Skilled Drivers Course

matttyley · 05-08-2010, 10:31 PM

Today I switched my comprehensive insurance for my FG XR6 over to AAMI. They offered me a better rate and were far easier to deal with than SGIC.

They also offer a "Skilled Drivers Course" which the lady on the phone referred to as a defensive driving course. I don't know how "defensive" it really is though but it's free and it reduces my premium by a further 10% until I reach the age of 25, currently 22.

Anyone familiar with this course?

http://www.aami.com.au/customer-serv...rs-course.aspx

1TUFXR · 06-08-2010, 09:35 AM

it is pretty basic, mostly driving and seating positioning as well as correct use of abs and traction control. Honestly i wouldnt bother....

You are better doing the John bowe Advance Driving Course if anything and actually have racecar drivers educate you on correct driving skills and the such.

My poor XF · 06-08-2010, 10:06 AM

Worth doing purely for the 10% discount.

**Raptor** · 06-08-2010, 10:29 AM

Absolutely worth doing and I wouldn't be looking at an advanced course before you'd done this one. This one is aimed at driving on the road rather than driving (track/race) technique.

My company puts anyone that spends a reasonable amount of time on the road through similar courses as part of their OHS commitment.

Both my kids will be doing it before they get their P's

TheInterceptor · 06-08-2010, 10:38 AM

Anything that could potentialy improve your driving skills is worth doing.

zdcol71 · 06-08-2010, 10:39 AM

Without bringing up statistics, I think the insurance companies are probably the ones who spend most time and money tracking trends in regards driving habits.Despite a lot of thinking that governments and the police are only in it for the money, the insurers, by definition, are only in it for the money.They have to pay out everytime somone(who is insured, obviously) has an accident.Sure there is excess to consider, and premiums will go up to cover ,but every dollar they can get without having to pay out is a financial gain. They therefore have a pretty good reason to keep people from being involved in accidents, and they also have a pretty good idea who is more likely to be involved in said accidents. A defensive driving course is not and shouldn't be compared to an advanced driver training course. They are not meant to teach you how to control a high speed drift, or negotiate a day on a skid pan. It is to make drivers aware of the hazards on the roads, and how to identify them and take measures to avoid them.(Well explained in the AAMI web page linked to).
If it also saves you 10% on your premium, I would suggest it would be highly recommended, notwithstanding that there are obviously benefits as well from attending advanced driver training courses.

zdcol71 · 06-08-2010, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raptor

Absolutely worth doing and I wouldn't be looking at an advanced course before you'd done this one. This one is aimed at driving on the road rather than driving (track/race) technique.

My company puts anyone that spends a reasonable amount of time on the road through similar courses as part of their OHS commitment.

Both my kids will be doing it before they get their P's

Must have been typing my response whilst you were posting Raptor, but absolutely agree

GavL · 06-08-2010, 11:06 AM

I did it when I got my XR6, was a fair bit of fun (although not overly difficult) and good to meet some new people. It's free, so why not

platinumXR · 06-08-2010, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

Anything that could potentialy improve your driving skills is worth doing.

Smoke Pursuit · 06-08-2010, 12:55 PM

Yep i have done a few now and they have saved my life...

Gotta send the mrs to do one now because I think they are very very worthwhile from my experience...

**Peuty** · 06-08-2010, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raptor

Absolutely worth doing and I wouldn't be looking at an advanced course before you'd done this one. This one is aimed at driving on the road rather than driving (track/race) technique.

This.

Mad if you don't do it.

Fev · 06-08-2010, 02:05 PM

I did it about a year ago, was free and definately worth the 10% off your premium. Other than that it's just low speed car control (like trying to do u-turns at 35, than 40, than 45 and it shows you what sort of difference the +5km does to the handling. Nothing over 45km/hr and to be honest you don't learn much. Just do it anyway. it's worth the saving

Fairlane · 06-08-2010, 02:10 PM

I did the AAMI course at Quakers Hill Sydney about 5 years ago. It isnt the best course around, but its free and you save a bucket load off your premiums.

Plus more importantly its a great way of hooking up with the girls

Pretty basic stuff. About an hour in the classroom, about 90 min on the course. I think another 1hr in the classroom and that back out on the course.

ralphy · 06-08-2010, 07:31 PM

i've been meaning to do the aami course aswell, just gotta get a day off work to do it, even if it is crap still will get you 10% off your insurance....i've got another year to do it

GR8XR6 · 06-08-2010, 10:39 PM

They are always good refreshers for drivers also.

Phyber · 07-08-2010, 01:35 AM

Titan Ford gave me a free AHG driving course when I bought my Turbo, was good to do. Made me adjust my seating in order to have faster control of the wheel (arms more bent) and I finally found out what ABS felt like while engaging. It's like the bottom of the car is being ripped off, the bloke wasn't lying.

Good to do and I even got a dorky certificate

Marduk · 07-08-2010, 11:11 PM

Worth doing only for the %10 drop. If you actually want to learn something do a John Bowe course. I've done both the defensive driving one and the advanced driving one.

OZQUAD44 · 08-08-2010, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raptor

Absolutely worth doing and I wouldn't be looking at an advanced course before you'd done this one. This one is aimed at driving on the road rather than driving (track/race) technique.

My company puts anyone that spends a reasonable amount of time on the road through similar courses as part of their OHS commitment.

Both my kids will be doing it before they get their P's

Aggreed

davocol · 08-08-2010, 11:13 AM

I have done a similar course recently through Subaru, it is basically the same as the AAMI one which are both run by DECA. I highly recommend it, the eye opener for me was just how good DSC is and how many other safety features were in the Subaru I did not even know about. The other eye opener is just how little the general public knows about anything car related, a few of the people at my course did not even know what the function of ABS was.

Sizey · 08-08-2010, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1TUFXR

it is pretty basic, mostly driving and seating positioning as well as correct use of abs and traction control. Honestly i wouldnt bother....

You are better doing the John bowe Advance Driving Course if anything and actually have racecar drivers educate you on correct driving skills and the such.

I did one in Adelaide a couple years ago and it was slalom, vehicle handling around a bend braking distance and emergency lane change. They do it with your own car so you know your limits of your vehicle.

In the morning of the course, you go through all the theo..........zzzzzzz.....oh sorry theory component. Besides, you always have that discount afrter doing it.

Ross-b · 08-08-2010, 12:02 PM

i did the aami one 2 years ago
its free under a certain age if your with aami so why not do it for the 10% discount

basically they bore you with some statistics then they give you the correct tyre pressures then you do some brake tests and slalom and hairpins to show you the differences in your cars abilities at different speeds