Roadcraft 5516

There are different aspects to the 'system' of advanced driving. Some (such as MSM and gearchanging techniques) are fairly prescriptive. Most, however, are simply making drivers aware of things to look out for - how to judge the severity of a bend on the approach to it, how to judge in which direction a road is going to go as you approach a blind summit, how to get 'cross-views' across fields to get advance warning of approaching traffic, seemingly innocuous 'signs' that give warning of hazards ahead etc. etc. Clearly all these latter matters are adaptable to whatever type of road conditions you are facing.

See above - there are many and they are very important. I continue to be astonished, for example, by the number of experienced drivers I talk to who still consider that the correct line to take through a bend is the 'racing line' - ie straight across the apex. Now in certain circumstances (on flat geography and where there are no hedgerows) this may be ok - but for most circumstances the 'racing line' is totally the wrong line for normal on-road use and for very good reasons. You may be aware of these reasons - many experienced drivers are not.

OK - well, as I said previously, I have no way of knowing just how good or bad a driver you are but I would be astonished if advanced driver training did not improve your skills to a considerable extent!

Safety is certainly one aspect - but the mere fact that you have had no accidents to date does not mean, per se, that you are a good driver. You may have simply been incredibly lucky - or you may have caused many accidents that you yourself were able to avoid! The father of a friend of mine used to be a commercial traveller. He had no end of accidents where other drivers ran into the back of him. So far as he was concerned it was always the fault of the following driver (and you can argue that case!). When I took a trip with him, however, I quickly realised that his abysmal lack of forward planning, anticipation, and poor reactions, meant that he was frequently required to undertake near emergency braking. Not good for the chap behind!

As I've mentioned above, advanced driving is far far more than a set of prescriptive rules about how to change gear and how to overtake properly - it is a 'way of life' on the road and incorporates numerous ways of making driving more interesting, safer, and better.

Kev