HPC Young Drivers' Day 2007

[James]

[MGF]

Hmmmm, I'm now wondering if it's possible to offset the cost (or part of) of joining HPC off my income tax (If I do decide to join - I've yet to do the drive day) - I'm self-employed, and it is related to my job (sort of). I get my IAM subs offset, but they're only nominal amounts.

I guess that will depend on what your job is. HPC is different from RoSPA/IAM in that it isn't a road safety organisation. Worth a try though.

[7db]

Hmmmm, I'm now wondering if it's possible to offset the cost (or part of) of joining HPC off my income tax (If I do decide to join - I've yet to do the drive day) - I'm self-employed, and it is related to my job (sort of). I get my IAM subs offset, but they're only nominal amounts.

I guess that will depend on what your job is. HPC is different from RoSPA/IAM in that it isn't a road safety organisation. Worth a try though.

It's the training that you want to offset.

If that level of training is reasonably held to be necessary* for your line of work, then you can offset tax and VAT.



* check with an accountant whether this is wholly necessarily and exclusively or just necessary.

[Tomasz]

Is anyone from here confirmed for Saturday?

[nuster100]

Yes, if I have the money for fuel in the tank.

Why do people insist in paying by cheque

Jay

[JamesAllport]

I'm observing and demonstrating. So (I think) are StressedDave, Porker, Stefan Einz and no doubt others.

Look forward to seeing you there.

James

[Angus]

I'm observing and demonstrating. So (I think) are StressedDave, Porker, Stefan Einz and no doubt others.

Look forward to seeing you there.

James

And me

Angus

[Susie]

Hugh and I will be there too

Now... what shall I wear?

[ScoobyChris]

I shall be there too - coaching or making tea

Chris

[cochapman]

I know this is VERY late in the day, but does anybody know if there are still places for tomorrow?

I meant to get my nepthew on it, but it slipped my mine till just now

[ScoobyChris]

Pretty sure if you fill in the form here you can still come....

Chris

[ChrisR32]

I'm sure there are some other ADUK users that attended this day, however let me be the first to put a quick post up about it.

As a young driver (well at 28 I was slightly over the cut off age, but never mind), this is the first HPC event that I've been too. My day started at 6am as I had a good 123 miles to cover in order to get to the Holt Hotel. So with weary eyes, I pulled myself out of bed hoping that the day would live up to my expectations. After a good drive over to Oxford, I was greeted at the hotel with smiles from Susie and Hugh. After a quick chat, a cup of coffee and a very much needed bacon roll, we sat in one of the conference rooms where Peter Dixon proceeded to run through the outline for the day.

The day overall consisted of a number of talks / presentations along with two driving sessions (one morning and one afternoon). The presentations were fantastic and I found the talk by Simon very funny indeed!

However as good as the presentations were, the best part of this day were the demonstration drives and assessments by the HPC members. I was fortunate enough to have Clive Jones in the morning session and I found his wealth of knowledge simply amazing. Clive began the drive with a demonstration which just showed me how far I have to go! The drive had flair and pace but was super smooth and effortless. As I am keen to join the HPC, I asked Clive if he would don his "Gatekeeper" hat and assess my drive as a potential member. After about an hour of driving, Clive broke the good news that he felt I was at HPC entry level. Not that I will get too excited as I'm not seeing Hugh until next month, but it bodes well for my upcoming RoADA test!

Anyway, I managed to calm my excitement down (a little bit) by lunch time and had a chat to a number of people. One thing that struck me was the amount of enthusiasm everybody had. This was not your typical "flat cap advanced driving club", this was a serious bunch of petrol heads with a fantastic love for driving and cars..fantastic!!

The afternoon session we were treated to a few more presentations. The circuit driving presentation by Steve was exceptionally interesting and we were treated to a number of fantastic videos (Walter Rohl in particular!!). I then had my second demo drive session with Gordon in his TVR. Well, what a car!! The sun was shining, the roof was down and the TVR sounded amazing! We managed to get a little lost on our route, however as I was reading the map I think I may have been enjoying myself too much to go back too soon!! Again, the demo drive was fantastic and with ten years worth of HPC experience, Gordon was a joy to watch and speak to.

Overall, this day exceeded expectations. With some fantastic cars, great knowledge and experience plus wonderful roads, it was well worth making the journey to attend!

Will I go next year? Yes, but hopefully next time I'll get to do the demo drive as the HPC member!!

Cheers!

Chris.

[hardboiled]

Glad you enjoyed the day Chris. I had a few friends in attendance all of whom really enjoyed themselves and went away with a lot to think about.

For future reference I find it's often worth stopping over locally the night before a big day. It adds a few quid to the expenses sure but I don't like to waste concentration on (in my case) 2 1/2 hours of mostly dull motorway driving.

[ScoobyChris]

Was an excellent day and nice to see so many enthusiastic drivers so willing and open to improving themselves. It will be interesting to read the feedback from the event and see how it can be improved for next year!

Chris

[JamesAllport]

As ever, I learned a lot about my own driving from driving for the two people I took out, and from trying to put into words what I wanted them to do. So thank you both!

James