Could a car racing course cut your insurance bill?
Toby Walne hones his racing skills in a Lotus – and becomes a safer driver
HURTLING towards a corner at 100mph, the driving instructor barks out an order to slam the foot down hard on the accelerator rather than ease off. I splutter that we are both likely to die but British GT Championship race winner Rob Barff i s not impressed – and demands I keep focused on the road ahead.
The tutor knows what he is talking about because after just a day of racing at the Lotus Driving Academy in the Norfolk village of Hethel, I am not only still alive – but a much better motorist.
Strange as it might seem, trying to emulate the newly crowned sixtime Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton on a race track is far more than just about having fun. It makes you a safer driver, can help knock hundreds of pounds a year off car insurance premiums and reduces the chance of ever getting involved in a road accident.
There are a host of track days and courses available to improve motoring skills. Perhaps the most popular is the advanced driving programme run by motoring organisation IAM RoadSmart. It can help lower motor insurance premiums by up to 20 per cent – £200 for a young driver paying £1,000 a year.
The course costs £149, typically comprises ten lessons (up to two hours a time), with an expert showing how you can improve your motoring skills and confidence by learning to anticipate hazards on the road. It also offers £135 half-day track days. With 185 RoadSmart groups dotted around Britain it should be easy to find a local centre.
You can also cut insurance costs by up to a fifth by taking the Government- recognised Pass Plus course that involves a professional driver showing you how to improve your motoring skills – it includes all- weather, rural, motorway and night driving.
It usually costs £180 and involves six hour-long lessons. Although targeted at newly qualified motorists, anyone with a driving licence can take the course. Details of local instructors can be found by visiting the website of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency or phoning 0115 936 6504.
The course I opted for was a £400 track day at the Lotus Driving Academy, in the process earning me a ‘bronze level’ certificate.
Although a large element of the training involved the thrill of learni ng motor racing skills, road management was also a key element – making me a safer driver behind the wheel.
Negotiating chicanes and taking sharp corners at speed in a Lotus Elise Sport 220 was a skill that instructor Barff believes could one day save my life.
He says: ‘Your level of alertness rises when improving your driving skills – and you are looking ahead at potential road challenges. If an animal suddenly jumps out or you hit a patch of oil there is no need to panic if you are in control of your driving.
Developing ability makes motoring more fun and puts you more in control of day-to-day driving.’
More than £8.1 billion of claims were made on motor insurance last year and the vast majority could have been prevented had greater skill been shown behind the wheel.
Sadly, once a driving test has been passed many motorists believe this is the end of learning – when it should really be the start.
Annual motor insurance costs an average of £789, according to the comparison website Confused. Men tend to pay more than women – £827 a year compared to £741. This is because females make fewer claims so appear to be safer drivers.
Avoid accidents and your premiums soon plummet as no-claims bonuses build up. After just four years of accident-free motoring the cost of insurance can drop by 60 per cent. Yet if you get involved in an incident during this time, the cost of your insurance may go up by a third – even if the accident was not your fault. Being a safer driver is not just about saving money – but also lives. Five people a day die on average in road traffic accidents in Britain as a result of incidents that are often avoidable.
Rodney Kumar, a spokesman for IAM RoadSmart, says: ‘Track days and driving courses help you get the most out of a car. They help you understand acceleration, breaking and cornering so that you might handle vehicles better in the future. It is not just about improving your own anticipation skills but also being more aware of the behaviour of other drivers as often motor accidents are not your fault.’
One in three motorists receives a fine every year, paying out a total of £ 800 million from avoidable speeding and parking tickets. A driving course will focus not just on natural hazards but also road signs and rules that if heeded enable you to avoid such penalties.
Improving skills on a racetrack is often best done in someone else’s vehicle and not your own to save on engine wear, brake pads and tyre rubber. But part of taking an advanced driving course on the road includes how better use of the accelerator, gears and braking can prevent expensive wearing down of the clutch and tyre tread – as well as save on fuel bills.
And my motor insurance? I paid insurer Hastings Direct £272 a year to cover my second-hand £15,000 Lotus Elise. After visiting comparison websites and calling Hastings explaining my new-found driving skills, it offered me exactly the same cover – for £241.