Best intensive winter driving courses: improve your skills on snow and ice

Winter has arrived, so get ready for months of rain, ice and snow. The colder months in the UK typically bring with them hazardous driving conditions that make it easy to lose control of your car.

This is where bespoke driving courses, which can give you all the techniques you might need if you ever find yourself behind the wheel in inclement weather, are a massive help.

We take a look at five of the best from across the country…

Drive-Tech 4x4 Winter Driving Course

• Price: £149-£299
• Duration: Several hours
• Location: Castle Combe Circuit, Wiltshire

Drive-Tech’s specialised Winter Driving Course is held within a compact, enclosed environment. This allows drivers to rapidly encounter different obstacles, with a team of instructors on hand to offer guidance on advanced driving techniques that, in their words, “can mean all the difference between a narrow escape and a crash”.

Basic 4x4 driver training starts from £149. However, those looking to spend some time on the skid pan to gain better understanding of driving on low-traction surfaces can step up to the one-on-one package for £299. If you want training for driving all year round, Drive-Tech also offers safer driving workshops, as well as off-road driving courses to help you tackle the most treacherous of road conditions.

Drivers Domain UK Winter Driving Course

• Price: £320 
• Duration: 3.5 hours
• Location: Anywhere in the UK

Company car drivers make up a large part of the driving population in the UK, and any responsible fleet manager is going to consider advanced training for staff. The Winter Driving course from Drivers Domain UK is specifically aimed at these drivers, and lasts for three-and-a-half hours.

Instructors will typically come to your door and take you out in your own vehicle, with the course split into three parts. Parts one and two show drivers how to prepare their vehicle for winter driving – which areas need regular maintenance and checks, and the necessary items to carry with you in your car at all times. The behind-the-wheel training takes place on public roads, and teaches drivers how to adapt their driving style to more challenging conditions.

Goodwood Spin & Slide

• Price: £149
• Duration: Over an hour
• Location: Goodwood, Chichester, W Sussex

Home to the iconic Festival of Speed, Goodwood’s estate also works as a driver training centre. For a lesson in car control, motorists can take part in the facility’s Spin & Slide training course that’s run throughout the year.

The session consists of a briefing, a demonstration and around 50 minutes of driving time in the new rear-wheel-drive BMW 220i on a wet, low-friction track that will help drivers master controlling a slide and recovering a spin. Tuition is provided by Goodwood’s driving instructors on a one-to-one basis.

IAMRoadSmart Advanced Driver Course

• Price: £200
• Duration: Six to 12 sessions across several hours
• Location: Local groups

The Advanced Driver Course from road safety charity IAMRoadSmart isn’t just aimed at enhancing winter driving skills, but helping motorists improve behind the wheel throughout the year. Included in the fee are between six and 12 sessions which each last a few hours and are conducted in your own car with an expert instructor.

You’ll go over everything, from advanced car control to observation and road positioning, as you become a more complete driver, better able to deal with poor conditions. At the end of the course is the Advanced Test. If passed, this will grant you an advanced driving licence from IAMRoadSmart – which will help you save on insurance and be a safer driver in general.

RED Skid Pan Experience & Training Course

• Price: £115 
• Duration: 1.5 hours
• Location: Donington Park Circuit, Leicestershire

You may know RED as one of the biggest driving schools in the UK – but did you know that it also offers a skid pan experience? Located at Donington Park racetrack near Derby, RED’s Skid Pan Experience utilises a state-of-the-art hydraulic skid frame to simulate the sensation of skidding or aquaplaning.

The whole experience lasts roughly an hour-and-a-half and begins with a briefing, discussing the main reasons why a car may lose traction. Then, after stepping inside the car, participants will be shown how to correct a skid when it might occur/and or prevent one from happening. Participants must be over 17 years of age, but you don’t necessarily need a driving licence to get involved, plus the course can also be bought as a gift voucher.

Get ready for winter on the roads

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