Nascar it wasn't....

Vroom.

Today I got to play with my work car. I say "play" because that's exactly what it felt like. Work sent me to the National Advanced Driver School, not because I'm a bad driver, but because they do that for all of us who travel to make sure we're fully equipped to deal with anything that could happen. And it's so much fun! I had done the course once before, years ago, so this was a refresher, but I was using my work car and it handles slightly differently from my own car.

We did emergency stops, evasive manouvres, cornering and reversing through a slalom (!), and other defensive driving techniques including late apexing, which is a technique I remembered from last time and use all the time. The cool thing about the course was that the defensive driving course I did just after I sat my driver's license (some years ago!) was purely theory. This course has you in your car, practicing. And it's so much fun.

Next time I need a refresher I'm going to try to convince them to send me to Stage 2, where they take you to a racetrack (either Manfeild or Pukekohe) and the instructor sits in the car with you while you do the circuit - at normal driving speeds (presumably at 50km/hr the first time and then possibly at open road later) reinforcing and practicing good cornering and late apexing. It would be so cool - especially to do it at a proper racing circuit!