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Mike Cooper DRIVERTUITION.COM
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HOME TRACK/PERFORMANCE COURSE STRUCTURE BIKE COURSE FEES LINKS CONTACT US |
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Advanced Driving Tuition |
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Concentration - Observation - Anticipation - Space - Time |
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Advanced driver training courses |
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First,
some feedback
from a couple of recent sessions. If you want a masterclass in that
art of driving then please contact us.
"Thank you for this.... and for your guidance. The session was really helpful. I drove to the midlands on Saturday afternoon and so was immediately able to put into use your helpful advice and tips. I feel that I drove more safely - I was more aware of the potential hazards and risks and, as a result, felt even more in control. I would be pleased to highly recommend your tuition." Hammad A. Oct 2011 "I really enjoyed the session & got so much out of it – I had assumed that driving to Roadcraft principles was as good as it gets – but I now understand that it’s just the beginning of real "advanced" driving and there a lot to unlearn and re-learn!!" AD "Many thanks Mike. Both Janet and myself enjoyed the day immensely, and it was incredibly useful"
Mike, Now it has begun to sink in! - you state on your website "What we enable is for you to become a far more competent driver, giving you a significantly greater understanding of what is really going on in your drive. Best modification you will ever buy!"I can honestly say that you do what it says on the tin - the trackday at Bedford really helped build on the day we spent out on the road - I can now brake and corner with so much more confidence and all because I can understand the way the different inputs; brake, steering wheel & gearchange fundamentally effect the balance of the car.And all of this for less than the cost of couple of 'sticky' cup tyres! Am already negotiating for another 'day pass' from my infinitely better half so that I can continue to learn.Kind Rgds J
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Find out when you may sometimes need to do the opposite to that advised in Roadcraft! Unlikely but true.....
We get some interesting cars on our advanced road driving sessions! Lamborghini Murcielago LP670SV What is advanced driving? Car control? Speed? Observation? Positioning? Applying dogmatic systems? An advanced drive is about more than just your skillful control of your own vehicle. It is about managing the environment around you at the same time; being able to predict what the next several seconds of driving are likely to throw at you: Evaluation of the space that you are taking the car into; managing and understanding the drivers in front, around and behind you. Then, perhaps, you can start to assess and thus minimise risk. The trick is to do all of this through matching your rate of progress with the collation and assimilation of information as it presents itself to you. That and a skilful use of all the controls to produce a very balanced and satisfying drive. It's not as difficult as it sounds. We just open your eyes to what is really going on. And it really works... Would you trust someone else with your life? You probably do! Every day when we drive "normally" we unwittingly place a degree of trust in those other drivers around us. They see us brake and they slow down; we trust their signals when entering a roundabout; we know they won't pull out in front of us on a fast road. We know their cars are well maintained and legal. We know they are concentrating on their driving. Perhaps not..... Next time you are driving take a look at the driver behind you. Do a character assassination of them. Where their eyes are; how they hold the wheel; their vehicle's road placing, what's that 'phone doing in their hands? After all, you could well be about to trust them when you brake, slow down, make a turn ............ Advanced Driving Lesson?
Don't think
of it as a lesson; more as a real opportunity to learn and at the same
time really enjoy yourself. We spend time with you whilst you learn to
look at the drive in a different way. Half a day, a whole day or as much
time as you want. We facilitate your driving development, helping you to
understand the driving scenarios as they p We get you to look at how you drive, where you place the car, what information you are taking in, how it feeds into your drive. Why bother taking further driver training or tuition when you can already drive? Because you will learn a significantly different way of looking at driving. And the DSA test and lessons you may have taken to pass the test only touch on the subtleties of driving that can make a massive difference to smoothness, safety, accuracy, stress reduction etc. If you wish to develop your drive to something more testing then we can provide the opportunity to drive some great cars, such as the Honda NSX - the actual car you see here. This would be on day two of one of our two day courses.
