Where to go from here?

[akakindz]

Hi everyone,

I'm 23 and love driving. I got bitten by the advanced bug and passed the course in 2021, then this year got my Masters and finally did RoSPA. I've done track, skid pan, been out with police DTU, started my own YouTube channel and attended the HPC young drivers day. HPC is too much money for me at this time and someone close kindly did offer to sponsor me but after much consideration, I decided it just didn't feel right for me to take their money and would revisit in the future. I also do not want to become an observer.

So aside from doing road trips here and there, is there anything else I can add to my driving inventory? Aside from loving it, I always want to improve and learn as well. Perhaps there is nothing else "out there" but I thought I can but ask. At this time, a driving job wouldn't suit me either so this is purely regarding learning

Maybe I'm too obsessed... Lol

Thanks all!

[dvenman]

Where do you live? Maybe some locals here might be willing to have a drive out with you?

Also check out https://www.advanceddrivinghub.com/forum/

[_Neal_]

Off road driving (I did a very good value and excellent day through a local IAM group a few years ago)? Do your motorbike test (plus advanced qualifications if you like it)?

Lots of stuff out there to add very different skills/experience (as well as being excellent fun).

[bigmowley]

Why not expand into a few more license categories? Obviously motorbikes is an easy one. You don’t have to want to ride bikes on a daily basis but doing a bit gives you a better understanding of the issues facing bikers. Trucks and trailers are also a great skills to aquire. Again you don’t have to become a trucker but once you have the license it can open all sorts of doors.
Track days are a logical next step. Pick the right day and provider and you can do a track day in virtually anything.
Porsche experience centre at Silverstone is an excellent day out, quite expensive but actually good value for money when you consider what you get to drive.
There is a lot of stuff out there, enjoy the journey

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

I fear that HGV training (unless an employer is covering the cost) would be considerably more expensive than the High Performance Course.

When I was in a similar situation I was lucky that ADUK (now ADHub) driving events were fairly numerous, and I could drive with a good selection of very experienced members there.

I found that people were very generous with their time if you had a good attitude and were there to learn, and from your offer of a sponsored course it seems that attitude still prevails. Many of us that have been through (or more likely, are still working on) the improvement process remember what it was like, and want to help the next generation.

You could lean into this a bit, and organise individual drives with suitable people. You'll have met a few already, and I know they'd be happy to provide introductions.

The other way is to do it yourself with a combination of study and practice, but from my experience that's a lot less effective than working with a co-driver.

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

Oh - and think carefully before rejecting becoming an Observer.

For me, it's been hugely helpful in the process of getting to where I wanted to be, even if it was frustrating / tedious / repetitive at times.

[Wardy5]

Agreed on the observer comment. Don't dismiss it.

I was in your near exact position nearly 20yrs ago and what I found key was to find opportunities to keep your skills sharp. It's brilliant that you've gone through IAM & RoSPA and have had a sample of HPC. But that's where observing/coaching/mentoring comes in, as it can keep you in that zone.

Also why I settled on RoSPA with the 3yr re-test principle. It's an ever evolving driving environment out there, so simply getting a static certificate that you were up to a level of advanced driving/riding standard 'once' didn't really do it for me!

Also with observing, as important to pass on and promote advanced driving thinking and techniques to others, is the group(s) of likeminded people you'll find yourself with in a local group. Mileage will vary of course, but if you find good people you then have other opportunities to go out in pairs, learn from others etc etc.

[Racing Newt]

If you get the opportunity, try driving in different areas of the world, Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, to name but a few.
You will find that the cultural persona of the country does indeed influence the driving behaviour of the locals.

[PhilAsia]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

Oh - and think carefully before rejecting becoming an Observer.

For me, it's been hugely helpful in the process of getting to where I wanted to be, even if it was frustrating / tedious / repetitive at times.

I agree. For me, there is no better education than to be instructing others. IMHO you learn more about yourself and your craft than you would think, and in a shorter time frame.

[PhilAsia]

Racing Newt said:

If you get the opportunity, try driving in different areas of the world, Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, to name but a few.
You will find that the cultural persona of the country does indeed influence the driving behaviour of the locals.

Indeed. I find that here in the PH (other parts of Asia also hold sway) is one of the best learning environments. Complete immersion. Again, a quick learning curve.

