Advanced / defensive driving / track tuition thoughts?
Discussion
Not actually sure what I'm after here so I'll throw it out and hopefully somebody could point me in the right direction or perhaps offer some personal experiences!
Basically, Mrs Davie can drive rather well but she has little understanding of why a car does what it does when making progress... I'm no expert but as much as I dribble on about weight transfer, feeling the car, braking and steering inputs when we're out, she doesn't seem that convinced by my poor attempts and whilst not nervous, just hasn't driven 'fast' before thus isn't really sure of where limits are or what happens when you push them!
So, I was looking to get her some sort of tuition from a pro... I seem to recollect Knockhill used to offer a split package where you did a few laps on the tracks then a bit time on the road, sort of similar vein to police driver training with the focus on reading the road, hazards and such like. I don't want her to do advanced driving as such, more a course to help her be more comfortable with car control and speed and such like thus a few laps of Knockill would be more beneficial than say being hurled around Driftland sideways... or a Supercar experience.
I note Knockhill do a driver training package in your own car for £299.00 which could be an option, she's armed with an Astra SRi which, whilst it's no GT3 RS, it's probably got enough power / grip / braking and would be ok for her to learn how to drive faster and smoother and see what happens as you approach the limits, plus she drives it daily so would make more sense than strapping her in to a Honda Civic...
Any thoughts?
Basically, Mrs Davie can drive rather well but she has little understanding of why a car does what it does when making progress... I'm no expert but as much as I dribble on about weight transfer, feeling the car, braking and steering inputs when we're out, she doesn't seem that convinced by my poor attempts and whilst not nervous, just hasn't driven 'fast' before thus isn't really sure of where limits are or what happens when you push them!
So, I was looking to get her some sort of tuition from a pro... I seem to recollect Knockhill used to offer a split package where you did a few laps on the tracks then a bit time on the road, sort of similar vein to police driver training with the focus on reading the road, hazards and such like. I don't want her to do advanced driving as such, more a course to help her be more comfortable with car control and speed and such like thus a few laps of Knockill would be more beneficial than say being hurled around Driftland sideways... or a Supercar experience.
I note Knockhill do a driver training package in your own car for £299.00 which could be an option, she's armed with an Astra SRi which, whilst it's no GT3 RS, it's probably got enough power / grip / braking and would be ok for her to learn how to drive faster and smoother and see what happens as you approach the limits, plus she drives it daily so would make more sense than strapping her in to a Honda Civic...
Any thoughts?
I did the on track tuition in my Megane RS and it was excellent. Mine was more so I could learn track driving but the instructor was very good. They didn't make you go super fast either as they focused on what the car was doing and positioning. Not sure how relevant it is for road driving, but I certainly enjoyed myself 
I've also done the own-car tuition thing at KH and really enjoyed it and learned a lot. From what you say though, it doesn't sound like your partner is terribly interested, or have I picked that up wrong? Are you concerned about her confidence and/or ability at driving at higher speeds etc. on the road? If so then maybe some sort of IAM type thing might be more appropriate?
If she is genuinely interested in learning to drive on a track then the KH experience is very good.
If she is genuinely interested in learning to drive on a track then the KH experience is very good.
Thanks chaps,
Hard to explain... she has very little interest in cars and zero concept (or interest) in how they work but she's naturally a very good driver, by that I mean she's very alert and can drive quite quickly but she lacks the confidence to push the car any further and she hates speed in an environment where harm could come to others. Both of which can be argued as being good thing but as a result she's not really driven a car 'fast' and thus isn't really aware of the limits. If we're out, I drive... I just don't do passenger rides... and several times she's said that she'd like to be able to drive smoother and just have more confidence in the car and her own ability. Her Dad is a biker and can really make a bike go, he always says it's being smooth, maintaining speed and being aware and she does get the concept but I think she'd really enjoy / benefit from being allowed let loose on the safety of a track but with somebody to teach her how to get the best from a car safely.
