If you think you’re a good driver, you may want to think again.

“Many people on the road today are overconfident with their driving but in reality they have very defective driving skills,” explains driving instructor Roger Kendall of the Bermuda Institute of Advanced Motorists (BIAM).

Mr. Kendall, whose organisation has been teaching drivers on the Island advanced/defensive driving since 1970, has trained as a driving instructor for the UK Police.

After he received his grade one Police licence, he worked with the Bermuda Police for 30 years, 14 and a half years of which he worked for the Bermuda Police’s driving training where he became the chief driving instructor.

He brings his years of knowledge to the classroom setting and practical training to help Bermuda’s drivers progress with safety, smoothness and speed with this spring’s advanced motoring course.

The course will teach you safe driving but, Mr. Kendall claims, will also lower your fuel cost and the amount you spend on car repairs as well as save you money on insurance.

“Once you’ve passed the course some insurance companies that we’ve worked with including BF&M, Colonial and Freisenbruch-Meyer will reduce premiums and give a further 10 percent discount over and above any ‘no claims’.

“This course virtually pays for itself,” he explains.

With Mr. Kendall’s animated and visual presentation of class material, participants will learn all of the effective methods of driving safely on Bermuda’s roads but will also learn how to tackle driving on roadways worldwide.

The course manual is an authorised and revised “Bermuda version” of the UK’s Police driving manual and the course consists of four, two-hour Wednesday night classes with the following Saturday as the practical class.

“During the practical part of the course four students are in one car and drive for half an hour each along with an instructor who gives points on each driver.

“During the drive, participants must give a verbal explanation of their drive using information they’ve learned during class. The driver will say what they are doing, what they are going to do and give local knowledge,” Mr. Kendall explains.

“The driver gives a complete picture of what is going on so that if I’m a blind person I have a picture painted for me with vocals and I feel safe.”

In class, participants can visualise problems they may encounter on the roads as Mr. Kendall provides them with clues and different scenarios to keep a look out for while driving.

“If you start seeing leaves, then twigs, then branches littering the road then you have an idea that something up ahead is big and bringing those branches down.

“It’s like warning signs,” he says. “The course helps give you tips so you know what to look for if there is a dangerous situation.”

Mr. Kendall explains that many of the accidents caused on the Island’s roads can be avoided with proper handling of the driver’s vehicle.

“If people just kept their distance when following another car, that alone would cut the accident rate in half.”

He advises drivers to stick to the two-second rule when following another car- four seconds in wet weather or at night.

The process is to pick an object on the side of the road and once the car in front has passed it count one, one thousand, two, one thousand. Once you reach two seconds your car should pass that same object.

“It works anywhere in the world. No matter what the speed limit is, it works.”

The course also covers vehicle maintenance with one class dedicated to teach participants to keep a vigilant eye out for any mechanical problems.

BIAM, which is affiliated with the UK’s Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), also holds courses for King Edward VII Memorial and St. John’s ambulance drivers but meetings and the spring and fall courses are open to the whole community.

Meetings are held the second Thursday of January, March, May, July, September and November at 7.30 p.m. at the Peace Lutheran Church hall on South Road in Paget.

Meetings include film presentations on driver training, quizzes and guest speakers.

To sign up for this spring’s advanced driving course that begins in May call Chris Maiden at 298-3295 or 293-7065 or you can reach him by e-mail at secretary@biam.bm.