Sharpen the saw

by Ian Pruce

If you search the internet you can find many variations on the legend of the woodcutters who did or did not “sharpen the saw.” Essentially, it’s about keeping your tools in the best condition for the best results. I was taught this lesson as a child, by my grandfather and again when I worked in a butcher’s shop after I left school. Additionally, I learned that sharp tools are safer than blunt ones (if used properly, of course.)

During the following years, as I moved between jobs and acquired new skills, I came to realise that that concept was true of many things, provided one realises that the things we use are all variations of tools. Just like a saw, they need to be kept sharp and this can only be achieved by taking time to hone, polish and review. This is equally true for our driving skills.

If then we consider that there are approximately 38 million licenced road users in the UK, of which around 200,000 have taken further training, we can estimate a figure of 0.5% who have improved their chances of staying safe on the road. So, it is probably true to say that there a lot of blunt tools in use each day. Keeping mine sharp is possibly the best effort I can make to improve my chances of surviving. If you’d like to sharpen your skills, with free tuition, then look us up on http://www.exeteradvanceddrivers.com.

To those of you who are successful in obtaining the IAM Skill for Life I say, “Well Done,” but remember that it needs to be kept sharp and that task cannot be delegated to another.