Iq Insurance And The Iam

[barrycoll]

apropos of Kips experience of shattered glass, and no real insurance cover, and an earlier post about Insurance for IQs, I would suggest that all members consider joining the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), and then do their bargain priced course to become a better driver...

..........and this will then lead to bargain priced insurance with a lot of Companies, but especially with their own company IAM Surety Ltd

I first became interested a long time ago, just to improve my driving skills........I did the Advanced training course, which consists of 6/7 2 hour+ runs, in urban, motorway, and national speed limit country roads....it was great fun, as one is obliged to give the motor 100% stick when the conditions are right.......the skill comes in recognising just when the conditions ARE right...having said that, the IQ is no 500 bhp brute so, the challenge is easier!

after a few more years of having passed the Test, I realised that the skills were slipping away from me, and as the IAM were looking for more volunteer trainers (or Observers), I put myself forward and did the further training as an Observer.........and now I take people out, usually on Saturday morning, and train them up to pass the test...my present trainee drives a Maserati, so its not all hum-drum stuff

the training is based on Hendon Police Drivers school, and uses the book Roadcraft, the Police Drivers Manual as the bible.....and nowadays, in the current edition, its a good read

having passed the Test (and most people do, even if they have to do it a second time), this proves to Surety Insurance that you are a good candidate for them, and vastly less likely to be involved in an accident......so, in a way, this company cherry pick the most favourable clients, and there quotes reflect this

I live in central LOndon, and my IQ fully comp. with £100 excess, protected NCB, is £190......my 140 bhp Golf TDI is £280

they even insure the house and contents for a bargain price.........

its a no brainer folks, and enormous fun, and rewarding too

cheers to all BarryC.

[s44gtw]

Why do IAM teach that you only indicate when you know there is someone there to see you?

Do they not think that you might have failed to see a cyclist or pedestrian in poor light and they would like to know which way you are turning.

Why is it often Codgers or others with IAM badges on their vehicles that tend to cut me up, turn without indicating

or block my way & fail to ever give way?

*Do they ever throw out IAM members/drivers that get spotted being cr4p drivers, or do they just get to go on for ever being a danger to others and dispaying the Badge?*

Why do Police Motorcyclist & Drivers in training and on patrol in my area change lane and take slip roads without indicating.

Advanced and trained professional drivers and riders sometimes need to get some training IMHO and IME.

george

[barrycoll]

blimey George...seems like I must have blindly U turned over your toes, some time recently....my apologies

cheers barryc.

[Kip]

The IAM does interest me, I've just never got round to it. And based on quotes I've got online, exactly the same policy just one with the IAM membership and one without, at my age seems to make little difference. I can't say what Surety would be like as I've never tried getting a quote from them for comparison purposes.

Geogre, a Badge means nothing really. If I were an IAM member I probably wouldn't advertise it myself. Anyone could stick a Badge on saying they are members of the IAM. There's always going to be the other sort who join IAM years and years ago, lose the skills gradually, but keep the sticker.

As for the police, I've also seen feats of stupidity. One night at around 9.30pm on a twisty A road, I was tailgated by a police SUV for a good few miles. I didn't realise it was a police vehicle until he eventually overtook me. I honestly couldn't believe it when he went past. He had main beam on too, not dipped, so was blinding me through my door mirrors. I only wish I'd of thought to remember the number plate so I could make an official complaint.

[Jan&tone]

I too am an Observer for our local IAM group, however I habe never found an benefit insurance-wise by being an IAM member either with IAM Surety or any other company!

As for indicating George, the Highway Code says "indicate where it would be of benefit to other road users" and yes members are occasionally expelled!

You should have realised by now that police drivers come in all shapes and sizes, the class one guys that test us for IAM membership and train us as observers are the cream, those in Panda cars have the same licence as you and I and are usually just as bad as other motorists!

Kip, do the test! You will enjoy the observed runs, you will pick up some tips and regardless pf the insurance aspect, you will benefit from doing it!

[s44gtw]

Barry i was not getting at you, only asking about some of the stuff that the IAM teach.

My father was born in 1922 & my mother in 1925, my father was never required to pass a driving test my mother did.

we never heard the end of this. LOL not often tho.

the point of this is, my father drove lorries and cars & towed caravans all his life, driving quite well i think.

I caravaned with them as a child & through this years and in my 35 years of legal driving have observed many IMA members that are caravaners

& police officers.

They were often keen to point out how they were Trained Advanced Drivers.

I dont go by their sticker or Badge, just observe there skills.

Probably me thats wrong.

But,

I am glad that there are people that display badges, fail to switch on Sidelights or dipped lights and fail to indicate.

It gives you warning to try and keep clear of them and expect the unexpected.

