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, the maximum level of safety.

“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.”

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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.

Comparative figures for the USA’s 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 DETAILS AND INTERVIEWS:

Eddie Wren (VP and Director of Policy)

ada@driveandstayalive.com

Advanced Drivers of America, Inc., 4270 Oakwood Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221.

(716) 632-5502 [9am-9pm EST]