The time has finally come for the pigs in blankets, stuffing and the inevitable turkey. During this festive season many of us will be making our way home to celebrate the joyous season with family. This week’s tips give advice for those travelling for Christmas during this busy season, from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman.

Many people would like to become a Formula 1 driver, but as we well know very few achieve that dream. Some might say that their racing ambitions were thwarted by a lack of finance – but more likely, they weren’t actually that good! The reason why I am talking about Formula 1 is that being a success isn’t all about speed. With our President being 1992 Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell, I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with him while he took part in a major written feature with Auto Express magazine.

In the last few weeks, two events have sparked my interest more than usual. The first was the Chancellors Autumn statement and the second was the annual launch of the EuroRAP risk rating for UK roads.

During this festive season most of us will be running around shopping and meeting with friends and family to celebrate their hard earned break. Even though we hope most drivers will have managed to get their full eight hours sleep, this isn’t always the case and we need to be aware we could be sharing the road with many a stressed and exhausted scrooge. This week’s tips give advice on how to deal with fatigue whilst travelling during this busy season, from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman.

Is this familiar? Have you heard this before? ‘I’ll have two pints and I’ll be ok to drive’. No doubt many of you have, as it seems a common misconception that two drinks is the acceptable amount you can drink and still drive whilst being under the legal limit. It suggests there is an awareness of the effects of alcohol and how it impacts on your ability to drive or stay within the legal limit; however the understanding of the consequences and how alcohol affects each and every individual has been lost in this approach.