OLD DOG, NEW DRIVING TRICKS.
Delusions of driving grandeur are pretty much the norm. Indeed, it's been empirically proven that most people view their driving skills as significantly above average, which obviously isn't actually possible. But such is the poor general standard of driving, those of us who take a keen interest in the craft of car pedalling can all too easily develop superiority complexes. Very few people make a conscious effort to improve their driving over time, after all.
Speaking of 'craft', it was with some trepidation that I recently embarked upon a day's driver training. While I too suffer from a deluded sense of personal driving prowess, I'm just self aware enough to know that's the case. I was also concerned that I was becoming over confident and carrying too much speed. Moreover, I likewise realised that I'd never had any formal on-road driver training. Surely a significant oversight for someone for whom driving constitutes not just a hobby but almost a calling.
In the past, I'd been put off so-called advanced driving by virtue of what seemed to be adherence to overly dogmatic strictures such as separation of braking and gear changing. After all, heel and toe in a manual Porsche is one of the great driving pleasures. But when I stumbled upon driving instructor Rob Colbourn, I thought I might have a solution. Rob's talents extend fairly broadly, but he specialises in training Porsche owners and performance driving so I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be beaten about the head for using a little overlap.
So it proved. But what did I learn? If you've put a lot of time into polishing your car control, a day of training probably won't revolutionise that aspect of your driving. However, Rob did help me improve my awareness of how I was loading the car through corners and how to add a further dimension to controlling my pace with that loading.
Inevitably, the biggest factor involved observation. I've long been one who looks as far ahead as possible and tries to read as many cues and clues as possible. But a day with Rob will add extensively to your toolkit and undoubtedly make you a better driver and better equipped to carry safe speed. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. To find out more, head for robertcolbourn.co.uk