Check Test

I’ve got a Check Test coming up fairly soon.  For those who don’t know, the DSA regularly do spot checks on registered driving instructors to make sure they are keeping themselves up to the latest standards expected.

If you take a look at the section of ‘Choosing a driving instructor’ on the DSA website: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/LearningToDriveOrRide/DG_4022528

You will see that all instructors are graded either 4, 5 or 6.  4 is ‘satisfactory’, 5 is ‘good’ and 6 is ‘highest’.

Now when my 2 children were in a ‘satisfactory’ primary school last year – as defined by OFSTED, my opinion of the value of grading driving instructors was fairly low if I’m honest.  However, since last September, they have been in an ‘outstanding’ primary school, and the difference between the two schools is also outstanding.  It is so starkly better, that it makes me wonder why more people do not move to an area where the local schools are graded ‘outstanding’. 

So when I qualified back in the Spring of 2009, I was given a Check Test within just a few weeks of passing all the tests.  And on that Check Test I was graded 4.  Generally speaking, although there is no set rule on the following, generally if someone gets graded 4, they will be tested again within 2 years, graded 5, within 3 years, and graded 6 within 4+ years.  Interestingly, when OFSTED grade a school ‘outstanding’, they do not test that school ever again!  Surprising eh?

Seeing as we are coming into the Spring of my 4^th year of being registered, I was well overdue a Check Test.  And in that regard, I’m pleased that it has finally come through, as I’ve been waiting a long time for it.  But I can’t deny that it makes me feel slightly nervous/anxious. 

An instructor can look at the Check Test in 2 ways.  They can say, “What the hell, I care not a smudge about it, as long as I get a 4 I will be happy, the public don’t give a monkeys about it anyway”.  Or, an instructor can say “I want a 6, I am striving for a 6”.  Why is there this difference in opinion?  Ultimately, I believe it is because if you were to ask the parent of your average Learner, what were the deciding factors for selecting the driving instructor they did, I honestly do not think that the Check Test grade would feature high up on the list.  If you’re a Parent reading this and say I’m wrong on that,  please add a comment on the bottom of this blog as it is something that is very hard to accurately judge.

You see, looking at the wider picture, you have to ask yourself what are the DSA trying to achieve?  If they are trying to give the public some means of knowing how good any driving instructor is, then as I have expanded on in a previous blog, there are good ways of doing that, which they choose not to for reasons best known to them.

And this is the point really.  Whilst I know that I pass far more Learners FIRST TIME than I fail, I know that I am delivering quality instruction in terms of passing the test, that is not what is being measured on a Check Test.  On a Check Test, the examiner is testing your ability to provide a lesson that is structured according to the DSA rulebook.  What do I mean?

On a Check Test, the DSA want to see us demonstrate that we can pitch our level of instruction at the appropriate level for the ability of the driver in front of us (note the word ‘driver’, it does not HAVE to be a Learner).  They want to see that we have a logical structure to the session; it meshes in with what has been done previously, and what is going to be done in the future.  They want to see that we are choosing our words and actions thoughtfully – there needs to be a demonstration that actual learning is taking place.  They want to be reassured that we are able to control the driver, so that they do not kill anyone on the driving session, and yet, they also want us to provoke thought, develop understanding, nurture the responsibilities of a careful and considerate driver.  They want to see that you are able to manage dealing with any driving faults that crop up in an efficient, structured manner that develops learning.  And this is the point, the DSA have very clear ideas about how that is to be done.  There is no messing here, let there be no doubt at all that the MANNER in which a lesson is conducted is incredibly tightly assessed to the DSA ‘system’.

Some driving instructors buy into that DSA ‘system’ and some hold it in low regard.  It’s not for me to make a comment about that.  I personally am very interested in it, I am a ‘systems’ man by nature, always have been – it is just in my nature.  I work best when I know precisely what the standard expected is, and I am in tune with knowing how to achieve that standard.  But I completely respect anyone’s opinion to the contrary; I appreciate that some instructors will be at the very furthest end of the spectrum in their approach to instructing as compared to mine – that is their right.

So anyway, on the Check Test you can either elect to take one of your learners, or you can ask the examiner to role-play a Learner.  It’s an interesting point.  The balance to be struck is considering the factors you do have control over, and those you don’t.  You see if you elect role-play, then you can expect the examiner to bring to the session several faults, all coming your way, in a fairly intense period of time, but they will all be related to the subject that the test has been pre-set on.  So if you had selected a lesson on a manoeuvre, the examiner wont start messing up an overtake on a dual carriageway.  Contrast this with using one of your learners.  Whilst you will know that learner really well, you know how he/she ticks, you can select your learner well if you think about it; what you don’t know is how they are going to perform when there is an examiner in the back.  So if your learner does the most horrendous, unrelated to subject driving fault, then that now becomes the subject of the test, it completely takes over your original plans for the session.  The other aspect to consider of taking your own learner is what happens if they are ill the night before the test, or perhaps decide they don’t want to do it?

