Driver or rider error causes the vast majority of road accidents. Carelessness and negligence on the road costs lives. The IAM aims to reduce avoidable accidents by improving the awareness and skills of road users. The IAM promotes advanced driving as a way of developing driving skills and fixing mistakes. Based on police driver training, the course teaches five phases of safe car control; information, position, speed, gear and acceleration. While aiming to reduce accidents and casualties, the advanced test is not exclusively about safety. It also encourages the driver to feel more confident on the road, to make better progress, and to get greater enjoyment from the experience. The IAM relies heavily on its 5,000 volunteers who coach drivers through the advanced driving course. The Skill for Life course includes: * An initial assessment with an IAM voluntary observer from one of 200 local IAM groups; * As many on-road drives with an IAM observer needed to achieve 'test ready' status (typically six to eight drives);* An advanced test with a qualified examiner (all IAM examiners hold the police advanced driving certificate); and* Membership of the IAM for the first year. Over 400,000 people have taken the advanced test and IAM has currently over 100,000 active IAM members. Although IAM receive regular feedback from our members and groups, they wanted to know more about what motivates people to take the advanced test and how it affects people’s driving habits. Do advanced drivers consider themselves safer? Does the IAM have a long-term impact on driving? (Author/publisher)
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