The Advanced Driving Test
lasts for about 90 minutes and will usually utilise all road types (town, country, motorway and dual carriageway).
The examiners are holders of the Police Advanced Driving Certificate and many will have experience of Traffic Patrol duties. They will quickly put you at ease and realise that you may feel nearvous. The examiner is there to assess you and your standard of driving which shouldn’t be any different from your last few drives with your Observer. Your Drive should be:
Safe
Safety is the most important aspect of all driving. Position and speed must always be sacrificed for safety, but safety must never be sacrificed for any reason. The driver's objective is to maintain safe progress by identifying hazards early and planning how to deal with them safely and efficiently.
The four key skills of advanced driving are Concentration, effective all round Observation, Anticipation and Planning. Advanced Driving is using these
skills properly and co–ordinating them with good handling skills to ensure that your driving is . . . .
Systematic
The System of Car Control is a way of approaching and negotiating all situations that is safe, methodical, and leaves nothing to chance. The IAM uses the Police System of Car Control. Driving to a system draws all your driving skills together so that you can deal with an unpredictable environment in a methodical and logical way and have time to
select the best position, speed, and gear to negotiate all hazards safely and efficiently.
Smooth
If your vehicle control and handling skills are properly co-ordinated with your perceptual and awareness skills, your driving will not only be safe and systematic, but it will also be smooth. Nothing should look or feel hurried. The three main considerations are passenger comfort, vehicle stability and vehicle sympathy.
Speed (correct use of)
The ability to make
progress is an important advanced driving skill, but progress must never compromise safety. Excess speed (speed above the statutory limit) and inappropriate speed (excessive speed for the circumstances, regardless of the statutory limit) are dangerous and are not acceptable. Advanced Drivers understand this and know that speed limits are limits, and not targets. They use their perceptual and awareness skills to identify when they should impose their own speed limit on themselves,
(regardless of the statutory speed limit), depending on circumstances. | 
