actually

I know what you mean about rear observation.. I'm a bit like that

How much does it cost?

[Matt1eD]

Is your car made out of cardboard? Mine seems to work in the rain without disolving

Butuz

lol

Tis sunny now. good luck

[Shad]

How much does it cost?

Through Max Driver it's £99 but I think it's cheaper directly through the IAM.

[dkmech]

How many lessons does this include?
I think its £85 through IAM

[Fox]

I paid £85 through the IAM for mine.

If you get an opportunity to use heal and toe, you are driving too fast, so I wouldn't recommend it

[Zak33]

changing gear AFTER braking and getting the vehicle speed down (as opposed to keeping the engine in the power band

you see, already there is a point that would make me kick the bloke out and leave him by the road to walk home.

The dropping of a cog while braking is available to assist in balancing the car.

I don't want Shad arguing with the fella, cos he'll fail, but there IS a time and a place to drop a cog, with a blip of the throttle to keep the cars speed identical with no forward movement of the cars centre of gravitiy. Having the car ready to engine brake as well as using the brake pads enables lots of cars to slow in a better balance, particularly if the roads curves. Simply using the brakes and not the engine can provoke some cars rear suspension to flex into a slight oversteer (read 306).

Plus if you simply drop the speed, leaving the car in the higher gear, and THEN the road changes direction again, and goes up hill, you end up changing gear at the wrong time, losing inertia, when you could have done it earlier AND had more acceleration available had the road turned out to be straight and clear, plus carried more smooth energy with you.

However..... I''ve never really agreed with Road Craft

[Oakey]

Things such as the white markings on the road, I was taught that during my driving lessons :| I was also taught exactly just what Zak said. It doesn't make sense the IAM guy would talk of getting the speed down but ignore the fact dropping gear does exactly that due to engine braking.

[Shad]

His argument was that engines are for going and brakes are for stopping. I was driving sudately so approaching a roundabout/junction/corner I'd come off the throttle and bip down a gear and coast to the corner. Although it is mostly the engine causing the car to slow down, I don't really class that as engine braking. Engine braking to me is that nasty sudden extra stopping force provided when braking and changing down gears at high revs, and that's why I heal+toe.

That's the issue for me; I'm doing these things as they are now natural but need to learn they are not ideal (in the eyes of the IAM at least).

[Moby-Dick]

I suppose the ethos is that brake pads are cheaper to replace than clutches.

personally I like to be in the right gear for the speed I'm in so that I can react to any changes in situation faster.

[Ant]

The police are taught to drive like that too!

I use the gears to slow me down too. Breaking first, then changing into the correct gear just doesn't feel smooth or fluent at all!

I'm no expert, but I will talk to my dad. He's done some advanced driving, so he breaks, then changes gear...


Ant

EDIT: Lol, my dad doesn't know why, he just does it that way because that how he was told!

[Jiff Lemon]

His argument was that engines are for going and brakes are for stopping. I was driving sudately so approaching a roundabout/junction/corner I'd come off the throttle and bip down a gear and coast to the corner. Although it is mostly the engine causing the car to slow down, I don't really class that as engine braking. Engine braking to me is that nasty sudden extra stopping force provided when braking and changing down gears at high revs, and that's why I heal+toe.

That's the issue for me; I'm doing these things as they are now natural but need to learn they are not ideal (in the eyes of the IAM at least).

See, This is the EXACT argument I got into with the instructor I had. I used all of Zaks arguments, also adding that should the need to accelarate out of a situation arise, I'm in the right gear at the right time, rather than suddenly having to change gear, then accelerate.

His argument?

"I'm the advanced driver here, Sonny"