I am possibly a bit too aware of others driving standards and observation & indication.

Had one leg since i was 17 after a driver that decided to cut my path without observing or indicating.

Spent 4 months in hospital with another rider that was knocked off his bike by a police driver, & have meet rather a few others that have expeirenced much the same

type of thing, been at lots of bikers funerals where not many were to blame.

george

[Kip]

Something just come to mind... I believe the iQ is banned from the official UK driving test. Something about the examiner not being able to see what's going on behind the vehicle clearly. Obviously IAM is a charity and not a government body and the IAM test is not a licence but only a certificate. Does this mean the iQ is or isn't allowed for the IAM test I wonder?

This is taken from the DSA website:

Some vehicles do not provide all-round vision for the examiner and are not suitable for a practical driving test. Vehicles that you can't use for your test include:

BMW Mini convertible

Ford KA convertible

Toyota iQ

VW Beetle convertible

The Smart ForTwo is allowed then. Would make the manoeuvres way too easy compared a normal sized learner car. Makes me wonder why there aren't more driving school Smarts around.

[Jan&tone]

Kip, not heard anything like that. But no one that has taken their test from our group has an IQ anyway so it's not arisen afaik, at least not with us.

[barrycoll]

my wife is just about to do IAM training in our IQ CVT....

I am having nothing to do with it (unsurprisingly), but hopefully she will enjoy her Observed runs as much as I enjoyed mine originally...

she is a pretty safe driver, generally speaking, but does tend to position the car badly at times, such as too close to parked cars, when there is plenty of space to move out towards the centre line....

she may have problems when encouraged to be a brisker when conditions allow, but maybe not

hopefully she will indicate when any other road users might benefit, and be confident enough in her observational skills to not indicate when the situation does not call for it.....but as George suggests, its probably best to indicate if in doubt

...........however the whole meaning of the training is to sharpen a person up, and not to just drive mindlessly, merely watching the bumper bar of the car in front...

barryc.

[Parts-King]

I did some advanced Motorcycle training through the Bikesafe programme and firmly believe my car driving has improved because of it

Kingo

[Jan&tone]

my wife is just about to do IAM training in our IQ CVT....

I am having nothing to do with it (unsurprisingly), but hopefully she will enjoy her Observed runs as much as I enjoyed mine originally...

she is a pretty safe driver, generally speaking, but does tend to position the car badly at times, such as too close to parked cars, when there is plenty of space to move out towards the centre line....

she may have problems when encouraged to be a brisker when conditions allow, but maybe not

hopefully she will indicate when any other road users might benefit, and be confident enough in her observational skills to not indicate when the situation does not call for it.....but as George suggests, its probably best to indicate if in doubt

...........however the whole meaning of the training is to sharpen a person up, and not to just drive mindlessly, merely watching the bumper bar of the car in front...

barryc.

Wish her good luck Barry... We had our monthly group meeting last night and I raised the question of using an IQ for the test... No problems were foreseen!

[Kip]

Will have to look into it then. Being under 24 I can do a special young drivers assessment with IAM and then go on to the full program at a slightly reduced price.

[barrycoll]

Go for it Paul...you certainly won't regret it.

.........(living dangerously) I might even say that maybe George is just the right age for an Update too....(hands over head, waiting for nuclear fallout!!!!)

....and I will pass on your best wishes jan&tone

barryc.

[s44gtw]

Good idea Barry,

but i think i am fine the way i am, my driving & roadcraft already gets assessed annually so that i am in a position to assess other drivers.

george

[sueiq]

I would like to do the IAM course but I've been told that you have to be a fairly experienced driver before doing an advanced course. I think that I would benefit from having more confidence whilst driving however and I too probably drive too close to the left some of the time. Since I passed my test the roads in London have been full of roadworks so I seem to spend most of my driving time just inching along in the queues between holes in the road. Does IAM look for a particular length or quality of driving experience before they let someone onto their course? It is really more confidence that I am looking for, rather than lower insurance, although that would be nice too!

[barrycoll]

you are just the sort of person that the IAM are looking for Sue...

the course progressively 'generates' confidence, as you are taught how to consciously analyse differing road situations, and then how to deal with each logically, and thoughtfully, and not just by chance and with crossed fingers (as it were)

there is a special Xmas deal of £125 at the moment, and when you consider that this buys 6/7 2+hour tuition sessions, plus a years membership of the IAM, plus the price of the Test itself....its the bargain of the year

so don't hesitate..........go for it, and all the best barryc.

[Jan&tone]

I would like to do the IAM course but I've been told that you have to be a fairly experienced driver before doing an advanced course.

bo**ocks!

