Tips and Blogs

As part of a Ten-point plan to support its net zero goals to 2050, the UK government announced a plan to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 onwards. But is the UK’s charging infrastructure ready?

As an IAM RoadSmart poll revealed reduced levels of confidence among non-advanced riders and drivers, Richard Gladman, IAM RoadSmart’s Head of Driving and Riding Standards, shares the essential skills everyone needs for staying sharp and keeping safe.

Breaking down can be dangerous and incredibly inconvenient, particularly if you’re travelling for a family getaway this October half-term. But with 488 miles of England’s motorway network made up of smart motorways and their hard shoulder becoming another lane to ease traffic flow, it’s more important than ever to ensure you can prevent avoidable breakdowns.

To help clear up the confusion and compare the differences between BEV's, HEV's and PHEV's available on the market IAM RoadSmart’s Corporate Training Manager, Lloyd Jones, is on hand with his expert advice.

Now that summer is well and truly over and the clocks are reverting by one hour on 31st October, the colder and darker evenings are now drawing in. Statistically we see more incidents involving pedestrians and vulnerable road users from October to March than we do throughout the rest of the year, with most incidents happening between 3pm and 7pm. With this in mind we need to take special care to look out for pedestrians and other road users when it’s dark.

Telematics policies, sometimes called ‘black box’ insurance, traditionally rely upon small pieces of kit known as black boxes installed in a vehicle to record driving style. In this week’s blog, Richard Hardesty, National Observer for the IAM Roadsmart Lincolnshire Group, and his new driver son Oliver share their thoughts on telematics insurance for younger drivers.

What do you get when you take a bunch of Nepalese riders and a couple of IAM RoadSmart trainers? The only trained bikers in the country, that’s what! Read about Area Service Delivery Managers Scott Tulip and Pete Doherty's trip to Nepal to deliver off-road motorcycle training to The Gurkha Welfare Trust on behalf of IAM RoadSmart. This blog is extracted from an article in Motorcycle Sport & Leisure magazine, December 2020.

Living in Bedfordshire I was commuting daily to Welwyn Garden City, around 35 miles each way via the busy A1. However, the thought of facing this again after so long started to play on my mind and I was getting increasingly anxious. I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2013. My condition is well managed most of the time, but I still struggle when faced with something I can’t fully control.

James Hall, IAM RoadSmart’s Director of Sales and Marketing shares the story of his life-long love for cars and bikes. "My passion for cars and motorbikes started at a very young age and has been heavily influenced by my father who is ex-military and slightly obsessive about his cars. He’s the only person I know who would remove the wheels to clean the inside alloy as well as the outside!"

Kiera Woods shares her experience of taking the IAM RoadSmart Advanced driving course. "It had been over three years since I passed my driving test and I had only been driving short distances. I was keen to rebuild my confidence and skills when, at the start of 2020 the opportunity to join IAM Lincolnshire free of charge arose, thanks to the Police and Crime Commissioner initiative. I jumped at the chance."