Category: IAM RoadSmart

1. Bike stars Plater and Cooper to join enthusiasts in July for IAM riding festival‏

   Posted on 9:00am Thursday 28th May 2015

   A pair of stars from the world of motorbikes are set to join riding enthusiasts from all over the country for the IAM Motorcycling Festival (Institute of Advanced Motorists) taking place in early July.
   
   The event takes place at the National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull and features a full day of activities including many not available to museum visitors. The event is also open to non-members who can buy tickets in advance.
   
   The IAM Motorcycling Festival is a celebration of IAM volunteers from around the country who are the lifeblood of the organisation. Guests and friends are welcome to attend.
   
   The stars are Steve Plater, who will host the event, and John Cooper, with more names to be confirmed in the coming weeks. Steve is a four times winner in the British Superbike Championship and was the 2009 British Supersport champion, while John starred in the 1960’s and 70’s in the 500cc world championship and Isle of Man TT.
   
   The £10 admission includes museum admission and a free quiz, a food and drink voucher plus the opportunity to participate in all activities. Your ticket also gets you a free escorted museum tour and photo opportunities with some of the prize exhibits.
   
   There will also be five official ride-in points from around the country, so if you want to ride in good company this is a great opportunity to do so. Meeting points will be posted on the website soon.
   
   You can also show off your prowess at the wheel of your machine with a 'horseshoe' slow riding challenge. If you don’t feel up to that, you can simply show off your pride and joy itself for the IAM’s best bike competition.
   
   There will also be an exclusive pin badge available on the day only to ticket buyers, serving as a unique memento of the event.
   
   And if you are in the mood to spend some money, a partners’ marketplace will give you the opportunity to part with some pounds. The latest kit from BikeStop, RealRider and many other IAM partners will be on display. In addition IAM examiners and observers will be on hand to offer demo rides and answer all your questions.
   
   Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “We hope that as many people as possible will come along to our event and rediscover the joy of riding. Riding is not only an enjoyable activity, but a highly social one too. And the IAM Motorcycling Festival is going to be one of the high points of the organisation’s 2015 calendar. We urge everyone to be a part of it”.
   
   To book your ticket call 0300 303 1134 or visit www.iam.org.uk/homecoming

2. IAM warns drivers not aware of impending changes to scrapping of driving licence counterpart in June‏

   Posted on 10:46am Friday 22nd May 2015

   The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is warning people to be aware of the changes that will take effect in just over two weeks’ time as the paper counterpart for the driving licence is scrapped.

   As was the case with the abolition of the paper tax disc last October, the IAM fear many people are still confused or unaware of the implications of the scrapping of the paper counterpart on 8 June.

   The counterpart was introduced alongside the photo card driving licence in 1998 to include details that could not be included on the card itself, such as any endorsements and which category of vehicles you are entitled to drive.

   However this information will now be stored electronically and not be shown on any written documentation you will have. These details can be only be obtained via the DVLA driver record system, and be checked online (reference 1) or in writing by post.

   As of 8 June the paper counterpart, or an old-style paper driving licence cannot be relied upon to carry correct or-up-to-date information about endorsements or categories of vehicle someone can drive.

   The counterpart will carry no legal status, and the DVLA recommends you destroy it after 8 June.

   What is also changing is the procedure if you have to surrender your driving licence to a court in the event of an endorsement. The court will take your photocard and if you include the paper counterpart with your submission, the photocard will be returned to you but the counterpart will not.

   You will be expected to pay your fine in the normal way however.

   Another change is how to provide proof of your driving record to an employer or car hire firm, as your photocard or paper licence will not be enough in itself any more.

   You will need to access the DVLA’s Share Driving Licence service, which as of Tuesday (19 May) is now up and running (reference 1 again).

   You will be expected to access the details yourself and print those off for submission to a car hire firm or employer. Or you can call the DVLA and give a third party permission to check your driving record verbally.

   If you are hiring a vehicle, it is important to check with the car hire firm beforehand what information they need. Other than downloading the information as detailed above, you can also obtain a special code from www.gov.uk which allows the hire firm access to your record for 72 hours to make the necessary checks. This applies to both holders of photocard and paper licences.

   Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “People are not aware of how many of the current procedures are changing. Similar to the abolition of the tax disc, they assume much of what has happened before will continue.

