REPORTER Brendan McFadden is being taught to be an advanced driver by Gordon Burley, of the Cirencester and District Advanced Motorist (CADAM),which teaches people about road safety by observing them driving; in his latest lesson he drove to Stroud from Cirencester.

It felt odd to be quickly accelerating as I turned round the corner on Stroud Road but strangely the car was not spinning out of my control – it was gliding round the bend with ease.

Gordon told me that by accelerating rather than easing off the gas as I went round the corner as I had done for all of my driving days I could round the bend in a safe controlled manner.

He explained that when turning a corner without accelerating, the weight of the car shifts to the wheel on the opposite side the car is turning, which can often result in under steer (the car turning less sharply than intended) because the tire struggles to grip the road.

He said that by putting my foot on the gas, weight could be evenly distributed to both wheels, which would enable both tires to grip the road as I rounded the corner.

As we drove along Stroud Road, Gordon advised me to stay well behind a row of cars ahead of me.

He told me that the cars ahead, which were driving so close together they resembled a train carrying several carriages, could easily slam into each other if one had to brake suddenly.

As frustrating as it was to be stuck behind a row of cars with no way of overtaking, Gordon’s words had given me confidence that I would be in a safe position should the cars ahead collide.

On the way back to Stroud we parked in the Bear of Rodborough Hotel car park near Rodborough Common.

Here, Gordon told me to reverse into a parking bays rather than drive in nose first. He pointed out that by always parking like this I would find it easier to see traffic that was coming as I left the space.

At the end of the lesson, much to my delight, Gordon remarked that I had performed well in many areas and even said I was at test standard in some such as sticking to speed limits and positioning of my car of the road.

Kicker At this stage of my advanced driving lessons, I can say that I although I am learning advanced driving techniques well, I am finding out more and more ways to improve in each lesson and there is still lots I can learn before I can truly call myself an advanced driver.