Advanced Driving – being able to use Advanced Driver Training techniques is definitely a life-saving skill.  Yet most people don’t seem to consider taking their driver development any further than the basic standard required to pass the driving test – which I think is tragic, considering the number of crashes that can be analysed as driver error, rather than speed related.

We all have it in our power to drive in an advanced manner.  You don’t need to have special training or take one of the many tests that are available, for example through RoSPA or the IAM, although personally I can’t understand why we wouldn’t want to…after all, people can improve their career opportunities by taking additional courses and people are actively encouraged to take further education beyond school-leaving age.  Why should learning stop after passing the driving test?

Driving is not just about mechanical techniques.  The most vital part of any piece of machinery is the operator’s ability to use the tool safely, efficiently and with the minimum of risk to himself or others.  To use current parlance, we have a duty of care to ourselves to manage and reduce risk.

We shouldn’t be relying on a series of signs to warn us of a potential danger, we should be using our brains to work it out for ourselves – and that process should start as soon as we begin driving. 

As an example, just because there is a 30mph speed limit in a village does not mean that we should be driving at 30 miles per hour.  There are many instances when even 15 or 20mph is simply too quick, even though legally we are entitled to travel faster.

Drivers should be encouraged to understand how to read the road and interpret what the road layout is telling us.  We need to focus ahead, gleaning clues from the surrounding topography and reducing speed in direct proportion to the available view.  If you can’t see round a bend, you have no idea what may be lurking round the corner.  It could be a pile of mud; a broken-down vehicle or maybe an inattentive driver pootling along in the middle of the road.  However many times we drive round a particular bend, the picture will always be different.  We have to develop a vivid imagination; constantly questioning what might happen that could have consequences for us.

The simplest of road driving tips is to concentrate at all times, create space around the vehicle and always have sufficient time and curiosity to question the possible actions of others that may affect our safety.  By encouraging everyone to develop common sense and an acceptance of the need for responsibility from an early age, starting from when they are at their most vulnerable (pedestrian and cyclist) they will become better members of society and will be able to incorporate those early learning tools when they become drivers.