Had there been the chance to do a track night when it was quite, I'd happily take her out but she won't like sharing a track with much faster metal... we were at the Ring last year and she loved it as a passenger but started to get quite put off when the track was busy so declined to drive. I'm thinking the 2hr tuition might be good for her... her own car would be ok, granted lacks power but again it's more about braking, cornering and driving quickly and smoothly.
I had the pleasure of a demo run with a traffic officer a few years back, very quick, very safe and very impressive and I also bang on about how I'd love to do a tactical driving course, anti-terrorism type stuff and thus that planted the seed and surprisingly, she's agreed that she'd like to be able to drive faster, smoother and safer.
Just to add, she's 34 and a mother of a 5 month old so this is not an exercise to enable her to drive around fast... she doesn't, ever...
Hard to explain... she has very little interest in cars and zero concept (or interest) in how they work but she's naturally a very good driver, by that I mean she's very alert and can drive quite quickly but she lacks the confidence to push the car any further and she hates speed in an environment where harm could come to others. Both of which can be argued as being good thing but as a result she's not really driven a car 'fast' and thus isn't really aware of the limits. If we're out, I drive... I just don't do passenger rides... and several times she's said that she'd like to be able to drive smoother and just have more confidence in the car and her own ability. Her Dad is a biker and can really make a bike go, he always says it's being smooth, maintaining speed and being aware and she does get the concept but I think she'd really enjoy / benefit from being allowed let loose on the safety of a track but with somebody to teach her how to get the best from a car safely.
Had there been the chance to do a track night when it was quite, I'd happily take her out but she won't like sharing a track with much faster metal... we were at the Ring last year and she loved it as a passenger but started to get quite put off when the track was busy so declined to drive. I'm thinking the 2hr tuition might be good for her... her own car would be ok, granted lacks power but again it's more about braking, cornering and driving quickly and smoothly.
I had the pleasure of a demo run with a traffic officer a few years back, very quick, very safe and very impressive and I also bang on about how I'd love to do a tactical driving course, anti-terrorism type stuff and thus that planted the seed and surprisingly, she's agreed that she'd like to be able to drive faster, smoother and safer.
Just to add, she's 34 and a mother of a 5 month old so this is not an exercise to enable her to drive around fast... she doesn't, ever...
I work in oil and gas, and due to the occasionally overbearing focus on HSE we all need to do a defensive driving course. Mine was a while ago, but it was pretty useful. Basically go for a normal drive with the instructor, he points any bad habits, makes a few suggestions, and gives a general critique. Most of the tips are about positioning, where to look for hazards, commentating internally as you go along etc. I was told I was using my indicators too much, maybe because I was being on my best behavior.
Not an endorsement or advert, but I think it is these chaps we use http://roadwisedrivertraining.co.uk/training/defen...
Not an endorsement or advert, but I think it is these chaps we use http://roadwisedrivertraining.co.uk/training/defen...
I've since found (with help!) this course at Knockhill which is some skid pan time then some on road tuition which looks like it could be a winner.
Only downside is there's not laps included and whilst she's got no interest in such things, I think she may have enjoyed the chance to drive on a track and learn more about how the car moves about etc at higher speeds.
Maybe worth a wee call to see if they can bolt on some laps, or do a quiet track night.
https://www.knockhill.com/experiences/master-on-ro...
All this research has got me thinking I quite fancy doing something similar too - the defensive driving course looks interesting.
Thanks for all the input gents.
Only downside is there's not laps included and whilst she's got no interest in such things, I think she may have enjoyed the chance to drive on a track and learn more about how the car moves about etc at higher speeds.
Maybe worth a wee call to see if they can bolt on some laps, or do a quiet track night.
https://www.knockhill.com/experiences/master-on-ro...
All this research has got me thinking I quite fancy doing something similar too - the defensive driving course looks interesting.
Thanks for all the input gents.
Gassing Station | Scotland | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff