COMMUNITY: Gainsborough Probus
The intriguing title for the presentation held on Monday July 18, was '˜IAM'. This stands for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, with their logo reading '˜IAM RoadSmart'.
Two of the volunteers from this charity, Roger Hicks and Ashley Behan, spoke to the group using the title ‘confident driving’.
In most areas of life there are now refresher courses or further study opportunities, but with driving, potentially one of the most hazardous activities we undertake, we take a test and that’s it. IAM gives everybody the opportunity to check their skills, take a test, and be a confident driver (while also saving on car insurance).
A possible motto was presented: safety and legality. The two go hand in hand. One theme that kept on emerging was observation. Watching for what might happen, anticipating problems, using your mirrors , and concentrating on what you are doing – no mobile phones. In this way we can avoid any shocks and surprises. It was even recommended that we give a commentary as we drive, thus keeping our minds firmly on what is going on, but perhaps annoying passengers.
A worrying statistic was presented to members. 95 per cent of so called accidents are because of driver error. As a result we were encouraged to explore advanced driving, and we were helped to become more confident drivers – a very useful morning.