Press Releases

IAM RoadSmart has called the government’s Road Safety Statement announced today (19 July) ‘a mixed bag’ with welcome news on road policing, pedestrian distraction and seatbelts, but a worrying lack of detail on younger and older drivers or motorcyclists.

IAM RoadSmart has welcomed a possible toughening up of the laws on the use of seatbelts in cars, saying it’s the most obvious and direct way of saving lives in road crashes.

The government’s long-awaited commitment to investigating some form of Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) is great news for road safety say IAM RoadSmart but it is not convinced a night-time driving ban for young drivers is needed alongside other new restrictions.

Another member of race and rally legend Paddy Hopkirk’s family has passed their advanced driving test, with his daughter Katie Adlington becoming the latest to reach the level.

While the car industry invests billions into the development of self-driving cars, a survey by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has found that drivers have other ideas – with over 70% saying they would not feel safe travelling in one.

IAM RoadSmart has backed calls for a long-term plan to tackle the ‘national scandal’ of potholes on UK roads – saying nearly half of people it surveyed have experienced pothole damage to their vehicles.

IAM RoadSmart believes that many businesses are missing out on opportunities to improve road safety for their drivers, by relying on technology alone to solve the problem for them.

A blanket ban on pavement parking could lead to a need for thousands of new car parking spaces that towns and cities are simply not equipped to provide, warns IAM RoadSmart.

Metal merchants beware! Research by Auto Express magazine and road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has found that heavy-metal music could cause motorists to lose their cool behind the wheel and become almost as extreme as their guitar god heroes.

Queen of Bikers Maria Costello MBE is now carrying the IAM RoadSmart logo on her Paton Supertwin racing bike, and you will be able to see it at high speed on the Isle of Man and in Northern Ireland this year.

Race and rally legend Paddy Hopkirk and his son Patrick achieved the highest civilian driving standard in the UK recently, when they both passed IAM RoadSmart’s Masters with Distinction qualification.

IAM RoadSmart has just announced an additional date for its highly rated Skills Days for car drivers – Wednesday 28 August at Thruxton Circuit.

IAM RoadSmart has expressed its frustration that six years after calling for action, more than 11,000 drivers a year are still being legally allowed on the roads with 12 or more points on their licences.

With the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) roaring back into life this weekend (6/7 April), there will be no less than two IAM RoadSmart advanced drivers on the Brands Hatch grid as part of the overall weekend package.

IAM RoadSmart has welcomed moves to make autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and other safety systems standard on all new cars in three years, calling it an undoubted life-saver.

Max Coates, multiple-race winner and championship favourite in the Renault UK Clio Cup, will be running the IAM RoadSmart logo on his 130mph Clio for the 2019 season.

With a wide-ranging review of transport laws announced by the government today (19 March), IAM RoadSmart has warned that the rise in the use of electric scooters alongside vehicles on our roads is bad news for road safety.

Some 11 of the talented young racing drivers who passed their IAM RoadSmart advanced driving tests at the charity’s #FormulaDriveSmart event late last year have announced their motorsport programmes for 2019; many having graduated to new teams and exciting new series.

With International Women’s Day coming up on Friday (8 March) IAM RoadSmart has announced that it has a women’s-only motorcycle Skills Day coming up this summer – being led by Queen of Bikers Maria Costello MBE.

After an upswing in 2017 and no overall progress over the last seven years in reducing the number of casualties caused by drink-driving, the country’s largest independent road safety charity IAM RoadSmart is calling for the government to introduce an emergency package of measures to tackle this important issue.