|
Driving
Standards Higher
“When
is advanced driving not advanced driving? When it is
based on guesswork and does little to save lives,” says Eddie
Wren, Director of Policy at Advanced Drivers of America, Inc.,
(ADA).
Over
the years in America, the phrase ‘advanced driving’ has
generally been abused to describe any driver-training course a
person can take after passing their driving test, and the
content of such courses is often inappropriately based on
racetrack techniques and has no relevance to safe driving on
public roads.
But
now, a full range of true advanced driving courses and awards is
being introduced to the USA and Canada, by ADA, to match the
standards elsewhere. These
courses are based exclusively on ‘the system of car
control,’ as taught for the highest qualifications available
in public-road driving in the world.
Gordon
Booth, President of ADA and a former naval pilot, said:
“Our
mission is to change the public’s attitude to drivers’
licensing and their behavior on the road.
“We
look to government bodies and various associations to support
this mission, from the base Drivers Education to the creation of
a much more robust and tangible driving test.
“A
driver’s license is not a ‘rite of passage’ it is a
privilege, and if there is to be any meaningful reduction in
road fatalities it must come from the desire to be better, safer
drivers with significantly improved skill sets and a clear
understanding of what advanced driving means to ourselves and
other road users.”
Wren,
a former UK traffic police officer with around four hundred
hours of advanced driver training, himself, and many years of
patrol experience, said:
“Even
in countries where proper advanced driving courses are
available, there is a serious lack of understanding among some
people as to what the courses entail.
“Only
a relatively small part of advanced driver training is related
to actual vehicle handling skills. These are relatively basic
and even a moderately clever chimpanzee could probably
‘drive’ a car to some extent. But the skills underlying
advanced driving are vastly more comprehensive and are based on
perception, planning, precision and pride – plus, of course,
maintaining the maximum level of safety throughout.
“No
matter how good each of us thinks we are, as drivers, true
advanced driving is simply not something that one can teach
oneself or learn from a friend.
“And
the best of it is that not only does advanced driving do a huge
amount to protect one from the bad drivers and other hazards on
the roads, but it is extremely enjoyable and is inevitably a
source of great pride.”
Booth
and Wren collectively have a remarkable background for teaching
the highest levels of advanced driving and each has been
involved in various aspects of driver safety for many years.
From
ADA bases in Western New York and California, courses are now
being planned for towns and cities around the USA and Canada.
These range from ‘Graduate Driver’ to enhance the safety of
new drivers, through ‘Bronze Driver’ for experienced drivers
who want training in the skill commonly known as defensive
driving, through ‘Silver Advanced,’ up to the equal-highest
road driving qualification in the world: ‘Gold Advanced.’
ADA
also provides courses for those people who have passed their
test but are still apprehensive about driving in general, or
about specific driving tasks such as merging onto a highway or
gauging a truly safe following distance.
“Until
one gets properly involved in true advanced driving,” said
Wren, “there is simply no way to understand how involved or
demanding it is, or how much fun, pride and lifelong safety one
can get from it.”
#
# #
NOTES
FOR EDITORS:
Advanced
Drivers of America has bases in Western New York and California,
and its website is at www.driveandstayalive.com/z-ada/ada-home.htm
The
most comprehensive advanced driving courses in the world have
always been provided by RoSPA-ADA
(the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’
Advanced Drivers Association, in Britain).
Advanced Drivers of America, Inc., will deliberately
match RoSPA-ADA’s standards for Silver Advanced and Gold
Advanced training and awards.
Figures
for the USA’s comparatively poor performance in reducing its
excessive toll of road deaths may be viewed at:
www.driveandstayalive.com/info%20section/statistics/multi-country_death-rates_1988-2001.htm
CONTACT:
click here
Copyright
© 2005: Advanced
Drivers of America,
Inc.
|