   “The onus is very much on the individual to obtain the information they need beforehand. So we very much hope people will not be caught unawares, especially if they don’t want a nasty surprise when arriving to collect their car at the start of their holiday.”

   ENDS

   Reference 1

3. IAM calls for action plan for older drivers as numbers increasing by more than 10,000 a month‏

   Posted on 10:00am Friday 15th May 2015

   With the number of drivers age 70 or older now rising by more than 10,000 a month, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is calling for the government, medical professionals and assessment providers to come together to address the needs of this generation of motorists.

   The call comes in light of figures showing for the first time there are now more than 4.34 million licence holders over 70 on our roads; 320,000 more than three years ago - an increase of 11% from 3.9 million in 2012 (reference 1/2).

   The 323,631 increase in the past 31 months amounts to an average additional increase of 10,440 drivers age 70 and over on UK roads per month.

   Over 80’s broke the one million number last year and increased by over 100,000 since then; a rise of 10% to 1.17 million (reference 1/2).

   There are more than 11,000 more licence holders in their 90s compared to three years ago, an increase of 16%, while there are now 232 licence holders over 100, a rise of 70 on three years ago.

   Britain’s oldest licence holder in 2015 is 107, while in 2012 it was 106.

   What’s more projections have shown those numbers could almost double in around 20 years.

   Current government data shows that there were five million people in the UK aged 75 and over in 2012; this is projected to rise to 5.5 million in 2017; 6.6 million in 2022; 7.7 million in 2027; 8.5 million in 2032 and 9.5 million in 2037 (reference 3).

   Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “People are living longer and therefore there are many more drivers on the roads that are past retirement age. We want these drivers to enjoy their motoring for as long as possible, so we want some thought and resources to go into how we can allow this to happen.”

   IAM research shows that the most common factors in a road accident involving a person over 70 were: failing to judge the other person’s path or speed, poor turn-in or manoeuvre, losing control, illness or disability, dazzling sun; and nervousness, anxiety or panic (reference 4).

   It added those factors were typical of deteriorating physical and cognitive functioning (also reference 4).

   However figures show that older drivers are proven to be the safest on the roads. Previous analysis by the IAM found that older drivers are involved in a smaller number of injury accidents than drivers under the age of 60. In 2011, people over 70 made up nine per cent of drivers but six per cent of driver casualties, while drivers under 30 made up 20 per cent of drivers but 35 per cent of casualties (reference 5).

   The IAM is calling for the following:

   • A government action plan for older drivers • More car manufacturers considering older drivers in vehicle design • Better information for older drivers and their families • Online self-assessment tools for older drivers • Wider availability of voluntary on-road driving assessments • Better partnership working at a local level

   IAM’s table of drivers over 70 is broken down as follows:

   In 2012

   Numbers of driving licence holders in their: 70s/80s/90s/100s 2,842,452/988,424/71,097/162 (highest: age 106)

   In 2015

   Numbers of driving licence holders in their: 70s/80s/90s/100s 3,166,083/1,089,065/82,937/232 (highest: age 107)

   Increase between 2012 and 2015 (numerical) +323,631/+100,641/+11,840/+70

   Increase between 2012 and 2015 (percentage) +11.3%/+10%/+16.7%/+43.1%  

4. IAM warns of manufacturers turning cars into living rooms–and creating dangerous distracted drivers‏

   Posted on 12:07pm Thursday 30th Apr 2015

   The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has warned that car manufacturers are building high-tech distractions into their new vehicles and have made interiors so comfortable they are being turned into living rooms.

   The warning came from IAM chief executive officer Sarah Sillars, who said efforts to reduce distraction factors for motorists are being undone by the relentless pace of technology and eagerness of car makers to pack more gadgets onto dashboards.

   She said the main areas of concern were highly sophisticated satellite-navigation and GPS systems, smartphones that mirror tablets and easy connectivity of internet and social media.

   The IAM has suggested the UK should adopt guidelines suggested by the US Department of Transportation and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

   They say drivers should be restricted from using certain non-essential forms of technology while the vehicle is in motion, and car makers should not introduce any technological development which takes the driver’s attention off the road for longer than two seconds (reference 1).

   These voluntary guidelines are to be phased in over the next three years to address this large-scale problem in the USA.

