Advanced driving: IAM or RoSPA?

Silver-Surfer_2

bigjl wrote: »

We did 3 weeks usually (due to the Christmas break we lost a couple of days so we did an extra week including using the Ford Galaxys instead of minibuses and Ambulances) same as a Class 2 Police Driver though we never got to do the J Turns and stuff. Watched them join about at the other end of the airfield in decommissioned Omegas.

We did do things like driving between cones at speed, 70mph with the cones a couple of inches further apart than the vehicle was the highest I did. Also the reverse slalom was not as easy as it sounds.

We never did the skid pan, we used the car on the rack. We also moved away from Roadcraft and used the IHCD Syllabus instead. As it was more relevant. It is pretty similar but obviously here is no need to train the Police in being able to drive with two or three people standing up in the back treating a patient or getting an IV in on the way.

Our course was also a full five days with extra study required most evening and at the weekend.

Our driving was continually assessed when on our first 5 weeks on the road as part of a crew and we had regular assessment shifts with a trainer during our first year. Following by a ride out and exams at the end of one year on the road (the old Millers assessment)

People did fail their Millers on either clinical or driving, though Inonly heard of one person being sent back to Training School to do their Driving Course again.

A lot of people think that we got an extra few weeks training to go in the cars, we didn't we had a day or two with our Sector Trainer/DI.

I was proud that on retirement I had a fault free accident record, was only in a few accidents, one being driver error, the others were when people drive into the back of the Ambulance, it is only bright yellow and covered in retro reflective markings after all, easy to miss.

Interesting how they tell you three weeks is to Class 2. It used to be five weeks now it's three to a Class 3. Then three weeks now five to Class 1 or 2.

The only difference between a 1 and 2 is a bit of finesse or true natural ability and it was down to the mark you get on your test 76-85% Class 2 and 86% upwards a 1. Pleased to say I got 95.

Let's see londontiger equal that.

bigjl

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

Interesting how they tell you three weeks is to Class 2. It used to be five weeks now it's three to a Class 3. Then three weeks now five to Class 1 or 2.

The only difference between a 1 and 2 is a bit of finesse or true natural ability and it was down to the mark you get on your test 76-85% Class 2 and 86% upwards a 1. Pleased to say I got 95.

Let's see londontiger equal that.

All my info is second hand regarding the Class 2.

The LAS was pass fail for practical, they expected every drive after week 2 to be fault free, including the commentary.

The high speed elements of the course on the night drive to Brighton was fun in a high mileage LDV!

The only time we got above 100 on public roads was in the Galaxys. We did used to use 405 Pugs, they looked like a bottom of the range with steel wheels and normal seats but we're actually Mi16s

One of the course directors from Fulham had one as his car I think, dark non metallic blue, they wouldn't let us touch it!

You needed good observation skills to be able to drive an LDV on blues though as the brakes were just a bit marginal, especially the M and N Reg 400 shape, the Convoy shape was better. With the older ones you would run out of brakes after one or two hard stops.

Silver-Surfer_2

bigjl wrote: »

All my info is second hand regarding the Class 2.

The LAS was pass fail for practical, they expected every drive after week 2 to be fault free, including the commentary.

The high speed elements of the course on the night drive to Brighton was fun in a high mileage LDV!

The only time we got above 100 on public roads was in the Galaxys. We did used to use 405 Pugs, they looked like a bottom of the range with steel wheels and normal seats but we're actually Mi16s

One of the course directors from Fulham had one as his car I think, dark non metallic blue, they wouldn't let us touch it!

You needed good observation skills to be able to drive an LDV on blues though as the brakes were just a bit marginal, especially the M and N Reg 400 shape, the Convoy shape was better. With the older ones you would run out of brakes after one or two hard stops.

I remember the Mi16s from driver training then back to a 1.9 GE area car. Hardly the same car but even that handled well.

My first LDV experience was V8 manual, suspect brakes and air horns. Good old days.

vansboy

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

My first LDV experience was V8 manual, suspect brakes and air horns. Good old days.

When I had my van sales business, I remember buying three of those, from MOD...they were low roof, short wheelbase, twin side doors, additional seating and lots of gun and ammunition racking still installed...SAS or similar duties, I'd imagine.

Very fast vans!!

VB

bigjl

vansboy wrote: »

When I had my van sales business, I remember buying three of those, from MOD...they were low roof, short wheelbase, twin side doors, additional seating and lots of gun and ammunition racking still installed...SAS or similar duties, I'd imagine.

Very fast vans!!

VB

SCO19 had several dark blue LDV V8's only seen in the back once and they had lots of racking and it looked like simple bench seats (was only a fleeting glance as we were parked behind on a job), they also had a huge roof rack.

bigjl

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

I remember the Mi16s from driver training then back to a 1.9 GE area car. Hardly the same car but even that handled well.

My first LDV experience was V8 manual, suspect brakes and air horns. Good old days.

You could do an excellent back fire with the LDVs, with the key or better with the isolator switch, got to love carbs.

The choke was always a good laugh to confuse the young Uni students.

He handling on the LDVs got worse, the M, N and P Reg handled the best, though the rear air suspension didn't go down much.

The R was a bit softer as was the T, the X refs were like a sofa in comparison.

vansboy

As I specialized in Ex Government vehicles and primarily LDV's we had a rare assortment of actually very nice examples of these underrated working vehicles.

They really did do some special order, one offs and limited production runs for public utilities.

I even had a 4x4 200, from a London council, think it was E reg.

VB

Silver-Surfer_2

bigjl wrote: »

You could do an excellent back fire with the LDVs, with the key or better with the isolator switch, got to love carbs.

The choke was always a good laugh to confuse the young Uni students.

He handling on the LDVs got worse, the M, N and P Reg handled the best, though the rear air suspension didn't go down much.

The R was a bit softer as was the T, the X refs were like a sofa in comparison.

Yes, I remember someone shamefully coming back with the exhaust back box under his arm claiming it just fell off after he'd done it.

Silver-Surfer_2

vansboy wrote: »

When I had my van sales business, I remember buying three of those, from MOD...they were low roof, short wheelbase, twin side doors, additional seating and lots of gun and ammunition racking still installed...SAS or similar duties, I'd imagine.

Very fast vans!!

VB

Unless they were fastened very tight you lost the wing mirrors at 95 when they folded in and I did surprise one young chap in his MG Metro he though would out accelerate it.

bigjl

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

You need to be careful about what data you use for casualty statistics though. Serious injuries can be quite minor in their actual injury.
More often as not serious are looked af as life threatening or life changing. But even that can be misleading. I'm sure you've heard of the London life changing one, total to the injury was a broken finger. Mind you he was a concer pianist.

No I have never heard of that one, and unless the LAS was sued them few people would know about it unless they were involved.

Pre hospitally, in London at least, potentially life changing would be possible spinal injuries indicated by mechanism of injury and findings on primary or secondary survey.

Possibly losing a leg would also be considered life changing.

But something like a flail segment or closed head injury would be considered life threatening. As would a traumatic cardiac arrest.

Whenever I was at an RTC I would usually be asked by one of the first Police on scene if we considered it life threatening or just life changing. You would know more than me but I when we said life threatening you could sense an escalation in the Police response especially if the accident was caused by somebodies else's actions/driving.

Most serious collisions don't result in injury in London, probably because speeds are often lower, but on many occasions the only reason for the lack of a fatality was simply luck. An inch to one side or the other and it would have been a fatality.