This week Our Managing Director John Kenny was invited to the annual celebration evening at the Wirral Advanced Motorists club to receive his certificate for passing his IAM Roadsmart Advanced Driving examination. The presentation was made by the Chief regional examiner Jeff Mather. John passed with flying colours in November 2016 and told us about undertaking the course. “Associate members are assigned an observer and go for drives on a regular basis. The essence of the course is for drivers to be able to drive safely, systematically and make progress. I was pleasantly surprised and happy to be assigned an old friend and neighbour Trevor Thomas as my observer and after approx 10 observed drives I was  put in for my pre-test with a senior observer. After being successful , a date was arranged for the full test. The tests take place in an area that is unknown to the driver so there is no complancency about the route. Advance drivers should be able to drive to the required standard anywhere.

On the day of my test, I met my examiner at the The Hornsmill in Helsby.

After a full briefing from my examiner Jeff, a Police advanced driver, I set off for a rigorous two hour drive covering all points and skills in driving, law, speed, risk, manouvering, motorway driving, hazards etc. And, oh boy did we meet some hazards!

John explained why he joined the scheme” I decided to undertake this course as I had had no formal qualification in driving since passing my test in 1975. Things had changed a lot in that time! I have always encouraged and motivated others to get their “L” plates on and start driving and get their test passed as I believed it offers a freedom and opportunity second to none. In the last couple of years a few people really close to me were learning to drive and I wanted to be sure that any advice I gave was current and relevant.

Whilst what I did was not easy in any way, and the experience was both intense and challenging, I can honestly say I loved every single minute and would do it all over  again in a heartbeat”