As a Jaguar Enthusiasts Club member you clearly like cars or you wouldn’t be viewing this site. If you like cars as much as I do then you are probably in love with driving them too. Driving is a skill that is learnt at some stage in your life.
A new Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club Member offer IAM Roadsmart
As a Jaguar Enthusiasts Club member you clearly like cars or you wouldn’t be viewing this site. If you like cars as much as I do then you are probably in love with driving them too. Driving is a skill that is learnt at some stage in your life, usually when you are 17. As a small child you become exposed to driving early, parents don’t always realise that they begin teaching their children from a very early age. Ever been witness to a young child having a go at another driver? “Use your indicators mate” they shout out at that premium brand German car driver cutting in on you. Your wife turns to you and gives you that knowing look. This may be a true story but enough said!
Everyone is of course a great driver, very few have the nerve to admit they may not be or would like some help. So at 17 and full of the confidence of youth many take to the road and never look back, or indeed have anyone look at their driving again. Apart from very nervous passengers!
As a qualified Police Driver/Rider I was used to refresher training, it was just the norm and we all accepted it every 3 years or so in cars and on motorcycles. So if the Traffic Police are some of the most competent drivers on the road, why do they need refresher training? Easy – skill fade. Unless our skills in driving or riding are refreshed and checked out around every 3 years or so we start to lose them. So what can you do as a driver without access to a Police Driving School? Simple – take the IAM RoadSmart challenge.
IAM RoadSmart is the new name for what many will know as The Institute of Advanced Motorists, having been around for 60 years in 2016 it saw a new refreshed branding and outlook but preserving the best of the heritage and maintaining the high standards distilled from years of experience in emergency service driving. Many may still have that image of gentlemen of a certain age sporting a tweed jacket, a neatly tied cravat and string back driving gloves, puffing on a pipe and discussing the merits of the Goodyear G800 over the Pirelli Cinturato. Those days are thankfully over as IAM RoadSmart makes itself readily available to all road users and not just an imagined elite. IAM RoadSmart are now teaming up with The JEC to offer you a members deal on joining thus allowing you access to refresher driver training and the nationally accredited Advanced Driving Test.
However, there is so much more to IAM RoadSmart, no longer only offering the Advanced Driver and Rider Courses there are a range of modules to help drivers who seek only to improve certain aspects of their driving without going the whole way on an Advanced Course. If you are a company owner we provide fleet driver training products to keep your fleet users on the road earning for the company and your drivers safe. We are even releasing new apps and online modules, shock horror!
What about being a Master Driver or Rider? The Masters is the highest level of qualification in an extended test taking your personal driving or riding abilities to the greatest levels of finesse and skill. Or maybe you want to put something back in by becoming an Observer helping others achieve. All IAM RoadSmart Observers are trained and have an Institute of Motor Industry (IMI) qualification recognising their abilities to help and coach others in driving or riding.
Another development in recent years has been the Driver and Rider Skills Days held on racing circuits. What, the IAM racing? Certainly not as bespoke high speed track days are commercially available! Skills Days use racing circuits as a safe learning environment for those who seek to develop their driving or riding skills being assisted by Instructors in the car with them or riding in a very small group. The usual difficulties that often put off most people from taking to the track, overtaking and behaviour, are strictly managed. We call it deconfliction. We want people to enjoy the experience, get the best out of their car/bike and themselves so we ensure that no British Touring Car antics of ‘doorhandling’ in corners takes place! So what type of car would you need to participate? Just your standard road legal road car, no track cars are permitted. We can have from Micra’s to McLarens on track at the same time, each driver enjoying developing their skills, in confidence, with an Instructor sat alongside them. Classics are always welcome and can often surprise their modern counterparts!
The offer is only open to JEC members. If you are a member but cant see the link details then please ensure you have logged in.
Who is Shaun Cronin?
Shaun Cronin is the son of Simon Cronin, a founder member and well known stalwart of the JEC, who has exposed Shaun to his beloved Mark 2 Jaguar (and many others) since 1977. Shaun was a serving Police Officer with Dorset Police spending nearly 20 years policing the roads as a Traffic Officer and latterly a Senior Investigating Officer for Road Death and complex collisions. Retiring as a Police Inspector in 2014 he is now the Regional Manager for IAM RoadSmart for the South of the UK, As part of his role he assesses IAM RoadSmart Observers and tests Master Drivers and Riders.
Paddy Hopkirk was assessed by Shaun!