I’ve selected the real Learner option, and what I have to get my head around is who to use, what subject to cover and the route that we will take.  Big decisions.    

Groupon

The following is aimed at any ADI's/PDI's perhaps monitoring my blog.  Hope it is useful......

I received a cold call from Groupon a couple of weeks ago.  Thought I’d blog my experience not in any attempt to sway anybody to either go with them, or not go with them, but thought it may be of interest to ADI’s/PDI’s.  The following is entirely my own thoughts/feelings, I have no ties with the company whatsoever.

The chap introduced himself to me, and said he was from Groupon.  Now although I’ve heard of Groupon, I’ve not got any personal experience of using them, and I don’t know of any other driving instructor who has used them, and sings their praises.  Having said that, I know that they are an incredibly successful organisation, so they must be doing something right.  My Dad was the first person to mention the organisation to me, a few yrs back now, and so I took a look on the internet at what they do.  My initial reaction was that their business model works on big numbers, there is a very big ‘hook’ to get the customer numbers in, and then it is down to you to satisfy and build on that custom.   I dismissed it as a venture that I would be interested in, as it could not be further from my approach to teaching people to drive.  I deal with low numbers, and high quality of service. 

So getting back to this cold call.  The opening gambit was “Could you be busier Tom?”

Now for some cold calls, that would be all I need to hear to politely terminate the call straight away.  But because I know this is a successful organisation, I answered the initial questions, honestly, openly and with full transparency.  I could sense that the chap was taken back by my honesty.  As it happens I am looking to renew an existing marketing initiative in March valued at about £2000; so in that regard his timing could not have been much better.  I was open with my turnover and capacity, I was working on the basis that only by providing him with accurate info would he likewise be able to give me an accurate assessment of how they can work something out for me.

He was saying that promotions run by driving schools previously, very often immediately net about 70 new customers and that is with the promotion having a 24hr window only.  I told him that there was absolutely no way I could accommodate 70 new customers, I could not even handle half that amount, and that was one of the primary reasons why I had my initial reservations with the organisation a few years back.  Anyhow, he ploughed on, and told me that it could work by offering 10 1hr lessons for £64    So these 70 odd people would be paying £64 in the expectation of receiving 10 x 1 hour lessons; half of that £64 goes to Groupon, and half to me.  So I would be providing each learner that took this offer up, with 10 hours of lessons, of which I personally receive £3.20 an hour.  When I told him that it is generally recognised in the industry, that it costs (overall costs) £10 an hour to run a driving school car, I could almost hear him ‘gulp’.  His theory was that although each new learner was effectively costing me £70 to provide them with 10 hrs of lessons, if I was worth my salt, those customers would then continue on with me to pay the normal rates for the rest of their driving course.  That is a big assumption to make I believe, but I thought I’d stick with the conversation.

I told him that on average a learner takes me just over 30 hrs to get them to test standard...on average.   Very often, my learners take out 2 block bookings of 10x1.5hr lessons which cost £325 each.  So every learner, on average, is giving me an income of £650.  So a learner on this promotion would COST me £70 for the first 10 hours.  That leaves, 20 hours which represents about £420.  So my income from each of the learners on this promotion would be £350 (on average), instead of £650.

His reply?  But I am thinking on paying £2000 in March on a new marketing initiative.  Why not invest that money in this scheme instead?  Clever reply, full marks for thinking on your feet I thought.

So now I think it pays to take a step back and see what is being proposed here.

If I was able to accommodate 70 new customers, then I would be (potentially) looking at netting 70 x £350 if every single one of them carried on with having lessons with me after the promotional 10 hrs (again, big IF).  So that would be something in the region of £24,000 of revenue.  Whether it would actually be 70 is one thing, and what % would continue with lessons at my normal rates is another question, but you can see how this works.  It works by numbers, big numbers. 

As it transpired, the extra capacity that I could take on, made this a non-starter, but that wasn’t actually the deal breaker for me.  This guy lost my faith and trust in him.  I dug a bit deeper with facts on success stories he had of driving instructors doing this.  I asked for details of who I could contact to confirm his statements.  He gave me 3 contact names, 2 of which had successfully run promotions in 2012 and were apparently delighted with the experience.  1 was a name of a driving school with a telephone number, the other 2 just business names.  Not one single one of them was contactable by me.  When I googled them, 1 of the 3 apparently did not exist.  The other 2 were so amateurish I was insulted.  They did not even have individual websites.  The number I was given went straight through to an answer machine that had no message – it was appalling.  And it was at that precise point, that this chap lost me as a customer.  I had been up front, honest, transparent in all my comms with him, I had spent I would estimate about 2 hrs of my time speaking to him over about 6 phone calls, and the one thing I asked of him, he failed to deliver on. 

