How to Drive - Ben Collins (Book review)

My first introduction to Ben Collins outside of being the man in the white suit was in his first book … The Man in the White Suit. It was a great collection of stories from his time in racing, training with special forces soldiers and becoming the tame racing driver. Some say it was a great book. Some say that he has written another one too.

How to Drive, the ultimate guide – from the man who was the Stig, chronicles Ben’s own driving experiences with other “how to drive books” and some behind the scenes stories of his life as a driver of all things fast. Funnily enough, the prologue is called How Not to Drive! The book is easy to follow and is broken up into four parts.

Part I briefly discusses the history of driving informing us why we drive on the left side of the road and why being able to pass the driving test does not necessarily make a good driver. Part II commences with the basics such as hands at 9 to 3, how to hold your knob (guys pay attention) and why seat belts are such an important safety feature. I speak from personal experience on the subject of seat belts that without one, my first accident would have resulted in a Toyota shaped logo emblazoned into my chest after being hit from behind at 70km/h.

Part III runs through the various scenarios that you are likely to face in your time as a driver starting off with the driving test. I always felt like I learned how to pass the test, not how to drive the car. Technologies such as ABS or anti-lock braking system would have been great to test out and learn the misconception “that ABS enables you to brake later, which it doesn’t.” Finally, Part IV is all about skids (insert underwear joke here), driving in extreme situations and worst-case scenarios such as dealing with brake failure.

Throughout the book, Ben also introduces some new stories from his Top Gear days, stunt driving as Bond and driving some amazing road and track machines. The only criticism I have is that I wanted even more of the anecdotes and behind the scenes stories. However, the book is called How to Drive not Stories from the Man who was the Stig, and I assume there are many more stories in the memory bank to add a very welcome third hardback soon.

The book is an enjoyable read. I won’t say that upon reading it you will become God’s gift to driving, however, there are some great anecdotes, tips and techniques that will certainly make you a more aware and more educated driver. I leave you with this from the Alpine Stars wearing, driving legend himself, “life’s too short to arrive dead on time.”