Courses

UK Road Safety Statistics

Most UK deaths happen on rural A type roads
Powys has the highest number of rural A type roads in all of Wales

Car Facts

Highest death rate for car drivers occurs in young people aged 16 -19
Collision with a tree is the most prevalent obstacle
Driving a Friday afternoon rush hour in the summertime is when you are most likely to crash

Motorcycle Facts

Highest death rate in motorcyclists is the over 500cc category
Riding on a Saturday and Sunday is the most likely time to crash
A motorcyclist is 17 times more than a car to be in a fatal collision for every kilometre travelled

What is an IAM Associate?

An Associate is a person who has joined the IAM RoadSmart scheme and is undergoing guidance to take the IAM Test with a local group. They become an immediate Associate Member of the IAM and will receive the IAM RoadSmart Magazine. Their IAM annual membership subscription, paid as part of the course fee, will run from the date their application is received by the IAM. The course fee includes membership of our local group for one year. Both memberships must be maintained whilst undertaking the advanced course. When you pass your IAM Test you become a full member of the IAM and are eligible to continue membership of a local group.

What is an IAM / MWAM Member?

After passing your IAM Advanced Driving Test you can become a full member of both the IAM and MWAM. Both the IAM and MWAM have annual membership fees.

MWAM Membership currently costs £12 per year and runs from the 1st January of each year. If you are interested in becoming an MWAM member, please Contact Us.

What are the benefits of being an IAM / MWAM Member?

In return for your IAM membership you receive;

A subscription to IAM RoadSmart Magazine, packed with driving and riding inspiration, interviews, news and more
Priority ticket access to our popular circuit-based skills days – a chance to further develop your skills with qualified instructors
Use of MIAM/FIAM/MMIAM (Member/Fellow/Master member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists) after you name.
The chance to join your local group for social activities with like-minded individuals
Access to competitive insurance quotes with our partner, Cornmarket
Access to our shop where you can buy exclusive IAM RoadSmart merchandise items
Supporting us with our mission to reduce the number of people killed or injured on the roads in the UK
Access to exclusive member benefits across a great range of products and services
A subscription to our member’s e-newsletter filled with tips, blogs, news, research, opinion polls, competitions and more

In return for your MWAM membership you receive;

A welcome pack that includes a welcome letter, a certificate of membership, a leaflet on the benefits of membership and the entitlement to display the IAM badge on your vehicle
Full membership of IAM RoadSmart and your local group (renewable each year)
Discounts on various makes of new car
Discounts at National Tyres & Autocentres
Motorcycle clothing and accessory discounts from www.bikestop.co.uk
Online IAM RoadSmart benefits marketplace
Consideration given to you becoming one of our qualified observers
Take further training to become a First, Fellow or Master member of IAM RoadSmart
Join the MWAM committee and become more involved
A free assessment each year with a group observer to reassure you and maintain your standards as an advanced driver or rider.

What is an IAM Observer?

An Observer is a full member of the IAM, having already passed the IAM Test. They will also have undergone further training to provide them with the extra skills necessary to assist others in this goal. This training is certified by the Institute of the Motor Industries (IMI) and all observers are accredited by this external organisation. This guidance is not charged for as all Observers are volunteers and give their time to the local group. Subject to availability you will usually be allocated an Observer near to where you live.

What is the Pass Rate for the Courses?

The MWAM associates pass rate is 95.1%. Here is a table showing our past results:

Year	No.	Passed	Failed	Withdrawn	Deferred	Training	Waiting
2004	24	17	2	5
2005	28	20	1	7
2006	32	22		10
2007	29	20	1	8
2008	27	12	2	13
2009	10	6		3		1
2010	19	11	3	5
2011	8	6	1	1
2012	13	8		5
2013	9	4		5
2014	8	7		1
2015	13	9		4
2016	13	7		5
2017	12	6		6
2018	13	9		3		1
2019	18	9		8		1
2020	6	3		1		2
2021	14	8		4		2
2022	10	3		6		1
2023	11	8		3
2024	5					5
Totals	317	196	10	95	0	8	0

