A little bit of everything

MOTORING events are – ironically – like buses. You wait ages for one…

First stop was a fancy restaurant in Aughton, although it was actually a helping of advanced driving on the menu, served up RoADAR Merseyside, an organisation determined to make motorists in Merseyside and Lancashire a little less likely to become an insurance statistic.

One of those motorists was a Lancashire resident with a passion for driving - despite being in his eighties.

Eric Sandelands, above, who is 81 years old, is among the motorists who have joined the group, who meet at the Swan Inn pub in Aughton, to sharpen up his driving skills and become a motorist with advanced skills.

“I thoroughly enjoy my driving, but I think as you get older, you gain more knowledge, but you wouldn't have the reactions of a driver who is 20 years old,” he told Life On Cars.

“Everybody should try and drive to the best of their ability - it's their responsibility to try and prevent any accidents happening. That's why I've taken up the course, to learn what I can, and I hope that the more I learn, the safer a driver I can become.”

Mr Sandelands, who did take an Institute of Advanced Motorists driving test around twenty years ago but is keen to improve his driving skills further still, is one of the Sefton and West Lancashire driver who has joined the group in an effort to pass safety charity ROSPA's driving test, which the group says is one of the highest accolades available to drivers to show competance and safety.

The group is open to drivers of all ages and abilities, and is currently looking for younger drivers - often the ones most likely to be involved in accidents - to join up.

“Advanced Driving or Riding will make you a more confident, safer, smoother and accurate driver or rider; it will reduce fuel consumption leading to fewer C02 emissions, and can also reduce insurance premiums. Passing the RoSPA test can also lead on to a BTec qualification in driving,” said Colin Knight, chairman of RoADAR Merseyside.

“We aim to prove that our free training can make Advanced driving a cool and exhilarating thing to do, and at the same time encourage safe driving and riding for life.”

Then it was my turn, only I wouldn't be using something like Eric's lovingly-maintained Skoda Octavia. My passport to advanced driving, it seems, is the £100 Renault 5 I bought earlier this year.

According to Colin I performed impressively enough, even getting a smattering of the top 'A' grades when it came to atttitude and vehicle safety, but am I really going to be good enough to get the group's coveted Gold certificate?

I'll be doing the whole course over the next month or so, just to let you know whether a twentysomething petrolhead in an ancient hatch really can cut it as an advanced driver. For more information about RoADAR Merseyside visit the group's website www.roadarmerseyside.org or contact Colin Knight on 07753 280465.

In fact, I was feeling so good about the advanced driving, I was determined to bring the Life On Cars Mini next time. Until this happened...
Lots of people talk about "driving the wheels off" off whatever it is they're at the wheel of on a cross-country sprint, but I doubt they mean it literally!

That's what happened to the Mini on a dash between Formby and Parbold, without any warning whatsoever. At first I thought it was a blowout, but it turns out of the driveshaft (a notorious weak spot on Minis, I'm now told) simply gave up the ghost, knocking out a swivel joint in the process, and meaning the wheel simply collapsed into the arch. At 40mph. On the way to a showing of The Italian Job I'd spent months organising. I've had better afternoons!

But I've been lucky, firstly because despite the scary-looking image no major damage seems to have been done, secondly because I'm informed the knackered part isn't too tricky to replace, and most importantly because I managed to recover the skid and nobody was hurt. Obviously the RoADAR course has come in handy already!

It's lucky I've got mates in the motoring trade, because I still managed to get to the showing of The Italian Job in the nick of time, which turned out to be a fantastic event.

Despite being a Mini short it was great to be able to see the petrolhead film on a cinema screen just as it was intended, and the people of Parbold seemed delighted with the armarda of Minis we'd brought along to get them in the mood. There'll be more about it on here later this week, but if you want to find out more take a look at this week's Ormskirk Champion.

And last but not least there's this, the latest look at a truly exciting Land Rover, due out sometime next year.

The LRX - set to be the smallest of the company's line up and badged as a Range Rover - looks fantastic, but the news that the firm are going to offer a 2WD version makes me sad.

Every Land Rover since the original Series One of 1948 has had 4WD, because it's something that shows that even their softest models mean business on the rough stuff.

But will a front-wheel-drive hatchback with the iconic badge still be a proper Land Rover? The jury's out...