REPORTER Brendan McFadden is being helped in his quest to pass his advanced driving test by chairman of the Cirencester and District Advanced Motorist (CADAM) group Gordon Burley; and progress has been mixed in his latest lessons.

As the wheel of the car hit the puddle I was frozen with fear; I expected that I would be going home in an ambulance after careering into the hedge at the side of the road.

But despite hitting the large deep puddle on the A435 Cheltenham Road at about 50 miles per hour, the car glided through it.

Why? Because Gordon told me to take my foot off the gas and depress the clutch as I entered the puddle.

He explained that pressing the clutch meant the engine no longer powered the wheels, meaning that when my left tire hit the puddle and lost traction, the right wheel was not forcing the car to drag towards the side of the road.

Techniques like this are simple to do and can really help you be a safer driver - they put advanced drivers on a higher plane than other road users.

But although I had mastered a new technique, my performance in the rest of the lesson told me I had much more work to do if I was to call myself a true advanced driver.

My positioning was off, I braked going round corners instead of before them and I was slow to spot hazards in the distance. And at times I was told by Gordon to ease off the gas as I was getting too close to traffic ahead of me.

When we were driving on the A417 dual carriageway on the overtaking lane, a van hurtled up behind me at great speed, my gut reaction was to indicate left and pull out of the way – and I promptly did this.

But Gordon was quick to say that the van driver, who was travelling around 80 mph, was driving dangerously.

He explained that van is only allowed to travel at 60 mph on dual carriageways and the correct action would be to gently pull out of his way when I thought it would be safe to do so. He said that moving out of the way so quickly would only encourage the driver to think he was in the right and presume I was the bad driver for blocking his path.

At the end of the lesson, I knew I had to work harder. And by the time my next lesson came around I focused hard on all my problem areas and the result was that Gordon was commending and not criticising me.

And in my latest advanced driving outing with Gordon, where we drove from Cirencester to Malmesbury and back, I was continuing to learn new simple but effective techniques that no doubt helped me to be a safer driver.

As we approached a humpback bridge on the outskirts of Oaksey, Gordon told me to beep my horn to warn any traffic coming the other way of my presence.

Gordon told me that I was progressing well but I had to try and spot hazards in advance because , I was responding to things like traffic pulling out in front of me far too late.

And as we headed down the A433 his point was proved. Gordon advised me to take a look to my right,across a large field, where I could see traffic on A429 road which joined the A433 several hundred metres ahead. In looking across I was able to judge if there was a possibility of traffic pulling out in front of me.

The lesson ended with Gordon giving me great advice.

“The clues are there it is just up to you to spot them,” Gordon said.

So now it is my mission every time I jump in the drivers seat to spot every dog, car, junction and road sign well in advance!

After a few more lessons I expect to sit my test - so the nerves are starting to set in - but I am determined that I will pass first time.