Hi All,
Had my IAM test yesterday afternoon which I passed although didn't hit the F1rst I was aiming for. Still please with the results as from the conversation we had it sounds as though my driving was at a F1rst standard bar a few errors (which I guess means that my drivings not to a F1rst standard
but still happy)Here's a bit of a brain dump for those interested in my experience of the test, apologies for the length:
First of all it was a very pleasurable experience - The examiner was a very nice chap who spoke highly of my observers and the Worthing group. He was a forensic collision investigator, Class 1 car and bike. Some good stories and mentioned that our chief observer tutored him through his advanced course. He was very keen to get me back for my F1rst as he said if I did Masters then it wouldn't be with him. We had quite a long discussion afterwards about driving, IAM, progression etc.
Some highway code questions to start. What does the amber mean after green followed by when can you cross the stop line under amber. What does a central double white line mean and when can you cross it. Did a cockpit drill. Commentary was expected (i.e. he didn't ask if I would like to provide commentary or mention at the start that we were going to. Just said can you start).
Drove around our "base" town (Littlehampton) a bit initially to take in a stop line and a corner to reverse around.
This was his official feedback:
Overall a very good drive well done. Commentary was very good and fully detailed, one of the best I have received in a long time. Very good knowledge and explanation of the system. Good planning and anticipation throughout the drive, with very good use of gears and acceleration sense. Shame you missed two speed limit signs [observation], one of which affected your legality score. Slow manoeuvring - left reverse turn, you should have stopped for the Taxi which approached your position from the rear. You were not able to demonstrate Overtaking as no opportunity arose during your test. A FIRST is very much achievable, however, I think the Masters would be more so. We also discussed Observer Training for you in due course. Well done.
All 1s on the test sheet, bar Observation (2), Legality (3), and Slow maneuvering (2), which were marked down for the reasons above.
1st sign I missed was the 20 coming off the A27 https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8543237,-0.6806256,3a,75y,265.53h,61.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sA4u0KE2oU37IaMoFdtFBkg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656. There was one following and so I didn't get my speed down sufficiently, and came round the corner too hot which caused my observation slip and the examiner had to tell me about the 20 limit. He said ( at least I believe it was said to mean this) that if I hadn't of missed it then he would have recommended me for F1rst, and he was really annoyed when I did it. When I told him afterwards that I was aiming for a F1rst he said he could tell from the first 10 minutes due to the level of preparation etc.
The other sign was turning left onto Ford lane https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8273428,-0.6096528,3a,75y,187.67h,64.88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sRP2bka41ciny2Pp9b_1fBA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 where I missed the NSL, and again had to be prompted.
I guess there's a learning point there to pay extra attention when entering side roads to make a point to look out for limit changes.
Slow maneuvering - The taxi came onto the main road behind me just after I had started the turn and my nose was already a bit out on the road. I saw and acknowledged him turn onto the road but I should have stopped and let the taxi past. I continued, the taxi was still able to get past (albeit a bit wider than if I had stopped), but should have stopped. Otherwise he was very happy with the maneuver.
He was very complementary of my commentary. He said he made me do it for longer because he was enjoying it so much. I acknowledged I dropped my pace a bit whilst commentary, which he agreed with, but said it was above what he would expect for this level. For a "master level" he would expect the same commentary but at my usual pace.
The other point that he noted post test (and I winced at at the time) was this double bend https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8265695,-0.6063594,285m/data=!3m1!1e3 travelling west. I noticed the double bend sign, but the initial left was pretty open with the limit point running quite far ahead so I maintained 4th, however the right was a lot tighter so I had to brake late and take 3rd. I guess that's a planning issue and assuming that the 2nd corner would be tighter or else they wouldn't have bothered placing a double bend sign there. He said I should have selected 3rd before the first corner and driven round with acceleration sense.
No overtaking opportunities. I didn't see any during the drive, and confirmed with him afterwards that there were none that he would have taken.
Overall I was pleased with the drive, annoyed about the 20 and missing the F1rst as a result but I didn't let it effect the remainder of the drive. Looking forward to the next steps, our Chief observer is apparently going to give me a ring tonight to talk about what the IAM has to offer, then there's always HPC with who I had a very enjoyable day out at the young drivers day.
Well done if you made it this far,
Scott
