Driver improvement

We can all improve our driving and Bury Road Safety Unit supports various organisations including the following:

Bury Smart Drive

Bury Road Safety Unit regularly holds one-day 'Bury Smart Drive' driver workshop courses for anyone who wants to improve their driving skills. It does not teach drivers how to drive but is an introduction to advanced driving for experienced drivers.

RoSPA Advanced Drivers And Riders

Manchester Group of RoSPA Advanced Drivers And Riders run advanced driving and riding courses for anyone seeking to improve their driving or riding skills by becoming safer, more skilful drivers and riders. Members of the Organisation are all volunteers and will give you as many free lessons as you need to pass the test using your own vehicle.

The car section runs three Associate Training Courses each year. A course comprises three theory sessions and eight practical in-car sessions. The practical sessions last about 2 hours. They are held every second Sunday morning starting at 10am in Stockport which is within easy reach of Manchester, south Lancashire and north Cheshire.

A candidate who passes the RoSPA Advanced Drivers And Riders test will be graded as Gold, Silver or Bronze, and depending on the grade achieved, there may be insurance discount advantages to be gained. However, it cannot be stressed too strongly that the real benefits are in having had an impartial, expert assessment of your driving ability. Successful candidates, regardless of grade, will be recalled for a retest after three years of membership at no additional cost.

This of course gives a valuable and free continuous monitoring of driving standards, and is unique to the RoSPA Advanced Drivers And Riders. The total fee is £82.50, which includes a copy of 'Roadcraft' and the RoSPA Advanced Drivers And Riders advanced driving test. As a member, you will receive a copy of The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents own newspaper, "Care On The Road" every two months.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists

Bury IAM has an active group based in Bury Town Centre. It is possible to pass the Advanced Test, be an Advanced Motorist and a Member of the IAM for no more than £85.00.

Compare that to the cost of your Insurance No Claims Bonus or even your Insurance Voluntary Excess (the amount you pay for any claim you make - usually about £100, irrespective of the size of the Claim) and you can see what a bargain passing the Advanced Test is. Many insurance companies offer a discount to IAM members.

Members of the Organisation are all volunteers and will give you as many free lessons as you need to pass the test using your own vehicle.

National Driver Improvement Scheme

Bury Road Safety Unit is also involved in the National Driver Improvement Scheme. This scheme is an option the Police may offer instead of prosecution for 'due care' motoring offences. Its aim is to improve a driver rather than the driver receiving a fine or penalty points.

The National Driving Improvement Scheme finds its origins within the Road Traffic Law Review of 1988 (North Report). By and large many of the recommendations of the Road Traffic Law Review were incorporated within the Road Traffic Act 1991. However, it was identified by Dr North, Chair of the Review, that "it must be in the public interest to rectify a fault rather than publish the transgressor" and "the retraining of traffic offenders may lead to an improvement in their driving, particularly if their training is angled towards their failings".

The decision to offer a course is made by a Police decision-maker that must decide if there is sufficient evidence to prosecute. Default or refusal would ordinarily attract a court appearance. A course is held over two days. The course time consists of classroom-based activities and in-car training, since research suggests that traffic violators exhibit both deficiencies of basic driving skills and inappropriate attitudes and behaviour. There is a fee payable for the course. This fee amount, which is paid by the offender or client, may vary according to the individual service provider.

To date, some 40 Police forces have adopted the Driver Improvement Scheme based more or less on the model originated in Devon and Cornwall. It is common practice for offenders who have their incident in another Authority to be offered the choice of undertaking the course nearer to their home if their Local Authority is part of the Scheme.

Evidence published from a 2 year research suggests that the attendance on the Driver Improvement Course does have a positive effect over and above that which can be expected from a court appearance alone, especially in relation to attitudes to speeding. It further suggests that attendance at court for such offences may not, in the long term, improve a person's driving, and some drivers may be left primarily feeling that the principal cause was not his/her behaviour. Other than an order for a motorist's disqualification until the successful re-test which is a penalty infrequently used, the Driver Improvement Course appears to be a viable and pragmatic intervention in the absence of a suitable corrective court disposal.

As we are committed to the Government's policy of reduction of injury incidents the option of this course must remain available in order to target at-risk offenders who might otherwise repeat their error.

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