Category: IAM RoadSmart

1. World champions don’t drink-drive – be a champion of the road, say Nigel Mansell and IAM RoadSmart

   Posted on 12:00pm Wednesday 5th Dec 2018

   The world’s top drivers would never mix alcohol with driving – so nobody else should. This is the message from former Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell CBE this festive period.

   He is backing the IAM RoadSmart ‘Drive Like a Champion’ anti drink-drive campaign this month (December).

   President of IAM RoadSmart for over a decade, Nigel believes everyone can be a winner on the road – simply by thinking ahead, anticipating the road … and most importantly in the run up to the festive season, not touching a drop of alcohol when getting behind the wheel.

   He said: “Quite simply drink and drug driving is for losers. On the track you need to be in the best possible form at all times. This equally applies to anyone driving on the road. You have your own life, those of your passengers and everyone around you in the palm of your hands.

   “Drink driving increases your risk of being a potential killer behind the wheel. The responsibility of driving a road vehicle safely is just as great as when driving a Formula 1 car – if not more so.”

   Nigel’s advice comes as statistics in IAM RoadSmart’s 2018 Safety Culture Survey (reference 1) show there is still some shocking thinking about getting behind the wheel after drinking or taking drugs among UK motorists.

   Each year since 2015 IAM RoadSmart, the UK’s biggest independent road safety charity, has surveyed over 2,000 drivers about their worries, fears and attitudes.

   This year’s findings included:

   •        7% of drivers say it’s acceptable to drive when they thought they might have had too much to drink – a figure that rises to 13% of 17-34 year olds

   •        7% say it’s acceptable to have driven after using drink and marijuana (12% of 17-34 year olds)

   However the majority support a tough line on punishment and rules around drink-driving. The survey found:

   •        88% support alcohol interlocks to stop those who have been convicted of drink driving starting the car if they are drunk

   •        88% support fitting all new cars with such technologies

   •        79% support lowering the limit in England and Wales to that in Scotland

   •        Drink and drug driving is the top priority for police enforcement according to the survey

   Nigel added: “Be a champion of the road like me this Christmas and New Year. Do the right thing for your family, friends and other road users. Drive safe, drive sober and go #NoneForTheRoad.”

2. Unlock the secrets of great driving or riding at UK racing circuits with IAM RoadSmart’s Skills Days

   Posted on 12:00pm Wednesday 28th Nov 2018

   The 2019 schedule for IAM RoadSmart’s ever-popular Skills Days has been announced; the perfect way to sharpen up driving or riding skills in your own car or motorbike at top racing circuits around the UK.

   The Skills Days, run by the UK’s biggest independent road safety charity, take place from April to September at Croft, Mallory Park and Thruxton circuits – all tracks steeped in motorsport history.

   Skills Days are open to anyone with a full car or motorcycle licence, and any road-legal car or motorbike. You do not have to be an IAM RoadSmart member to take part.

   They involve working either one-to-one in a car, or in a very small group on motorcycles with a dedicated instructor. During a day that aims to be fun as well as safe, drivers and riders taking part can expect to learn new techniques and gain greater understanding about the capability of their car or motorcycle.

   Expect to learn about your own capabilities and that of your machine; entry, apex and exit points, how they vary from road to circuit; where to brake, when and how much to brake, how it feels in an emergency; controlled, progressive, smooth cornering; and how to use the accelerator or throttle to add stability to the car or motorcycle when cornering.

   Here is the full schedule of motorcycle days:

   Tuesday 9 April – Thruxton

   Wednesday 15 May – Mallory Park

   Tuesday 28 May – Thruxton

   Tuesday 18 June – Thruxton

   Tuesday 25 June – Croft

   Tuesday 9 July – Thruxton

   Tuesday 16 July – Mallory Park (ladies’ day)

   Tuesday 27 August – Thruxton

   Wednesday 11 September – Mallory Park

   Tuesday 17 September – Thruxton

   Here are the car days:

   Monday 8 April – Thruxton

   Wednesday 12 June – Mallory Park

   Monday 16 September - Thruxton

   Queen of Bikers and IAM RoadSmart ambassador, Maria Costello, will be leading the ladies’ motorcycle Skills Day at Mallory Park on 16 July.

   Maria has made more than 40 starts at the daunting Isle of Man TT and returned there this summer. She became the first woman ever to claim a podium at the 2016 Classic TT alongside 23 times TT winner John McGuinness.

   For five years Maria held the Guinness World Record as the fastest woman to lap the Isle of Man TT course, when she lapped the Snaefell mountain course at an average speed of 114.73 mph in 2004.

   Mike Quinton, IAM RoadSmart Chief Executive Officer, said: “Skills Days are all about advancing the ability of drivers, riders and their machines, guided by experts in a safe controlled environment.

   “We will help you unlock the secrets of getting the best from your car or bike, how to handle your machine to the best of its capabilities, without risking yourself or people around you. Safe driving can also be fun driving and our Skills Days are the key to that.

   “Launched at the Motorcycle Live event at the NEC this week, Skills Days are flying out so book soon.”

   Motorcycle days are £149 per rider (full day). Car days are £135 a driver (half day).

   For more information visit our dedicated web page on Skills day here: https://www.iamroadsmart.com/skillsday or call our booking hotline on 0300 303 1134.

3. Budget pothole fund not nearly enough for disillusioned drivers, say IAM RoadSmart

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 30th Oct 2018

   Leading road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has said while the £420 million in new investment in tackling Britain’s pothole crisis is welcome, it doesn’t go nearly far enough and is merely a drop in the ocean to deal with a long-term and major issue.

