If you have a question which is not answered below, please click here to contact the Group.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is a charity organisation, formed in 1956, based in London, and dedicated to the improvement of Road Safety through improving the standard of driving. It has been approved by the Government’s Driving Standards Agency (DSA) as a provider of Advanced Driving Tests. For further details, please see
IAM's own website.
The Kingdom Of Fife Group (KOFG) is one of over 200 Groups affiliated to the IAM and exists to further the aims of the IAM in the Fife area. This is done by offering help to IAM "Associate" members (members who have not yet passed their Advanced test) to allow them to achieve the standard required to pass the Advanced test.
The Kingdom Of Fife Group comprises of the following :
As of February 2009, there were a total of 220 local IAM groups (for cars, motorcycles, or both). Within Scotland, England, Wales & Northern Ireland there were also 109,730 Full Members and 23,898 Associcate Members.
There are many misconceptions of what Advanced Driving is about. It is not about police cars going down the high street at high speed, breaking the lap record at Brands Hatch, or spending hours on the skid pan.
Instead, it is safe, sensible driving by controlling and minimizing the risks, trying always to be in the right place on the road at the right time, travelling at the right speed with the right gear engaged and always being able to stop safely, on your own side of the road, in the distance you can see to be clear.
The key skills of an Advanced Driver are Concentration, Observation and Anticipation.
Using these skills to develop a Driving Plan, co-ordinated with the System Of Car Control, a driver can make progress in a skilful and responsible way, ensuring that nothing is left to chance.
By developing and practicing Advanced Driving skills, you can become a better and safer driver and enjoy your driving more. As an Advanced Driver you will make a contribution to road safety and at the same time you have the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing something which is quite difficult, really well.
The process for becoming an Advanced Motorist is as follows :
We welcome any driver who holds a full licence and would like to improve their driving to Advanced IAM standard. There are no restricitons regarding the the number of points you have on your licence, or even if you have received a driving ban in the past - just as long as you currently have a full driving licence and do not have any pending court cases (including the issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice) for driving matters.
If you have any doubt about whether you would be able to join IAM, please
click here to contact us with details of your circumstances.
We are happy to help men and women of any age - from those who have only recently passed their standard driving test (you only need to have held a full licence for 3 months at the time of sitting your IAM test) to those who have been driving for many years.
Due to Disclosure Scotland issues, it is unlikely that any Observed Drives will be able to be carried out with drivers under the age of 18, although they are still welcome to join the Group, attend the Induction Event, and get their name on the waiting list to start the Observed Drives as soon as they turn 18.
It doesn't matter what sort of car or motorcycle you drive or ride. However, as all the Observed drives/rides and the IAM Advanced Test are done in your own vehicle, it must have at least two seats (for cars), be in a roadworthy condition, and be capable of reaching the motorway maximum speed limit of 70mph. For cars, it does not matter if it has manual or automatic transmission.
In the Kingdom Of Fife Group, we welcome new members at any time of the year. Unlike some groups which have courses that run on set dates 2 or 3 times a year, all our training is done on a one-to-one basis with an Observer as and when required. You would also normally keep the same Observer from the first drive right through to your test.
Upon registering with IAM you will be put in contact with our Membership Secretary and you will be invited along to attend an Induction Event. This classroom based session will cover the basics prior to you being assigned an Observer. Depending upon the time of year, there may be a short wait before being assigned an Observer but our aim is that this should be no more than 1-2 months and the documentation you receive from the Induction Event will give you some idea of the requirements of Advanced Driving that you can start working on immediately.
The benefits of passing your IAM test and becoming an Advanced Motorist include :
Insurance costs vary depending upon individual's circumstances, vehicles and insurance companies. However, the recently launched IAM Surety Insurance product claims that 90% of IAM members can save money, and there is even a 10% discount given to IAM Associate Members who have not yet passed their Advanced Test. Currently, IAM Surety can provide insurance quotes for drivers aged 21 to 79.
Although cheaper insurance is an advantage, it is not the main reason for becoming an Advanced Driver, neither are the reduced running costs & fuel costs, or even being able to receive IAM's excellent regular "Advanced Driving" magazine. The main reason is that statistics show that Advanced Drivers are 70% less likely to be involved in an accident !
Since both the IAM and the Kingdom Of Fife Group are registered charities, they only seek to cover their costs and are non-profit making organisations.
The "Skill for Life" package which you can purchase from IAM costs £139 for cars or motorcycles. This includes annual membership of both the IAM and the Kingdom Of Fife Group of Advanced Motorists, the IAM's car or motorcycle manual, and the actual Advanced Test fee. All guidance on how to attain the required test standard is provided free of charge by volunteer Observers within the local Group, so there is nothing else to pay (Note : for Motorcycle Associate Members there is a small fee per Observed Run required to cover any expenses incurred by your Observer). All this is a bargain when compared against the average cost of learning to drive and obtaining a licence, recently calculated by the DSA as being over £980.
