A Message From The Group Secretary

Dear Associate,

IAM Roadsmart has stated that Car Groups can resume observed drives starting from Monday 20th July 2020.

I have attached the relevant information for you in red below.

We recognise some Associates, Observers and Examiners will be hesitant about returning to in-car course delivery and testing. All activity must only resume when they feel it is safe to do so, according to individual circumstances. If any party has concerns, an observed drive or test must not be carried out.
Guidelines for restarting Advanced Driver coaching are now available on the Group Management dashboard for groups, Observers and Examiners.
In-car coaching in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland remains suspended until devolved administration restrictions are eased.
The guidelines – Car Observer COVID-19 Restart Guidance V1 2 July 2020 and Car Examiner COVID-19 Restart Guidance V1 2 July 2020 – reflect the guidance issued to driving instructors by the DVSA. Advice for Associates is also available as a guidance document.
Recommendations about the use of PPE – facemasks, gloves and hand sanitiser – are included and groups are encouraged to start making arrangements to provide this equipment for Observers. The indicative timetable for a return to Advanced Driver coaching, subject to the circumstances in each car and combined group, is:
Monday 6 July – peer observed sessions and assessments can begin to ensure observing skills are up to date. These sessions must be conducted in accordance with the guidelines unless all participants are part of the same household or ‘social bubble’. Observers must continue to operate to IMI standards. The LOPS and NOPS forms on the Group Management dashboard provide a helpful guide.
Monday 20 July – Observed sessions with Associates may start.
Monday 3 August – IAM RoadSmart Advanced Driver testing starts.
While groups may wish to set a different timetable for returning to in-car coaching according to their circumstances, in preparation all Observers and Examiners in England are requested to:

Use the guidelines – Car Observer COVID-19 Restart Guidance V1 2 July 2020

We understand that you will be disappointed to not be able to start/resume your progress toward becoming and advanced drive but we feel that, in the interests safety of both associates and observers, it is still too early to resume observed drives due to the difficulty in maintaining a safe social distance between observers and associates (unlike the motorcycle groups where they are on separate machines and can maintain a good social distance between the observer and associate).

The main reason for this is that large majority of our observers feel that now is not yet the time to resume observed drives due to age, underlying health issues or both.

We will continue to monitor the situation and also advise you of any change in circumstances. In the meantime, please do take care, stay safe stay well.

Kind regards,

John Butler

Group Secretary and National Observer

Virus-free. www.avg.com