   Yesterday’s budget saw Chancellor Philip Hammond announce the cash injection for our beleaguered roads, alongside a £28.8 billion fund to upgrade England's motorways.

   Mr Hammond announced £25.5 billion for Highways England for major road upgrades between 2020 and 2025 and an extra £3.5 billion of funding allocated to major local routes, under the jurisdiction of local councils. The £420 million for potholes is on top of an existing fund of almost £300 million.

   However just three months ago IAM RoadSmart conducted a survey of over 7,000 of its members, finding how disillusioned they had become with Britain’s rotten roads.

   Some 47% - over 3,400 respondents – said they had experienced damage to their car, commercial vehicle, motorbike or bicycle or personal injury as a result of hitting a pothole.

   Around 90% had spotted a deterioration of some level in the roads they use with just over 50% rating the state of their roads as ‘much worse’ in the past three years and 38% rating them ‘worse.’

   Some 81% - close to 6,000 people – said they have noticed ‘many more’ potholes in the past three years, adding in the 13% who have seen ‘a few more,’ that gives a total of 94% who report more potholes.

   Over 56% said they have to take avoiding action on every journey to dodge potholes, while 27% said they have to steer around a pothole every day.

   Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and research, said: “IAM RoadSmart welcomes the commitments to building more modern safe highways. What we really need to see however is the same long-term funding approach applied to potholes.

   “Extra money is always welcome but when it arrives unpredictably for one year at a time it does little to help the long term planning needed to really attack the pothole problems drivers and riders see and feel every day.”

4. To save lives don’t put the clocks back this year, says IAM RoadSmart

   Posted on 12:00pm Thursday 25th Oct 2018

   With the clocks going back this Sunday (28 October) IAM RoadSmart has again called to scrap the practice this year, and switch to a daylight saving system to cut the number of young children injured in road crashes on their way home from school over the winter months.

   Statistics from the Department for Transport show that of the 15,976 children hurt on Britain’s roads in 2016, nearly a quarter (22%) were hurt during the hours of 3-5pm (reference 1).

   The likelihood of a child being involved in a crash on the way home from school increases by 20% over the winter months.

   It is well known that casualty rates rise between 3pm and 7pm as the days shorten. IAM RoadSmart warns that the dark afternoons are an especially dangerous time for youngsters coming home, with less supervision and individuals heading off to different activities at different times in this key period.

   According to official statistics, in 2016 pedestrian deaths rose from 20 in September to 35 in October, 50 in November and 67 in December (also reference 1).

   In 2009, the Department for Transport’s consultation paper ‘A Safer Way: Making Britain’s Roads the Safest in the World’ stated that moving to lighter evenings would prevent about 80 deaths on the road a year (reference 2).

   IAM RoadSmart is especially concerned for youngsters aged 10-14, who have graduated to secondary school and are often making their way home solo for the first time. For this age group, road crashes make up over 50% of all external causes of death (reference 3).

   IAM RoadSmart is suggesting that to allow extra daylight in the afternoons we should not put the clocks back this winter, then next March move one hour ahead – and then go back one hour in October 2019 (so called ‘double British summer time’ which also aligns us with most of Europe).

   Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and research, said: “Every year there are unnecessary young victims through the winter as children go home in the darkness from school or out-of-hours activities. This is not difficult to achieve.

   “We are playing with the lives of children for no good reason. Young pedestrians under 15 are already a huge ‘at risk’ group for road safety, and that risk becomes even greater as the nights draw in.

   “It would be easy to implement, and without question save lives – so there are no good road safety reasons why this isn’t happening. The UK should at least trial the idea to prove the benefits once and for all.”

5. What’s a roundabout? IAM RoadSmart reveals shocking lack of road knowledge by UK drivers

   Posted on 12:00pm Monday 15th Oct 2018

   A survey conducted by the UK’s largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, found that many drivers have a real lack of awareness of the rules of the road, putting themselves and others in danger.
   
   More than 50% admitted their road knowledge was so poor, they didn’t recognise the roundabout sign.
   
   More than two-thirds of drivers admitted they had no understanding of the two second rule.
   
   Over 1,000 motorists participated in the survey for IAM RoadSmart to test their knowledge of the Highway Code.
   
   Some 68% of drivers were unaware of the two-second following distance in dry weather, with 53% confusing this for two car lengths. This results in a gap of less than a third of a second when travelling at 60mph, for an average-sized family car.
   
   Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and research, said: “This is truly shocking. The outcome of the survey brings to light some frightening statistics which demonstrates the need to constantly re-fresh on-road knowledge.”
   
   The survey also found that only 43% correctly recognised the Highway Code ‘dual carriageway ends’ sign, with respondents aged between 17 and 39 being the largest group to answer this incorrectly.
   
   When asked what to do when arriving to a scene of a serious crash, almost half (48%) were unaware that the first thing you need to do is to warn others of the danger by turning on hazard lights.
   
   Of those who participated, over half were not able to identify that a circle shaped sign demonstrates traffic signs that give orders – a crucial piece of information when on the road. Drivers aged 70 onwards statistically scored below average on this question.
   Worryingly, two-thirds of those surveyed admitted they were unable to recognise the colour of the reflective studs between a motorway and its slip road, with only one in five (20%) of those aged 17 to 39 answering correctly that they are green.

   Neil said: “With many young drivers showing high levels of traffic sign ignorance these results reinforce IAM RoadSmart’s view that road safety education should be taught as part of the National Curriculum in schools to prepare teenagers for their future driving career.
   “Many drivers don’t look at the Highway Code regularly after they’ve passed their test, but no-one’s memory is perfect and it’s crucial to read and understand the most recent version of the Highway Code for the safety of all road users.”