My last associate passed her DSA test 3 months ago, she took and passed her IAM test

yesterday morning and that's the second one that I've had as a 'new-ish' driver. Yes, it's nioe if you have a bit more experience, but frankly I'd rather have someone new as an associate than some old !Removed! like me with 40 years of bad habits!

I think that I would benefit from having more confidence whilst driving however and I too probably drive too close to the left some of the time. Since I passed my test the roads in London have been full of roadworks so I seem to spend most of my driving time just inching along in the queues between holes in the road. Does IAM look for a particular length or quality of driving experience before they let someone onto their course? It is really more confidence that I am looking for, rather than lower insurance, although that would be nice too!

I can't see from here, and can't remember from your post where you live...

have a look at the IAM website, check for 'Groups' and look for the group nearest you.

It will give you a contact number, call that group and chat with the person that answers, probably the groups secretary. Tell them what you have put above and see where you go from there. If you live in South Essex, pm me and I'll give you the details you want.

Tone

[sueiq]

Thank you very much barryc and Tone for your advice which I will follow up. I live in south London and there are plenty of examples of hair-raising driving around there!

[barrycoll]

it would be nice, if you could write an (ongoing?) report of your experiences SusieQ, and maybe even inspire other forum readers to take the plunge..

.......writing it up, would possibly also cement all the advice from your Observed runs, in your own mind too

great news though...well done.............barryc.

[johnan]

An example of hair raising driving for you, which happened yesterday so I am still a little in denial that it happened:

My wife and I were returning from shopping in a local town about 10 miles from home on a straight country road with little traffic doing about 55-60mph.

A car ahead coming towards us on the other side of the road is indicating to turn into a junction on my left about 1/4 mile away.

I keep an eye on him and lift off in case he turns across me, which he does but there is still plenty of room and I could see the road he was turning into was clear.

What he did next is unbelievable..instead of completing his turn into the road, he aborts the turn and starts coming towards me on MY side of the road!

By this time we were very close and I was probably still doing 50mph as I had expected him to be well into the side road by now, and he would be doing say 20-30..closing speed of 80mph...

All I could do was brake and steer between him and another car on the other side of the road that had also been waiting to turn into the same road.

Luckily the fool didn't try to steer back onto the other side of the road, which I thought he would do, which left me just enough space to get through.

Even with ABS I could smell burning rubber from the tyres and I probably left skidmarks elsewhere too.

The IQ was great, absolutely stable and controllable even under emergency braking and steering.

My wife asked "what was all that about" wondering waht the heavy braking and swerving was all about as she had been looking down at the time, and I just said "no drama, just someone changed his mind, we had plenty of room".

But we didn't. It was a very,very close thing and I am not exaggerating how close it was to being a horrible accident, probably involving 3 cars and quite high speed.

In the very brief time I had to notice the occupants of the other car, I could see the car was full and the driver was wearing a baseball cap, which isn't always a good sign with regard to sensible driving.

Perhaps he had been visiting Tarquin's neighbours house, the one with the bright lamps in the loft.

Anyway, preaching to the converted no doubt, but take nothing for granted these days. There are youngsters and older folk doing the most unpredictable things in cars whether or not drug or drink inspired.

[barrycoll]

turned my stomach over, just reading your account Johnan.........expecting the unexpected is one thing, but this takes it to a whole new level...

very well done to steer between to 2 cars, and not assume he might sudeenly see sense, which would have sent you leftwards off the road,,,,,,,,,or straight into him..

a double scotch and a lie down

all the best barryc.

[Jan&tone]

My first time behind the wheel was in a friend of my fathers Austin Westminster on Blackbushe Airport at age 14.

The first thing he said to me was "always, always, treat all other road users, from pedestrians to lorry drivers, as raving lunatics liable to do anything at any time and you won't go far wrong."

50 years later I reckon he was pretty much on the right track!

[johnan]

My first time behind the wheel was in a friend of my fathers Austin Westminster on Blackbushe Airport at age 14.

The first thing he said to me was "always, always, treat all other road users, from pedestrians to lorry drivers, as raving lunatics liable to do anything at any time and you won't go far wrong."

50 years later I reckon he was pretty much on the right track!

Yes that was my Dad's mantra when he let me have my first motorcycle "other drivers are idiots who will never do what you expect", and that is the only way to survive on a bike really, huge anticipation of what everyone else MAY do. I don't think I would ever really expect anyone to do what this chap did but he still did it.What was he thinking..?

And Barry, that is the frightening thing. I had to make a split second decision on which side of him I would be able to pass and in retrospect it seems that I chose the illogical one but I must have taken into account the angle of his front wheels and god knows what other factors and luckily chose correctly, or as you suggest I would have driven straight into him.

Still scares me a bit to think about it and I haven't told the other half the full story.She probably wouldn't get in the car again!