Associate Scheme
Preparing for your Advanced Driving Test with North Staffs Advanced Motorists:
We are one of over 200 local advanced motoring groups affiliated to the Institute of Advanced Motorists, a registered educational charity which aims to improve driving standards by promoting a voluntary driving test at above the L-Test standard.
We provide assistance to car drivers wishing to prepare for the IAM test, channel the efforts of IAM members locally in the field of road safety and organise opportunities for Group Members to further improve their driving skills and to meet socially.
North Staffs Advanced Motorists (NSAM) is also a registered charity and is staffed entirely by volunteers. All the work done by our members is performed free of charge to advance road safety and maintain the enthusiasm of existing IAM members and Associates.
But I've heard it's expensive to take the Advanced Driving Test!
Don't believe what people tell you! The full maximum costs are detailed below and they give the truth of the matter. You could have passed the Advanced Test and have become an Advanced Motorist and a Member of the IAM for no more than £99.
Yes - no more than £99!
Compare that to the cost of your Insurance No Claims Bonus or even your
Insurance Voluntary Excess (the amount you pay for any claim you make - usually
a minimum of £100, irrespective of the size of the Claim) and you can see what a
bargain passing the Advanced Test actually is. In fact , it's so cheap . .
. . . . can you afford NOT to do
it?
The "Skill For Life" package covers the following :-
If you are aged 25 or under when you apply for your "Skill For Life" package, you qualify for a reduced price of only £79
Associateship of North Staffs Group lasts for 12 months, from allocation to your Observer.
The purpose of the scheme is to enable drivers to find out what is expected on the IAM driving test and to gear their own driving to these requirements, thereby enhancing their chances of success in the test. This is normally done by one to one guidance from a designated Group Member - your Observer - but other Group Members may also play a part and there are opportunities to attend training sessions on a skid pan (at extra cost) during the summer season of events.
With sufficient determination and concentration, six months is normally long enough for most drivers to reach this standard. The aim is to build upon and extend a driver's existing skills and experience, not to turn him or her back into a novice.
The main elements of guidance available to Associates are:
An introductory discussion and an assessment of your current driving skills by a Group Observer.
Demonstration drives by Group Observers.
Private study by you of the Highway Code, the "Roadcraft" manual and other relevant publications as recommended by your Observer. The Group also has available for Associates to borrow, a number of video films on driving topics.
As an Associate Member you will have an Observer assigned to you (based on availability) from our Group to assist in preparing for the I.A.M. test. Observed drives are FREE and conducted in your own vehicle. The Observer will use his/her own vehicle to give demonstration drives. Driving your own vehicle while being observed and advised by a Group Observer, normally your designated Observer. These observed drives are done at mutually convenient times and you have as many as you decide in consultation with your Observer. It is during these drives that you are guided in putting advanced driving techniques into practice and eliminating any bad habits you may have developed.
Constant practice, in accordance with your Observer's advice, during all your normal driving in between the observed drives. This is vitally important if your normal driving is to develop along the right lines for Institute membership.
Recommended reading to help prepare for the test:
Pass Your Advanced Driving Test. The IAM's official manual contains expert advice on all aspects of advanced driving. It contains many colour photographs and diagrams to illustrate the topics. This will provide you with the information you will need to know.
The Highway Code. The book every road user is supposed to know.
Roadcraft. This is the police driving manual and will supplement Pass Your Advanced Driving Test.(Ian Kinder/Peter Lowe, usually have copies of this for sale to associates at a discounted price, on a Thursday Driving Night).
Independent academic research has shown that drivers who have passed an advanced driving test are significantly safer drivers, enjoying a 50-75 per cent lower accident rate. You owe it to yourself to take advantage of the opportunity to extend and prove your skills behind the wheel.
You are, in effect, undertaking an examination course with theoretical study, practical training sessions and homework (i.e. practicing during all your day to day driving) and at the end of it all an advanced driving test lasting around an hour and a half. This will all require time (observed drives last from 60-90 minutes plus your travelling time to the meeting point) and the cost of the extra mileage.
Please think carefully about the commitment involved. You cannot become an advanced driver by a couple of hours meandering around quiet country lanes talking about the weather.
Your Observer will give up many hours of his or her spare time to assist you and the only reward is to see your driving improving progressively and you eventually succeed in passing the IAM driving test.
Unless you are prepared to put in the time, effort and resources required there is no point in becoming an Associate. You will only be wasting your time and that of your Observer who could be helping someone else.
Feel free to come along on a Thursday evening.
Meet Group Members and Associates
Have a free impartial assessment of your driving*
Have a free demonstration drive by an IAM member *
(*subject to availability on the evening)
Either click here for details of when and how to find us
or
click here to contact us for more information