To see a breakdown of how the Skill for Life cost is made up,
click here.
The only on-going costs associated with being an Advanced Motorists are your annual IAM membership (currently £31, or £28.50 if paid by Direct Debit) and your annual KOFG membership (currently £10).
Your IAM membership will be due annually on the anniversary of your purchasing your IAM "Skill for Life" package and your KOFG subscription will be due annually on 1st July (Note : KOFG membership is only due after you pass your Advanced Test).
Payment of these will allow you to continue to receive all the benefits associated with IAM and KOFG, including :
Your "Skill for Life" package will consist of :
The average time taken to prepare for an IAM test, assuming weekly Observed Drives of 60-90 minutes take place, is around 10-12 weeks.
However, everyone reaches the required standard at different times and the amount of time taken car vary depending upon several factors including holidays, work commitments, and the amount of practice put in between Observed Drives.
No Associate Member will be forced to go for their Test before they are ready as this would not be in their best interests or that of the Group.
The test lasts around 90 minutes and covers about 35 miles. There is no written test but you may be asked a few questions about, for example, road signs and road markings encountered during the drive.
For Kingdom Of Fife Group members, tests will take place within Fife (normally starting in Glenrothes or Cupar) and will include a variety of types of road including rural, urban, and dual carriageway or motorway. There are many different routes. It would only be by chance that you have driven on your test route whilst with your Observer. The Group's aim is to train you to drive confidently and well on any road, not just on roads with which you are familiar.
Test Examiners are holders of a Police Advanced Driving Certificate. This means that they will be a current or retired Road Traffic Officer. At the end of the drive the Examiner will tell you the result and, irrespective of the result, offer constructive advice on how to improve further.
Yes.
Click
here to go to the correct page on the IAM website to allow you to book your IAM test on-line.
Your Observer will inform you when they believe that you are ready to apply for your test, and prior to this you will receive a Pre-Test with a Senior Observer in order to gain a second opinion. This means that by the time it comes to the test itself the chances of passing are very high. Overall the IAM has a pass rate of around 85% (compared to under 50% for the standard DSA driving test).
Advanced Driving is defined in Roadcraft, the Police Driver’s Handbook. The principles of safe driving in Roadcraft were first set out in the 1930’s and they have since been regularly updated to take account of changes in traffic conditions and in the design of cars (with the latest edition having been released in December 2007). Roadcraft is recognised throughout the world as defining the highest possible standard of driving.
The management of the Advanced Tests are the responsibility of the IAM Chief Examiner, currently Peter Rodger who is a former Chief Examiner at the Police Driving School at Hendon. All IAM Examiners hold the highest Police driving qualification, the Advanced Certificate and many are serving Road Traffic Officers.
The IAM’s books, How To Be A Better Driver and How To Be An Advanced Motorcyclist (one of which is included as part of the Skill for Life package), covers the main topics of Advanced Driving and sets out what the Examiners look for.
Once you pass your IAM test there aren't any further tests to take. However, if you are concerned about bad driving habits starting to appear, or if you want to continue to improve your driving, then why not become an Observer for your local IAM group? This will mean you will receive Observer training and the process of Observing and carrying out Demonstration Drives will ensure your driving remains at a very high standard. You could even take things further by becoming a Senior Observer which means your driving will be re-checked every 3 years.
Through experience we have found that with the correct advice and help, almost anyone can become an Advanced Driver. However, if you're not sure then why not buy a "DriveCheck" (or "RideCheck for Motorcyclists) from IAM. This involves a 45-60 minute assessment of your driving by an Observer, after which you will receive detailed feedback.
The current costs of these are £25 for a DriveCheck and £30 for a RideCheck. If you then decide to go ahead and purchase a "Skill for Life" package within 30 days of this, you will receive a £25 discount. For details of "Skill for Life", "DriveCheck" and "RideCheck", or to purchase any of these, please see the links to the IAM website pages by
clicking here.
The driving commentary is the best way for you to show your Observer, or your Examiner during the test, what you are seeing, thinking and planning.
Giving a driving commentary is also an excellent way of ensuring your concentration remains focused on what is happening around you whilst you are driving.
Your Observer will give you advice on how to give the commentary and although it may seem strange at first you will soon get used to it.
Starting from April 2008, the Fife Group also has a Motorcycle section. So we now cater for 2 wheels as well as 4.
Click here to contact our Motorcycle Liaison for further details.
To inform the Group of a change to your address, phone number or email address please
click here to let us know about the changes.
To read more about the South East (SE) Forum,
click here.
Within KOFG we are currently looking into accepting annual membership payments by Direct Debit and expect this to be in place shortly.
Yes. As KOFG is a registered charity, any donations or membership subscriptions can have Gift Aid claimed back on them. This means that the Group can claim back from HMRC any tax you have paid on these amounts, which is equivalent to an extra 25p being received per £1. For more details on this and for a Gift Aid Declaration Form please
click here.