Skipton and Craven Advanced Motorists

You can become an Advanced driver for £139!

How does it all work?

You will join the Group by buying a "Skill For Life" Advanced Driving course.
A motorcycling programme is also available, but the Skipton and Craven Group does not offer motorcycling training.

Your course will include the following:-

A copy of IAM's "Pass Your Advanced Driving Test".
Associate membership of the Skipton and Craven IAM Group.
A place on one of our three annual courses to prepare for the IAM Test.
The IAM Test.
Your First Years Membership of the IAM after passing the Advanced Test.

As an "Associate", you will begin your Driving Course with a compulsory introductory session when you will be allocated to your Observer. This person is a full member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists who has successfully undertaken a further course to become a Qualified Observer. His or her role is to help you to identify aspects of the way you drive which would benefit from a little further attention. He or she is not a driving instructor but is there to help you to adapt your driving.

You and your Observer will arrange mutually convenient times to undertake a series of Observed Drives in your own car. It is expected that you'll do about twelve of these, normally once a week. As you progress, your driving will be further assessed, first by a Senior Observer and then the Skipton Group Chief Observer before you are invited to apply for a test.

What does the test involve?

Any motorist of reasonable experience and skill should be able to pass the Advanced Driving Test.

You will be directed in your own car around a test route of about 35-40 miles which will incorporate road conditions of all kinds, including congested urban areas, main roads, motorways where possible, narrow country lanes and residential streets. Your examiner will be a serving or retired police driver who hold Advance Police Certificates and the test will last for 90 minutes.

Pass or fail, you will learn a great deal from both the test itself and the detailed "debrief" when it is all over.

Read a bit more here

What does it all cost?

A driving lesson might cost £18 an hour. The IAM is not offering "driving lessons" - but the whole "Skill for Life" package (which includes a comprehensive manual, a year's membership, around 12 hours of observation as well as the test itself) costs just £139.00. That feels like pretty good value!

How do I join?

It's simple! You can book your course directly with the Institute here. Get out your credit card and book a Car Course at Skipton and Craven.

You can't book a motorcycle course through us. You will need to find a group that offers motorcycle training for this. The most local is probably Harrogate or West Yorkshire. You can see all our neighbouring groups on the IAM National website.

If you want to talk with someone about all of this, you should initially email the Secretary. Other contact details are on our contacts page, but it helps our volunteers to manage their time if you can make initial contact by email.