When he called me and I fedback to him my feelings of not being able to contact ONE of the names given to me from him, within about 2 hrs I had a person ring me up, claiming to be one of those driving instructors.  Now you just work that one out in your head for a moment. 

So to summarise, it did not work for me.  I can see how it DOES work for some businesses, but it seems my initial reservations were spot on.

Heckle away - get it off your chest!

Had a strange day yesterday.

Started off by taking an early learner  (6 hrs in), to the wrong location to practise.  We had set the objective to try out some more emerge/turns in an area he has not been to yet, and I had added the subject of ‘meeting situations’ which was bound to come his way in the process of getting there.

Having set the area as Yaxley I had made the observation that some of it is real tight down there, good experience.  So as we get there, before we really got stuck into the emerges/turns, we came across a parked car on the right, and an oncoming 4x4, was not holding back.... he just kept coming – which spooked my learner, and in his desperate reactions he mounted the kerb.

You could argue that the 4x4 was at fault and so dismiss the mishap, putting it down to someone else.  But as I explained to my learner, the ‘fault’ was entirely mine.  It was a great example of choosing a location of convenience rather than the best location for the objectives.  My learner had driven back to his home for the first time in the previous session, so I was conscious that he would be driving away from his home for the first time yesterday, so I didn’t want him to be driving anywhere too challenging to begin with.  And sure enough, getting to Yaxley was NOT too challenging, in that respect my plan had worked, but Yaxley was definitely not the right place for the objectives set. 

It resulted in me driving us somewhere far more appropriate and he had a dream of a session.  The situation was recovered.  Thankfully I had not lost that all important trust and respect element required in the relationship between instructor and learner.  It was a good reminder for me, especially with a check test coming up soon, that planning is absolutely key.  In the spirit of ‘client centred learning’ that the DSA are embracing, this setting of what to do, when and where needs to be 2 way but we can’t simply lay all the onus on the learner to set these objectives – as can be seen, it could have quite disastrous consequences.

My last session was 7 – 8.30pm and I had one of those moments where I could not remember for the life of me ‘dedicated lanes’.  We were doing approaching r/b’s, where the intended exit was 2^nd on the left, but lane 1 on the approach, was ‘dedicated’ for the exit of 1^st left only.  You know when you have a word on the tip of your tongue but I could not get it out?  I did some frantic flicking through pages of my Highway Code, and Know Your Traffic Signs books, but I could not find it.  Looking back now, I realise it was just a silly moment, but at the time, I was all consumed with trying to remember the word!

I got back home and checked out my driving Facebook page (BIG TOM Driving School), about 9pm.  I found that a chap 4 minutes earlier, had put up a comment on my ‘hazard perception’ video clip.  Briefly to explain, I had filmed a stretch of road about a month or so ago, and asked the viewer to consider all the potential hazards that they could see.  I uploaded it to my YouTube channel (2010BIGTOM), and although there had been 30 odd viewings since, no-one had actually put any comments on the vid clip at all.  So I put a list of the potential hazards that I saw, and plonked it up on my Facebook page for my learners to take another look.  This chap last night who is unknown to me personally, wrote something along the lines of:

“If you are going to put up a video of hazard awareness, at least choose somewhere that has some hazards.  What is your point?”

My reply to his comment is still on the Facebook page, and I can only assume had the effect of raising his awareness on the subject of hazards, because within 2 minutes of me replying to him, he deleted his original comment.  Which actually is a shame, because however technically naive his original comment was, you cannot deny, judging by the tone of it, that it was genuinely believed. 

I can only assume he is a learner, as he is viewing one of my driving vids, on my driving page.   So it just goes to show you how someone can view a road ahead, and have zero perception of hazards – even when you draw their attention to it – when actually, the road is riddled with potential hazards. 

A sobering thought.        

(Just as a little ‘by the by’, if you get a chance, take a look at the vid and freeze frame it at precisely 2m 23secs  That large black mark in the road that you can see, is a massive skid mark that as you can see swerves violently to the left.  I was able to see that whatever had caused that skid, had swerved completely off the road and straight into that ditch on the left.  There were no flowers there, so I hope no-one died in that incident, but I wonder if the chap who put up his comment last night would have spotted that?)

"You WILL do as I say"

I was recently informed by a pupil that they were reduced to tears with their previous instructor.  This is a subject dear to my heart, and I am sorry to say, not uncommon to hear.  Customers do not pay people to reduce them to tears when learning. 

If you are attempting to learn something and all is not going well, then this is a measure of your trainers inability.  They might shout at dogs; as pups, they might rub their noses in their own mess to stop them messing in the house, they might continually repeat commands in a stern voice so that their dog learns, but with humans, you don’t NEED to condition them.  Humans simply need to WANT to learn.  If they have the motivation, then it will happen.

