Posted By Richard Davis Moving on from the Clarkson threads which have been closed..... and onto general advanced driving techniques. Has anyone any figures relating to lower accident levels due to staff training? I attended a half day assessment whilst at a property company a number of years back, which was enjoyable, informative and pointed out other places to look for likely hazards. There must be "before and after" defensive driving figures from a company somewhere? I'm planning on taking the Institute of Advanced Motoring test this summer, anyone have experience of this? p.s. Philby... it's a Ferrari Dino 308 GT4, I carry an extinguisher and RAC card!!!

Posted By michael hobson With reference to fire extinguishers in cars does anyone know if there is a legal requirement to provide them in company cars?

Posted By Stupendous Man Richard, Would recommend the IAM test, and as others have said, make the most of the observed drives - the observers give their time free of charge and are really dedicated. I was already a careful driver, but the difference that advanced driving made to my journeys was amazing - I now always feel in control of a situation and am able to react not only to my own car, but the cars of others too. Just one word of caution - my local IAM group told me that everyone goes through a bad patch during the course. It's true!! You learn lots of new skills and techniques and there just seems to come a time where you have a bad week and can't seem to keep everything held together. Persevere though, you'll drive through it! I am sure that the IAM (particularly the fleet section)or RoSPA Advanced Drivers Association will be able to provide some statistics. Like the sound of your Ferrari, I'm in the market for a sporty soft top at the moment to replace my beloved Westfield that I had to sell a few weeks back - don't like all this sunshine with a roof on!

Posted By Richard Davis PS. Richard, 308 GT4? my favorite Ferrari, partly as the purists dont regard it as such due to it being designed by Bertone and carrying a Dino badge...nearly bought a Fiat Dino Spyder as, at the time, it was dirt cheap, problem was they wanted £2500 for the insurance, 2/3rds the cost of the car! The equivelant 248 Dino at the time was £7995...I could kick myself sometimes! Philby... that's the one! Love the wedge shape! £189 a year to insure as well. Thanks Stupendous, roofs are tiresome in this weather. Good luck with search. Why not Mondial Convertable??? I'll have another route around for some "before & after" figures. I can't believe there is not some body or department somewhere who don't have a human life and financial savings breakdown???.... and if they do, it's not being utilised unless the figures are inconclusive.

Posted By Philby' JK, thanks for that, started to read it and initially thought that it concerned insurance costs for all work related H&S training, and other scemes, but then it goes into real figures for driver sfaty/training etc.... Thanks again Philby'

Posted By Brett Day Ricard, good luck. Like other IAM posters here would heartily recommend it, don't be discouraged if you hit a down spot, and likewise if something doesn't feel right don't be afraid to ask, a good observer will always be prepared to take the time to explain. Here's some stats and figures I dug up: The Transport Research Laboratory reported that company car drivers have approximately 50% more accidents than would be expected when their high mileage is taken into account. insurance industry claims payouts seem to bear this out. So not a bad reason if nothing else to reduce claims Here are some figures from IAM Fleet, they do seem to tie up with other fleet lease companies and insurer's claims stats: Economics of Fuel Efficiency (assuming a 5% reduction in consumption) (My own comment - I've found this quite achievable after I did my IAM test): Average Vehicle: Before 30 mpg, After 31.5 mpg Average Mileage: Before 25,000, After 25,000 Average Fuel Cost: Before 75p per litre, After 75p per litre Fuel Cost Per Annum: Before £2,837.50, After £2,702.40 Savings Per Vehicle: £135.10 100 Car Fleet - Saving Of: £13,510 Less downtime. Reduced accidents and associated costs. Improved claims experience. Reduced wear & tear on vehicles. It can also reduce lease costs, my current employer have been offered a 7% reduction on their monthly lease costs if they institute a permit to frive system which includes a driver assessment then training if required. As for extinguishers, not so sure about them, have seen a lot of dinky 1kg ones in motor accesory shops, not much use especially when fireing them through the grill or from underneath a car, plumbed in systems in rally cars and the like are at least 2kg more often 5kg. I would also be concerned that giving someone a f/x without training them to use it could be problemmatic and make things worse, the natural reaction is to get the bonnet up to get to the fire. Yet the best thing is keep the bonnet down to starve the fire and fire the f/x through the grill or from underneath. Plumbed in systems are very good but expensive and are also a bit OTT for normal driving.

Posted By Stupendous Man Richard, Insurance savings are always hard to prove through advanced driver schemes. In my experience you can expect the following: Insurers may be more willing to quote (as you are doing something to manage the risk), or may be more agreeable to a little flexibility in the premium (more insurers quoting = more competition). Be warned though - some insurers will be very quick to put premiums up if, for whatever reason, your system fails. Real premium savings will come from two different areas - firstly, if your safer drivers have less accidents resulting in a lower overall accident cost, your premiums may fall (or may not rise as much as they would have done). Secondly, and probably the best way to achieve a cost saving is to carry more of the risk yourself. If you are certain that advanced driving has made it less likely that your fleet drivers will have accidents, opt to take an appreciably higher excess, particularly on damage to your own vehicles. It's a big step to take and, for the first few years, you may wish to keep the premium savings in a 'self-insured pool' just incase! This approach will also push driving standards up the corporate agenda due to the increased financial implications.

Posted By Richard Davis Ah.... seemed too good to be true, thanks for the clarification fellas. Still a likely cost reduction of say..10-12% then.