Somerset has many thousands of miles of roads where we can provide advanced driver training. From rural roads to urban routes and motorways – all these roads are used when we are training clients, whether that be a private client or a large training schedule for 100+ company car drivers. We have already provided advanced driver training for clients in Taunton, Weston-super-mare, Glastonbury, Wells, Minehead, Frome and Bridgwater. We have full UK coverage and will come to you for the training anywhere in the county or country!
All courses are bespoke to the needs of the driver, so we can create a bespoke course based on you and your needs.
For motorway training in Somerset, we use the M5; sometimes, we will head north and use the M4 into South Wales or east towards Newbury. For rural road training, which is always very popular during our courses due to their challenging nature, we use a wide range of roads, including the A39, A358 and A361, plus many more. The exact roads depend on your location in Somerset. We also use a lot of B roads too, again which are very good when training a driver.
Remember – All our courses are bespoke to your own needs. For both business and private clients.
On our advanced courses, we cover a range of elements, bespoke to the needs of the driver. Below are the common things we look at:
- Looking at a driver’s own specific day-to-day driving, and driving history to make a bespoke training plan
- Looking ahead and developing powers of observation
- Increasing focus on speed and excessive speed
- Modifying attitude towards a safer, more proactive way to drive
- Learning the System of Car Control
- How to avoid road rage situations
- Manoeuvres, reversing, and driving in confined spaces
- Driving safety on the motorway and dual carriageways
- Becoming a safer urban driver – identifying and dealing with pedestrians and cyclists
- Learn how to drive in a more environmentally friendly way
- How to boost driving confidence
- Identifying high-risk driving – such as at night, driving tired or when stressed
We have a number of courses options designed to cater for drivers of all levels and experience:
- 1 x 3.5hr session – Ideal for a spring clean of ones driving, or if you are training a number of drivers back to back
- 2 x 3.5hr sessions – Ideal for those that want more in-depth training but want this over two sessions
- 1 x 7hr session – For those that want a single intensive session. Ideal for businesses with one driver who needs specific help or someone who would have a course compacted into one day
- 3,4 or 5 x 3.5hr sessions – Designed for those that want the most detailed one-to-one training possible, which can be taken at intervals convenient to them
Deciding to use us for your driver training needs comes with a number of advantages that include:
- One-to-one driver training
- Full UK coverage
- We only use DVSA-registered fleet/advanced driving instructors
- You have a personal account manager to arrange your courses and look after you before, during and after a course
- All training is bespoke to the driver’s needs and requirements
- Full reporting for each driver, which measures their driving before and after the training
Talk with us:
If you are ready to book, you can book and pay for a course online at www.advanced-driving.co.uk/book – if you are not ready to book or have more than 4 drivers, please get in touch with us. A member of our team will be delighted to help.
Road Safety Risks and Information – Somerset
Somerset is served by the M5 motorway and several fast A roads, and it is a busy county, especially throughout the summer months when it carries a lot of tourist traffic as it is the gateway to Devon and Cornwall. The county’s number of accidents varies considerably over the months due to this.
The M5 motorway travel from the midlands through Somerset and ends at Exeter, where it merges into the A30 and carries on to Lands End at the lowest point of Cornwall. It joins Somerset just before Bridgewater at junction 23. The motorway is a relatively safe stretch as it travels through Somerset, the worst affected area between junction 25 and 26 near Taunton, with several severe collision sites and some fatalities recorded too. Considering the high volume of traffic that this motorway sees nearly every weekend and public holidays from April until October, it has very low statistics. Still, it is good to know where the hot spots occur, as no route is truly ever 100% safe. The A38 is the main A road that runs through Somerset, starting at Axbridge, it is a relatively fast and winding road, at least 50mph in rural areas, that joins many towns and villages, and there are far more accidents occurring along this route than the motorway running alongside. The A38 near Burnham on Sea is quite high risk, with collision sites showing that drivers are probably unfamiliar with the area due to the holiday location and its links to Weston Super Mare. Bridgewater has very high accident rates along the A38 as it is a highly populated town, and the A38 is the main Bristol Road merging into the Taunton road that runs through the town centre. Several smaller minor roads lead from here into the town centre, with higher than average accident rates, but most are in the summer months. Between Bridgewater and Taunton, the A38 has very few serious accidents until the meetings of other junctions, where roads split into the A358 and the A378, where rates increase.
The A39 from Bridgewater following the north Somerset coast has seen numerous accidents as it is a fairly rural road and quite winding in parts. The stretch of road between Williton and Carhampton is particularly dangerous, as is the road between Minehead and Porlock. These routes should be used with caution as holidaymakers without local road knowledge will often be involved in collisions in such areas. The A303 from Wincanton to Ilminster is another fast road littered with severe and fatal crash sites, and these occur when minor rural lanes cross the faster route, and the worse areas are near the Stockland Hill and Sandy Lane crossings.
Rural Somerset has its fair share of accidents, with the lanes around Willand and Hemyock being particularly hazardous, and care should be taken, especially during winter months when flooding or tree falls can lead to lane closures and redirections.
This is only a minimal outline of collision sites in Somerset, but if you have any specific roads you travel on and are keen to discover what parts are at higher risk in terms of collisions, please contact us. We offer a free-of-charge service to anyone who is interested.