SeanP wrote:Another Bill wrote:Happy to consider RoSPA. Would a certain amount of training be encouraged/demanded, or could I just take the test?
I’m aware of the benefits of training and observed drives, before a formal test. But part of me just wants to know whether I still make the grade just as I am, five years on from the initial test, without any specific coaching. A f1rst, or a good RoSPA grade would be absolutely fantastic of course but that’s not my core aim - I’m more interested to confirm/deny my current day-today driving standard.
Per the three year retest, hmm, not so sure. If I were younger with a lifetime of daily commutes ahead of me, I’d see it as a huge plus. But I’ve reached an age where it’s hard to predict what I’ll be doing or thinking in three years, or six, or nine, and a but reluctant to commit long term, if that makes sense.
If you're still a member of a local group, I'm sure they'd be willong to undertake an assessment free - that's at least part of what the local groups are all about... Not just to train up initially but to help maintain skills... From that assessment (which could be carried out as e.g. Check drive performed prior to test for initial associates), then take a view whether you think you'd still want to pay for a test afterwards.
I maintain membership to both IAM and RoSPA and observe for both - the latter precisely because of the 3 yearly retest to keep us on our toes... (Observers in both groups require regular checks anyhow!)
Thanks, but tbh a formal retest is what appeals. My IAM course was all good, and I was chuffed to bits when my excellent observer eventually suggested I was ready for the test. But the ‘wow’ moment only came at end of the test, when told I’d passed, and ensuing debrief discussing good/bad aspects, best few minutes of my driving career. No disrespect to my observer, but it meant so much to have that discussion with an impressively qualified examiner who was completely independent of IAM, and of the local group. Fair to say my observer was chuffed to bits too, when I told him the outcome.
I don’t really want any tutoring/mentoring which, if the goal is a straightforwards retest, arguably constitutes a form of cheating. If I took that path then I’d never know whether I’d have passed without it, and whether training from my initial course still held good.
Payment/cost is no object not because I am wealthy but because let’s face it, on the grand scale of typical motoring costs, it’s peanuts. I’d be more than happy to pay a suitably qualified independent examiner for the test and in addition, make a separate ‘thank you’ charitable contribution to IAM (or RoSPA).
On balance, if I go ahead (my enthusiasm is waning) I’m thinking it’ll be with RoSPA, their focus seems to be on formal testing, in keeping with my own ideas.