   US Federal data figures showed in 2011 that accidents involving a distracted driver killed 3,331 people and injured another 387,000 (reference 2).

   And for younger drivers the problem is worse. Car accidents are the main cause of death of teenagers (as it is for all people aged between five and 34), and a quarter of all teen-driving crashes in the US are attributed to distracted driving (reference 3).

   Sarah said: “We cannot allow the same trends in the USA to happen here. While car makers work constantly to incorporate active and passive safety features into vehicles, making us safer than ever before, they are also guilty of making us too comfortable and making us feel more cosseted – like we were in our own living rooms.”

   The IAM says as technology constantly changes, continued education campaigns are required to reinforce and update the current laws (reference 4).

   Sarah concluded: “Technology could be a great way of helping to cut the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on our roads. It would be a tragedy if technology became a reason why more, rather than less, people lose their lives.”

5. IAM calls for greater education for users of SMART motorways as they reach their first birthday‏

   Posted on 9:00am Tuesday 14th Apr 2015

   As SMART motorways reach their first birthday in the UK on Tuesday (14 April), the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has expressed concern that widespread confusion still exists amongst motorway users on how best to use them.

   SMART motorways were officially introduced this time last year to replace Managed Motorways as the solution to the nation’s congested motorways but concerns have been raised over their safety.

   England’s first ‘all-lane running’ motorway, i.e. without a hard shoulder, opened on 14 April 2014. This was the 2.5 km stretch of the M25 between junctions 23 and 25.
   Complete schemes, with variable speed limits and all-lane running, are in operation on the M1 (Junctions 10-13), M4 (Junctions 19-20), M5 (Junctions 15-17), M6 (Junctions 4-10a), M42 (Junctions 3a-7) and M62 (Junctions 26-29/30) and with part -time hard shoulder running on the M42 since 2006.

   In addition all systems use lane control, overhead gantries and emergency refuge areas.

   Part of the concern raised by motorists was the safety of those who had broken down on a motorway with no hard shoulder, and the increase in distances between safety refuges.

   The IAM conducted a survey on the introduction of SMART motorways last year, which found 71 per cent of drivers said they would feel less safe on a motorway with no hard shoulder than a motorway with one.

   Some 40 per cent of respondents said they were sceptical that new monitoring systems on SMART motorways, such as traffic detectors and CCTV, would protect them in the event of stopping in a running lane.

   Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said “There are many different motorway users out there and some are still confused and nervous about using SMART motorways – if they are aware of them at all.

   She added: “Highways England must analyse incident data on a continuous basis and ensure that any lessons learned from the real world use of SMART motorways are implemented quickly. Ultimately, the smartest way to build awareness would be to allow learner drivers to use motorways under expert supervision.”

   Transport Focus, which represents road users on the strategic road network (consisting of most motorways and significant trunk A roads) said in their report Road User Needs and Experiences, issued last month: “While some drivers were aware of smart motorways, some were not. Even those who have driven on smart motorways were not always familiar with the term, nor did they understand clearly how they operated.”

   The IAM has produced a set of tips on using SMART motorways, and how to react on seeing different signals:

   - A red cross without flashing beacons: The hard shoulder is only for use in an emergency or breakdown.
   - A speed limit inside a red circle: It is absolutely mandatory and may have cameras enforcing it.
   - A blank signal: Usual motorway rules apply.
   - A white arrow with flashing beacons: This applies to all lanes and means you should move into the lane which the arrow points to.
   - A red cross with flashing beacons: You should not continue to use the lane.
   - A national speed limit sign is shown: The national speed limit, 70mph maximum, applies to all lanes apart from the hard shoulder.

   Pay attention to the overhead gantries as they provide information on traffic conditions and lane access for the road ahead. The signals are:

   - Controlled motorway – these have three or more lanes with variable speed limits. Hard shoulder use is strictly for emergency use only.
   - Hard shoulder running – the hard shoulder will be opened at busy times and the speed limit will be reduced. Don’t use the hard shoulder unless overhead signs show that you can do so.
   - All-lane running – there is no hard shoulder on these sections of the motorway. Obey the variable speed limits and do not stop on the motorway. In the event of an emergency, use an emergency refuge area, motorway service area or exit at the next junction.

   You can see the IAM’s policy document on SMART motorways here