Category: IAM RoadSmart

1. Male drivers fail to see the point

   Posted on 1:24pm Wednesday 24th Apr 2013

   Over 8000 UK drivers are still driving despite having 12 or more points on their licence.  The top fourteen licence point holders with 25 points or more are all men.  

   The official upper limit for license points according to DVLA is 12, or six for those who have held a licence for three years or less. However, a freedom of information request to the DVLA showed many male drivers with 25-36 points were still driving.   A male driver from Warrington has the highest number of points, 36.  

   Currently, there are 20,439,578 male and 16,804,524 female licence holders in the UK, but it’s men who fall foul of the law more often:  

   • Of the top thirty-four licence point holders, only two are women. • Of the top 99 licence point holders, just fourteen are women. • 2256 men are still driving with more than 12 points on their licence. • 351 women are still driving with more than 12 points their licence.  

   IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “Law abiding drivers will be shocked that so many drivers are on the road who have more than 12 points.  The ‘totting up’ principle is supposed to give a simple four strikes and you are out message. Anything more than this should be a disqualification, unless there are the most exceptional circumstances.   There must be tighter practice in courts and at the DVLA to take these motorists off the road or ensure they take a driver retraining course to help them break their points habit.”  

   Steph Savill, managing director of FOXY Lady Drivers Club said: “For most motorists, collecting points is expensive, embarrassing and potentially highly stressful. But they make us more vigilant drivers. The relative few who collect 12 points in a fairly short period of time must be either ignorant or contemptuous of the rules of the road. They are getting away with it because the courts seem unwilling to play the disqualification cards they hold. There may even be a case for making serial point scorers re-sit the theory and practical driving test before their licence is reinstated.”

   Information obtained as a result of a Freedom of Information Request:

2. IAM’s head of riding standards and advanced biker, Peter Rodger, is advising on getting back on the road after the winter

   Posted on 12:01am Friday 29th Mar 2013

   IAM’s head of riding standards and advanced biker, Peter Rodger, is advising on getting back on the road after the winter.  

   • Check your bike’s fluid levels, brakes, lights, horn and coolant to make sure they’re all in good working order.
   • Try starting your bike to check if the battery needs recharging.
   • Check that the tyres have sufficient tread, no obvious damage, and are inflated to the right pressure. If you have taken any part of the bike apart over the winter check it is properly back together and that the nuts are all tightened appropriately.
   • When you’ve given it the once over, switch on the engine and let your bike warm up before you go out on a ride.
   • If you’re feeling particularly rusty, get on your motorcycle in a car park before taking it out on the road.  The first ride should be about settling in gently – you need to get used to riding again.
   • Gain confidence by having a few short, simple rides. Consider it a warm up for you and the bike; you've had time away, and both need to warm up again.
   • Make sure your leathers and helmet are in good nick– don’t be tempted to take that first ride in street gear because you’re not planning on being out for long.   
   
   Rodger said: “It’s that time of the year when many riders are taking their bikes out from winter storage. Check the bike before you begin this season’s rides, and make sure the rider is up to it as well.”

3. Motorists want government to reinvest in roads

   Posted on 8:25am Tuesday 26th Mar 2013

   Ninety-one per cent of motorists do not trust the government to reinvest money made from tolls on new roads, according to a survey by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).  

   Sixty per cent of motorists do not support toll roads, and seventy-nine per cent of motorists would not support the introduction of tolls on existing roads. 

   Forty per cent of motorists would back more expensive tax discs instead of charging tolls on roads. Forty-one per cent wouldn’t support toll roads even if other types of tax were reduced. 

   Motorists were divided on using toll roads. Forty-seven per cent of motorists said they don’t plan their journey to deliberately avoid using toll roads, while forty-four per cent of motorists do. 

   Motorists feel strongly about toll roads in their local area. Fifty-six per cent of respondents said that they would use rural or local roads to avoid the toll charges, if a toll was enforced on their local motorway. 

   IAM chief executive Simon Best said:  “The cost of motoring is currently at an all-time high, and it’s clear that the idea of bringing in toll roads has no support among everyday motorists. A toll on motorways, our safest roads, may force motorists on to more dangerous rural roads, to save money. The government has a very hard job ahead to convince drivers that tolls are the only way to deliver new roads and improve existing ones.  Only by reducing other motoring taxes can this policy gain the support of the motorist.”

    

4. IAM response to DfT announcement on young drivers

   Posted on 8:42am Monday 25th Mar 2013

   IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig said: “The publication of a new Green Paper for young drivers is a once in a generation opportunity to help new drivers survive the crucial first six months of driving.  The IAM want to see a system that embeds continuous learning for all new drivers so that once basic skills are learned under supervision they can gain the solo driving experience they need as safely as possible." 

   “It makes no sense that the current system abandons new drivers after the test to learn by their often fatal mistakes, but any new approach must be based on saving lives and not reducing insurance premiums warns the IAM. The IAM support post test help for new drivers but we are worried that curfews and restrictions will merely restrict their ability to gain the real world knowledge that will save their lives.  For example, young drivers are most likely to die on rural  roads but these are often missing from test routes.  We have no objection to learners on motorways as they are our safest roads and a minimum learning period may also be useful providing the time can be put to good use.  We look forward with great interest to seeing exactly what the government has planned.”

    

5. IAM response to Think!'s new motorcycle safety campaign

   Posted on 12:01am Monday 11th Mar 2013

   Car drivers are being urged to see the person behind the helmet and take longer to look for motorcyclists in the latest THINK! motorcycle safety campaign, launched today by Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond.

   The £1.3m campaign, timed to coincide with the anticipated Spring increase in motorcyclists’ return to the roads, encourages drivers to take longer to look for motorcyclists and think about the biker, not just the bike.

   Stephen Hammond said:

   “Motorcyclists account for just 1% of traffic but 19% of deaths on Britain’s roads and 30 bikers are killed or injured in accidents at junctions every day. I am determined to reduce this terrible toll. That is why we are funding this THINK! campaign to remind drivers to look out for motorcyclists - particularly at junctions - and to see the person behind the helmet not just a motorbike."

    The campaign was informed by accident statistics, which show that motorists pulling out in front of motorcyclists is a major cause of deaths and injuries; and wider research showing that drivers are more likely to notice motorcyclists on the roads if they know a biker themselves.

   Visit the THINK! website

   In 2011, 5,609 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured with 74% of these occurring in accidents involving another vehicle. 69% of these casualties happened at junctions. The number of accidents increases significantly during March and April as improved weather encourages more motorcyclists onto the road.

   The THINK! campaign targeting motorists will run from March to May with messages delivered through radio advertising and in petrol stations when the call to action is more closely linked to the behaviour THINK! is seeking to change. Wider awareness will be generated through TV video on demand advertising, targeting younger drivers in particular.