DVLA - Notifiable Illnesses

Drivers and riders are advised that it is their responsibility to disclose any “notifiable medical condition”, which potentially may affect their license, to the DVLA as listed on their website:

https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-and-driving

Advanced Driving & Riding Courses

Advanced Rider – £215
Advanced Driver – £200

The principle route to IAM Membership is to enrol in the iamRoadSmart advanced Driving or Riding Course for which you join a local group as an Associate. This includes:

IAM Test Fee
1st year IAM RoadSmart Membership, initially as an Associate until you pass your test
The current year’s membership of a local group
IAM RoadSmart Advanced Driver or Rider Course Logbook
The Highway Code
On-Road guidance and theory sessions

A crucial part of this programme is that provided by a local group such as Mid Wales Advanced Motorists (MWAM). We offer a preparation course during which you would be assigned to an Observer from our group who is accredited by the IAM. The IAM Tests are organised by the IAM using their approved examiners and two regional examiners have been appointed so you can now take your test locally. They are also held in many other centres throughout the UK.

Each associate member will undergo training in both theory and practical advanced driving over a period of about six to eight weeks, after which the IAM test will be taken. The Advanced Driver or Motorcyclist Course Logbook is supplied by iamRoadSmart when an associate joins and the Highway Code is provided by the group. The Course Logbook will be completed by your observer to record your progress. It contains course material and self assessment questions which will be expected to study in your own time throughout this period.

We now provide one to one guidance with our accredited observers who will provide on-road guidance and check your understanding of driving/riding theory for the duration of each course. It is intended that you will be ready to apply the IAM Test and, subject to the IAM allocation of an examiner, you take this in around 8 weeks time from the start of the course. Rather than the course being left open ended, this will give the associate and observer a target to aim for. It is envisaged that the observer would carry out a brief question and answer session during, or after, each observed run to check the self study progress of the associate. If the associate has any queries or questions at any other time their observer, or a National Observer, can be contacted to answer questions or to give advice.

When the observer considers that their associate is ready they would arrange for a progress run to be undertaken with a different group observer. This will allow a fresh mind to point out any problems which may be present and need to be addressed before the IAM test.

When the associate has passed the advanced driving test and becomes a full member, it is hoped that advanced refresher courses will be arranged. This will allow the member who decides not to advance to observer status, to maintain a high degree of driving skill and to keep up to date with current techniques and ideas.

Whatever happens the associate will have a better understanding of advanced driving techniques, will be a better driver and be safer road user.

Advanced Driving Course

Advanced Riding Course

Try Before You Buy

Thinking about taking a car driver/motorcyclist rider course and taking the Advanced Test? All inclusive at a cost of around £200, is it for me?

You may already be a member of the IAM and want to find out what your skills are like now or you might be considering whether a Skill for Life Course is going to help you.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY You may arrange to have a free, no obligation, car driving assessment with one of our Observers please contact our Secretary. This would entail you undertaking a short drive, in your vehicle, with an Observer as your passenger. In return you will receive an unbiased assessment of your driving abilities and be given recommendations – then it is up to you because you decide what to do next.

Assessment Motorcycle Rides are available subject to £15 contribution towards the assessors running cost per session (this cost may be shared should multiple motorcyclist ride in a single session)

If you are interested, please feel free to Contact Us.

Observer Training

Congratulations, you have obtained the coveted IAM Status having passed the IAM Test. Perhaps you are wondering how you can maintain and improve the standards you have achieved. Why not train as an Observer with MWAM? You are already well on the way to achieving this next level of skill. You would be trained on how to pass on this knowledge and experience to others who aspire to pass the IAM Test. If you are interested in this challenge please contact our Chief Observer for car or motorcycles who will be able to advise you on the training programme and the commitment involved.

All observers will be externally accredited by the Institute of the Motor Industries (IMI) organisation and there are two levels of accreditation, National and Local. Local Observers are assessed and qualified by Local Observer Assessors (LOA), either from their own group or a neighbouring group. National Observers are trained by LOA’s but are assessed by an IAM Regional Quality Manager for their final accreditation. The fees for this accreditation are paid by the IAM and there is no cost to the individual other that those associated with running their own vehicle used for the required demonstration drives/rides.