Requirments of a good IAM/RoADA observer/advisor/tutor

[tonyh]

Hi everyone,

Please could I please have a view as to what makes a good observer/advisor and what is the secret of success?

I try observing for both IAM and RoaDA.

[Roadcraft]

knowledge and experience...and not just the fact that one has passed the test themselves..

[Porker]

Knowledge and experience certainly, and an ability to convey clearly what it is you want to say, allied with the ability to diagnose driving faults and empathise with students who may find some aspects of the approach difficult to master.

Personally, I also believe that a real enthusiasm for driving helps students to become enthusiastic themselves, which in turn promotes their learning.

Nick

[martine]

I think a good obs has to have lots of seperate skills including:

good technical knowledge of the highway code, roadcraft and applying it
personable - to be able to put people at there ease
good communication skills
sense of humour
enthiusiasm
patience

And generally be superhuman...no seriously I beleive most drivers could pass the IAM test if they wanted to - I see the role of obs as being guidance and impartial advice to help people achieve it themselves. You can lead a horse to water etc.

[tonyh]

Thanks for the inputs so far, I agree with all the comments and do try to put them into practise.

I've felt to put over the techniques we apply in advanced driving need a great deal of skill and experience. I passed IAM in 2001 and RoSPA ( at bronze) in 2002. I have since taken a RoSPA test every year with the last on at Gold. I still don't feel really comfortable advising especially as I read such good advise from posts within this forum.

Would an HPC course be a better developement route than say taking the RoSPA Advanced driving diploma?

I've had some success with advising(IAM passes) and some failures but I am an enthusiastic driver and am learning all the time ( I wonder if I learnt anything as an ordinary driver over the previous 30 yrs!!)

Any further thoughts.

[tonyh]

HPC is an option I have been thinking of for sometime as it will open my eyes to a higher standard of driving and as an observer will definitely give a greater depth of experience.

I also feel if I reach a high enough standard to join HPC I would be better equipped to advise with confidence. I also enjoy driving and believe in continuous improvement.

[JamesAllport]

HPC has certainly helped my observing, not least because there are some fantastic coaches (both professional and not) in the Club and their feedback on my own driving has given me a lot that I can recycle on other people. It also means that, when I come to do a demonstration drive, I can be pretty confident that I will drive consistently above the standard required for IAM or RoADA, even though I'm still a baby in HPC terms.

The other thing that helped my observing a lot was reading Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore. Highly Recommended, and available cheaply from Amazon!

James
IAM Observer, RoADA Gold & Tutor, HPC muppet

[tonyh]

I have a copy of 'coaching for performance' which I will now read again at a greater depth as it was a reference book recommended on our iam groups advisor course.

I'm getting more convinced that I have to sweet talk my wife into letting me go on an entry course with either Hugh Noblett or Don Palmer.

Thanks again for the input.