[Y Cymro]

You’re gaining a lot of good experience. Next steps? Engage and get involved with your local IAM group, offer your services to perhaps help run the group, and train to become a National Observer. For this you’ll be trained towards a IMI qualification, and assessed in your skills by one of IAM’s regional managers - who are likely to be Master’s assessors. Did you achieve Masters Distinction? If not, set yourself a standard of achieving the best score possible (all ‘1’s and a glowing report), go for that and if you’re of the appropriate standard you’ll be invited to become a Mentor. Express your particular interests and expectations to the local group - like most things to do with any training, you’ll need an Observer trainer and Masters Mentor to ‘click’ with, and without this you might end up disgruntled. Regarding HPC, why not do the 1/2 day course. It’s much cheaper, and will give you a good understanding of what it’s about.

Edited by Y Cymro on Tuesday 12th December 13:02

[Ranger 6]

Off road has been mentioned - but to be more specific, trials. Whether it's a production car event or a 4x4 event, find your local club and see if someone will either take you round or even share a vehicle.

The car control skills that you'd gain from these sort of experiences would bolster the ones from skid pan training. Which leads me on to say why not ice driving as well?

Driving in low grip conditions, whether it's mud & grass or ice & snow really does improve overall car control skills and that's a depth of ability which would contribute to the other aspects of driving which you've already done.

[BertBert]

PhilAsia said:

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

Oh - and think carefully before rejecting becoming an Observer.

For me, it's been hugely helpful in the process of getting to where I wanted to be, even if it was frustrating / tedious / repetitive at times.

I agree. For me, there is no better education than to be instructing others. IMHO you learn more about yourself and your craft than you would think, and in a shorter time frame.

Or for a different take on it, investigate being an instructor at the Under 17 Car Club and pass your enthusiasm and skills onto (other) young drivers.

[Woody2043]

I was an IAM national observer for a short while but I'm a bit stuck on the fact that they want me to pay to be a member, in order to continue volunteering. Crying out for observers in my area but I have to pay.... Small beans, but I'm stuck with my principle. I think in some respects they need to come into 2024...

[Galveston]

When I was satisfied with my road driving I started doing club motorsport and never looked back. AutoSolos and Production Car Trials are really inexpensive, great fun, and teach you far more about car control than you’ll ever experience on the road.

For a bit more money, sprints and hillclimbs can still be entered in a standard road car and offer a high speed learning environment with a competitive element to keep you motivated to extract the very best from you as a driver.

Obviously anything competitive is a completely different discipline to road driving and there’s little overlap on the Venn diagram, but it’s another set of skills to add to the list.

Edited by Galveston on Tuesday 19th December 08:21

[akakindz]

Hi again everyone,
I never got any notifications about this (email has been a nightmare!) So I do apologise for the (very) delayed reply.

To answer some questions, I have achieved a -
IAM F1RST
Masters Distinction
RoSPA GOLD

In regards to the Masters comment and without wishing to come across as "big headed", I did receive a full marks/all 1s distinction. For this reason, I wouldn't be able to improve on my marks any more. Although I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed Masters and wish I could do it all over again!!

Mentoring/observing isn't something I feel I can commit to, especially at my age for free or something I'd really enjoy. I've tried to give pointers before and ended up feeling like I was just giving a commentary. It's a totally different approach and not one I particularly enjoy.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm going to continue with my advanced driving YouTube channel and investigate some other things while continuing to learn whenever and wherever possible

[Majorslow]

One way you could go further is to become and ADI, Once you have your "green" badge then try to get a job with your local constabulary as a "Police driving instructor".

As far as I am aware they will give you about 6 months to get your Police "standard" driving qualification, then a few months to get your Police advanced qualifications. After that you will be about as well qualified in driving as you can get, passing on your skills to Police officers in response and advanced traffic driving.

As an ADI myself I have tried to go this route, but sadly for me I fear I do not interview very well and not been successful. A down side is the money the Police offer these days, ADI's can now earn more teaching learners than they (the Police) are prepared to pay. I worry that the Police standards may drop if they can't recruit the best instructors, but, as long as the diversity targets are met they will be fine

I am impressed that you are keen to learn further skills. One never stops learning and can always improve