Tips and Blogs

The Highway Code was updated earlier this year to introduce a risk-based hierarchy of road users, which places more responsibility on the drivers of larger vehicles to look after more vulnerable road users. But are pet owners aware of the rule that relates to having four-legged passengers in the car?

The clocks are going forward, which means days will soon be longer than nights for the next six months and dark winter mornings spent scraping the windscreen are now a distant memory. It’s time to dust off your leathers and make sure your motorbike is in tip top condition for the warmer weather ahead, whilst not neglecting your car in the meantime. This week’s tips from IAM RoadSmart will help you prepare yourself and your motor for those brighter days ahead.

While driving and riding when tired isn't in the top fatal five causes of crashes it has a huge impact on your ability to focus and react. Find out the effects and how to combat them. Learn about some tips and countermeasures you could start employing today. From erratic driving behaviours to low tolerance levels and much more.

Just months after scrapping relevant tests, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is set to introduce training schemes in March 2022 to help drivers familiarise themselves ahead of towing caravans and trailers. IAM RoadSmart is on hand with some top tips to help keep you and others safe on the roads and clarify what has changed.

The ever-fluctuating (and often increasing) cost of fuel is something all motorists would’ve been noticing over the past year, and that’s why IAM RoadSmart has put together their own top tips for driving and riding more eco-friendly, which in turn can help cut the amount of fuel you use.

Changes could be on their way to not only improve much-needed driving test availability, but also safety. If they go ahead, these will be the most significant changes since 2017 when new elements were introduced to the test itself, including learning to follow satnav instructions, testing different manoeuvres, such as driving into and reversing out of a parking space learning how to park and pull away facing oncoming traffic.

"It’s not that I didn’t trust my partner, but with the most precious cargo we’ve ever carried in the car, I wanted to do everything I could to protect him." Carli Ann Smith received the IAM Roadsmart Advanced Driver course from her grandad as a Christmas gift, and you can read all about her journey here.

Neil Grieg, IAM RoadSmart's Director of Policy and Research, has written a blog on his appearance on Radio 4's 'Positive Thinking' programme on the big question ‘Can we make road deaths a thing of the past?’.

Here's a quick review of the recent Adventure Bikes Riders Festival 2021 at Ragley Hall and a few routes for you to try out around Warwickshire.

After a serious road traffic accident and traumatic brain injury at age 29, why would you ever get back on a bike? It’s a question to ask Paul Batten who, despite a ‘pause’ of nearly ten years, not only got back on a bike but has recently passed his IAM RoadSmart Masters qualification.

Richard Meredith writes about his journey to achieving the perfect ride. "In those days our fleet of coaches were predominantly Fords, so the local parts supplier was Don Everalls in Wolverhampton, quite a trip from Kidderminster - I did say no to collecting rear suspension springs, but I do remember fetching a coach radiator once."

One member’s review of his experience on an IAM RoadSmart Skills Day. Running 13 Skills Day dates across the year, IAM RoadSmart use three race circuits including a mix of car and bike enthusiasts.

"My first run report held a surprise for me; the word “outstanding” was used. After my second run, my Observer suggested I should book my test, unless… (he paused dramatically) unless I fancied an attempt at achieving a F1RST, in which case a few more runs should do the trick. I realised in that moment how much I had changed, how hungry I was to be the best I could be, and how could I ignore the dangled carrot of a F1RST?" Read the latest blog by Karen Allen here.

Heidi Limbert discovered several passions and experiences have merged over the last few years. The main two being mental health and motorbikes. As a rider herself she discovered freedom and tranquillity on a bike, but now has learnt so much more.