But,
advanced driving, isn't that just for old fogies that want a badge for
their car? An emphatic
no! Not with us it isn't. Advanced driving can mean different things to
different people, but, at the heart of all advanced driving is this
ability to assess and manage risk during a drive and through observation,
positioning of the vehicle and appropriate speed, maintain a flow to your
drive that minimises potential for the unwanted or unexpected, whilst
maximising "That makes things so much easier I can't believe I wasn't doing that before" - a client discussing a technique just demonstrated There are various driving assessment bodies that can validate your driving to an advanced level and award you with certification. Each has its value and benefits; and each has its idiosyncrasies. Each looks at your application of a prescribed procedure for driving and each has pet hates, such as brake-gear overlap - changing gear whilst still braking , for example. When we teach you advanced driving skills we are not tied to a single syllabus. We are pragmatic rather than dogmatic, taking the best bits of each course and feeding them all into a carefully balanced driving style. We'll even show you where roadcraft is potentially dangerously wrong! We also match your needs and requirements to the course. Our primary aim is to make you a better driver so that you achieve two things. Safer driving and greater driving enjoyment. "That's a really useful tip - I like that" - a lady commenting on a handy hint we introduced on driving her new car One of our primary aims is that your drive does not demand too much from the car. If, during a drive on the public road, you require a significant amount of the grip that the tyres can generate then you have asked too much of the car, due perhaps to a lack of judgment or assessment of a driving scenario. This is one of the major causes of accidents. Another aim is to reduce your stress levels. There are some simple driving techniques that we can show you, especially on motorways and fast A road, that can make a significant impact on your driving quality. e.g. As you pass a motorway exit check the lane to your right. Think about taking lane 2, check for space in lane 3. You want space there for when a car entering the motorway on the approaching on-ramp decides to do maniac pull-out into lane 1. Gives you a comfort zone... With your instructor being highly qualified in a wide range of driving and technical disciplines we can also introduce to you the finer points of vehicle dynamics. We get you to understand and feel the balance of the car in your road driving, so that you don't unknowingly ask too much of the car. This aspect is rarely if ever taught on advanced driving courses: And it plays its part equally as well crossing speed humps at 20 mph as on a German Autobahn at 160mph. We'll teach you why braking for a speed hump can be bad and, similarly, why fixed input steering may not always be the wrong thing to do. We also show you prescribed pull-push and other techniques, but don't ram any fixed ideas down your throat! "I've never looked into a corner in that way before. It's amazing how it guides you when to come off the brakes" - Chris H
IAM The IAM (institute of Advanced Motorists) follows a prescribed system that aims to keep the car safe at all times. It closely follows guidelines laid down in Roadcraft - the official Police driving handbook - and indeed is assessed by Class 1 Police certified driver/instructors.
RoSPA RoSPA follow very similar lines and, again, the system of driving closely follows Roadcraft procedures. The RoSPA test is assessed every three years and awards a grading of bronze, silver or gold. RoSPA Website As holders of the RoSPA Advanced Instruction Diploma and of course certificated to Gold level, we can provide training for both the IAM and RoSPA test and also for other Advanced courses, such as Diamond. I DON'T WANT to sit a TEST We certify our own advanced/defensive driving courses. If you just want to attain a higher standard of driving without the stress of being assessed then why not take one of our advanced sessions, without the pressure of an end-of-training test. Whatever your requirements we can advise and instruct to your needs. |
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Some of our session feedback Hi Mike.Thanks for a great day out. Really enjoyed it. It's great to get open feedback about my driving from some who knows what they are talking about. Some really interesting feedback, and one thing that i'll certainly be looking for is the balance of throttle and brake in relation to steering inputs, really useful advice. Also being aware of what is behind you to enable you to have more options on how to react to events ahead of you. In regards to the actual day, I had a really good time. You create a good informal relaxed atmosphere, and was great to chat to like minded people about cars and driving. One thing that I thought would have been good was to see you drive more. Appreciate you were trying to maximise our time behind the wheel, but the highlight of the day was actually watching you drive. Much of my learning style is done by copying others... Heel and toeing is one skill I'd like to learn, and was good watching you do it smoothly......... Cheers, D C 29 Aug 2011 "Hi Mike, Just a quick email to thank you for yesterday's session - so much to learn but still great fun. AD Fabulous email – I definitely sense there’s a book in you! I really enjoyed the session & got so much out of it – I had assumed that driving to Roadcraft principles was as good as it gets – but I now understand that it’s just the beginning of real "advanced" driving and there a lot to unlearn and re-learn!! I understood about the pitch and roll of a car and how they affected things but never realised about the yaw effect and how it could be utilised/controlled to my advantage.... One question – You did mention about double declutching – I think you also did it on the demo drive – but so smoothly & quickly I didn’t spot!! – When do you use it?......Once I’ve tried to master the heel & toe (and everything else!) I’ll be in touch for another session." AD Mike, Thanks for the feedback, and indeed a great day. I learned a huge amount, and would like to work on it more....there was a lot to take in on such a short timescale. I really would like to do a track session, I’ll let you know.... Looking forward to seeing you again, Cheers David Hi Mike, Cheers for today, that was quite a powerful insight into my road driving, never mind track technique! Thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt more in a couple of hours than I ever thought was possible. Thanks for bearing with my driving.......It's a bloody good job I came across your website!. See you next week. Regards Joe It was very enlightening session, and my driving experience has definitely changed since yesterday...Thanks very much for your time. Cheers Sam Many thanks Mike. I thought the day was excellent and have been raving about it to my friends! I’m definitely thinking more about risks around me. Maybe it’s time I ventured back onto a track! Kind Regards, Richard |
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Written assessments and competency validation for driving can be provided for corporate and businesses - please contact us for prices |
| If you are interested in signing up for a shared advanced training day please contact us. We run these as instructor plus three students - just like police training advanced training sessions. These are available from £125 per person and are proving very popular introductory sessions. |
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Contact us without obligation to discuss options more fully. +44(0)7947 198 957 +44(0)1925 211 944 |
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Thanks for visiting the Advanced Section of drivertuition.com. If you have any questions please send them in to the site or ring. Remember, we are often running courses so PLEASE either leave a message or drop us a text message. We WILL get back to you. |
