rosaespanola Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 IAM quoted me something like £180, so they do charge (and always have, haven't they?) for a set course. They allow no flexibility either on the length of the course if their their refusal to accept prior knowledge and experience in my case is anything to go by. I, too, find it incredible that OP was not introduced to commentary. Is it a case of volunteer observers needing a bit of checking and quality assurance? Not all groups have a course of a set length, the Sheffield one does and that's what put me off going to it as work commitments meant that I wouldn't always be able to go on the evening their course ran. The one I went to was basically a case of pay the money for the course and then go driving with an observer as often or as infrequently as you want - they met every fortnight but you could arrange to go out in between as well. The examiner's comments to me when I told him the observers had never mentioned some of the things he'd picked up on was basically to say "well they're just volunteers, and it could be quite a long time since they did their advanced test". Fair enough, I appreciate that they give up their time for free, which is really good of them, but I do think there should be a way for the IAM to make sure the advice given by observers is somehow standardised so you know you're getting what you need to improve your driving to an advanced level. Otherwise it's just a waste of the observers' time as well as the driver's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullerboY Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 The tick box sheet informs you where you are going wrong,i'm afraid it needs a little imput from yourself.I believe the fee is for the test and a years membership of the I.A.M.The little bit of paper as you call it has a number on it which the insurance company will require for a discount which if you pay a high premium could be a considerable saving.If you had passed your test would you be praising the I.A.M. on this forum and publicising the good voluntary work that they do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosaespanola Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 The tick box sheet informs you where you are going wrong,i'm afraid it needs a little imput from yourself.I believe the fee is for the test and a years membership of the I.A.M.The little bit of paper as you call it has a number on it which the insurance company will require for a discount which if you pay a high premium could be a considerable saving.If you had passed your test would you be praising the I.A.M. on this forum and publicising the good voluntary work that they do? I'm not sure what tick box sheet you're referring to - the group I went to had a feedback sheet where they put numbers 1-5 (1 being the best) to show what standard you were at with the various aspects they observed. I had mostly 1s and a few 2s for the majority of the drives I went on in the last couple of months, so they said I was ready to do the test. I don't think I drove any differently during my test, but the examiner picked up on an awful lot of things which I'd never been told were wrong by anyone who observed me. I have said several times that it's very good of the volunteer observers to give up their time, and I know a lot of people have had good experiences with the IAM observers, so I do think that on the whole they do a good job. It just so happens though that my personal experience is that I wasn't given the necessary advice to improve my driving to the advanced test standard, hence me wondering if it's worth going to a different group. I don't think this is unreasonable, I didn't come on here to get into an argument about whether my driving is good enough to pass the test because obviously it isn't and I don't have a problem with accepting that. I do have a problem with wasting time and money if it's not going to help me improve my driving, so I was hoping for advice from people who've found it helpful to go to a particular IAM group or something else similar. You haven't actually said what your interest is in this, are you an IAM volunteer? Examiner? Someone who's done the IAM course? I presume you must be one of these, because otherwise I don't know why you'd be commenting on here, so if you have any helpful feedback that would be great. To be honest though, the things you've said so far have just come across as argumentative and not actually constructive, so please don't waste any more of your time if you just want an argument. That's not what I'm here for. As far as insurance goes, I'm going on the information I've been given. I checked out the cost of insurance with and without the IAM certificate by speaking directly to the IAM's insurance team, who said they couldn't beat my current premium even if I had the certificate (they said it's because I was involved in an accident a year ago, and apparently they don't insure anyone who has been in an accident in the last 3 years, even if it's a non-fault one as mine was) and to my current insurer and several others who said they don't offer a reduced price for IAM members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullerboY Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 OOOps,forgot to mention ,the I.A.M. does not have trainers but trained observers who have attained the standard required by the institute,may I suggest that you read the book Roadcraft written by police instructors and digest it.:o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosaespanola Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 See post 28. Also my comment about not looking for an argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DT Ralge Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 The tick box sheet informs you where you are going wrong,i'm afraid it needs a little imput from yourself.I believe the fee is for the test and a years membership of the I.A.M.The little bit of paper as you call it has a number on it which the insurance company will require for a discount which if you pay a high premium could be a considerable saving.If you had passed your test would you be praising the I.A.M. on this forum and publicising the good voluntary work that they do? As a trainer myself, I've never been very clear what observers can achieve with Jo Public turning up for an insight into Advanced Driving without straying into "training". The OP's point is that they may be volunteers but whatever they deliver should be fit for purpose and that, on not passing the test, the driver should recognise his/her faults and the correct way of doing things as the "standard". The fact that the OP claims to have been surprised by the examiner's negatives suggests something has gone awry and it smacks of poor preparation. Your comments do read a touch on the defensive side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarmOKnee Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Not all groups have a course of a set length, the Sheffield one does and that's what put me off going to it as work commitments meant that I wouldn't always be able to go on the evening their course ran. The one I went to was basically a case of pay the money for the course and then go driving with an observer as often or as infrequently as you want - they met every fortnight but you could arrange to go out in between as well. The examiner's comments to me when I told him the observers had never mentioned some of the things he'd picked up on was basically to say "well they're just volunteers, and it could be quite a long time since they did their advanced test". Fair enough, I appreciate that they give up their time for free, which is really good of them, but I do think there should be a way for the IAM to make sure the advice given by observers is somehow standardised so you know you're getting what you need to improve your driving to an advanced level. Otherwise it's just a waste of the observers' time as well as the driver's. When I went to the Sheffield IAM it wasn't on a set evening, you arranged the driving sessions between yourself and the observer. My observer was Pat who was brilliant. She was also the senior observer trainer(she trains the observers). I didn't pay anything for the course, just the test - and IAM membership. If Pat is still there I highly recommend you get in touch with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceeferman Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 You may not have passed your test but rest assured you are a better driver as a result of your Advanced Driving experience. I don't agree with the guy who commented that observers only observe and don't train. What use would that be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Not all groups have a course of a set length, the Sheffield one does and that's what put me off going to it... The one I went to was basically a case of pay the money for the course and then go driving with an observer as often or as infrequently as you want - they met every fortnight but you could arrange to go out in between as well. You may want to try another group. This 'Course' appears to be a new thing. - When I first went to IAM (to learn about advanced Motorcycling) I was allocated to an Observer and all training was done with him. I rode with him when we 'd arranged to ride together and on Sundays I rode with him during the group rides. When I subsequently decided to do advanced Driving, I contacted the local car group who also allocated me to an Observer and I did all my driving with him. In each case (bike and car) I was debriefed after every ride/drive. The driving Observer gave me a written debrief (the 'tick box' sheet) and I was left in no doubt about what I'd done well and what I' needed to improve. I was, however, exected to make sure that I was familiar with the Highway Code and the contents of the PYADT manual. When my Observers thought I was ready to take the test, I wa given a cross-check by another Observer. The examiner's comments to me when I told him the observers had never mentioned some of the things he'd picked up on was basically to say "well they're just volunteers, and it could be quite a long time since they did their advanced test". Fair enough, That sounds anything but 'fair enough' to me. It might be a long time since they first did an advanced driving test, but they're not prevented form re-testing and indeed, the Observers in my group had Observer weekends specifically for the purpose of checking and training Observers. ... I do think there should be a way for the IAM to make sure the advice given by observers is somehow standardised so you know you're getting what you need to improve your driving to an advanced level. Otherwise it's just a waste of the observers' time as well as the driver's. There is. It's known as 'The System'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarmOKnee Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 It seems that everyone who's been with the Sheffield IAM has had a very positive (and quality) experience. Maybe the Sheffield one is the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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