BRENDAN McFadden is being taught to be an advanced driver by Gordon Burley chairman of the Cirencester and District Advanced Motorist group - this time he was in the passenger seat seeing how the expert’s do it.

As I glanced in my rear-view mirror it was shocking to see a van approaching far too close to the car, with only a few yards between our bumpers.

The dangerous driver appeared to be looking through paperwork, often taking his eyes off the road.

Gordon tapped on the brake pedal just enough for the brake lights to turn on and almost immediately the van driver looked up, focussed his eyes back on the road and slowed down.

This simple technique had helped alleviate what was potentially a very dangerous situation.

Gordon explained that by just tapping on the break you can control the traffic.

It was fascinating watching Gordon in this demonstration drive, although I thought my advanced driving was coming along well, spending an hour sat in the passenger seat with him made me realise that I still had far to go on my journey to be an advanced driver.

I felt extremely safe in Gordon's car, everything from his awareness to his judgement of distances was  phenomenal.

At one point a middle-aged woman wondered out into the middle of the road as we were driving through Cirencester Market Place causing Gordon to brake suddenly – prompting him to honk his horn.

“I just did it just to let her know I was driving in the middle of the road, ” he said.

We encountered many hazards throughout the lesson, including busy roundabouts and speeding vans on the A417.

And Gordon said the best way to deal with upcoming hazards is to just ease of the accelerator.

“Without using the break, just let the speed wash off, ” he said.

On another occasion as we drove through Cirencester town centre he pointed out how easy it is to prepare for dangers by just assessing your environment and the time of day.

He said: “Look at the time, it is 15.24pm on a sunny day, school children could be playing.”

As well as being aware, Gordon’s positioning of the car was fantastic.

He had taught me in my previous lesson that when approaching a corner I should adjust the speed of the car to a reasonable level and then accelerate around the corner at speed.

This technique prevents under steer by ensuring that the weight of the vehicle is evenly distributed to both tires which ensures they grip the road.

Gordon’s demonstration drive was an eye opener, unlike me, he was able to interpret hazards and tackle them with ease.

Whilst I feel I have a good grasp of advanced driving techniques, they do not come naturally to me and I find myself thinking before reacting.

But as the old adage goes, practice makes perfect and I am determined to improve so I can pass my advanced driving test.