Last year, a trainer who apparently trains driving instructors asked me and a few others to give feedback on a typical training session he was giving a PDI.  I was soon to discover that in fact, I was the only one who had provided him with feedback – which is perhaps a message in itself!  I found his style of teaching dictatorial.  He was ‘forcing the issue’, commands given in a raised, very firm voice.  Many of the commands were repeated over and over again.  Questions were not welcomed, there were signs of exasperation, impatience in his commands.  It makes for a very restrictive learning environment.  The trainee must have felt very controlled and I imagine uncomfortable.  This particular person put up other video clips of his teaching methods, and they showed a similar approach.  The thrust of it is this:

“Do this.... just do it damn you.... and you will pass the test”

I found this kind of character kept cropping up in my 11 years in the Met.  In that kind of ‘disciplined organisation’, it runs on the basis that the workers/employees simply must do as they are told.  There is no room for ingenuity, voluntary actions, individual thought, spontaneity, originality, instead..... they say - and you do.  And if you come from such a background, and ESPECIALLY if you know of no other way – you have no other experience of working life, then I guess it is really no surprise that you consider that the norm.  This is how, in your eyes, the world revolves.

So if your trainer or instructor appears to have the approach of:

“Me God, you pleb”

.... then my advice to you is get out of that relationship.  Life is too short, you honestly do not NEED to be learning in that kind of environment.  If there is one positive thing that comes out of an economic depression that this country currently finds itself in, it is that it gets rid of dead wood, the strong survive.  There is plenty of choice of training providers out there, and you simply do not need to be humiliated, angered, frightened, intimidated when you are paying someone to teach you.

My heart bleeds when I hear of people being reduced to tears – don’t stand for it, get out!

"Come on down"

Anyone old enough to remember this catch phrase will know that the presenter of the show commands the ‘contestant’ to come out of their studio audience seat, and meet him/her on the stage.  Cue bright lights, cameras..... “action”!

And it is a little like that on the day of your test.  I went down this morning with one of my learners to see the ‘theatrics’ live so to speak.  We parked up, got out the car, and stood just as a test was about to begin.  It is a little like a stage show.   Who are the players?

The examiner:  Out he/she comes, calls out your name, polite intro, inspect your driving licence, asks if you want anyone to accompany you on your test, and strides out the test centre confidently, professionally, assuredly.

The candidate: Nervous as anything, sitting and waiting, thinking “blimey, I thought the dentist was bad, it has nothing on this wait”.  Feeling alone, nervous, anxious, worried.

The driving instructor (Tom): Sat there, enjoying the moment, this is what all the hard work has been for, feeling nervous, but feeling confident, knowing that this learner is about to become a full licence holder.

Let’s look at a typical pre-show:

We have a time for our test, an exact time...... 11.37hrs   Tom turned up at your door at 10.30am  You showed him both parts of your licence, he hid them away somewhere, somewhere you can’t quite remember now.  He asked you what you want to do.  You mumbled something incoherent, and basically got over to him that you are a quivering wreck.  You got in the car, set yourself up, felt in a little way comforted by the fact that Tom was doing everything, and saying everything that he normally does.

10 minutes in, you realise that this was the same car, it was still Tom, this was still you able to drive, and life is perhaps not quite as bad as it seemed this morning when you first woke up.

You do some more driving, you ask if you can do a manoeuvre, you do it, “great stuff” says Tom.  You have so many thoughts and feelings going on in your head it is not believable; you’re thinking “is this normal”?

Tom directs you slowly but surely towards the Test Centre.  You drive in, you have been here a few times before, you know the routine.

The Main Show:

Tom directs you into the Test Centre, “Blimey, this is tight” you think to yourself.  But under the guidance of Tom you park up.  You are glad he reminds you to turn off the engine and take the key out the ignition!  Driving licence... check.  Brain.... check.  Tom.... check.

We sit, we wait.  Dentist time.

Out come the professionals, the examiners.  Ask for your licence.  Ask if you want someone to accompany you.  Escort you out.  Do the eyesight check.  Do the show and tell.  Suddenly you realise, all 3 of us are sat there, and this is it, this is actually it.  You turn the key, Tom has told you, as soon as that engine is on, it is ‘game on’ until the engine goes off.

You drive out the Test Centre, drive around for 38 minutes, you will do 1 manouevure, 10 mins of independent driving, a little dual carriageway driving, maybe an emergency stop, and before you know it, they will be handing you a certificate to say you have passed.

At some stage later in the day, you will be at home, sit back, and be really proud of yourself.

A big pill to swallow

We look at our parents driving, or maybe an older brother/sister and we think to ourselves, “That looks so easy, I must be able to do that”.  As we learn to drive, realisations pop up that hit us like a brick wall.  How much more difficult driving at night is, is one such example.  The intricacy of the manoeuvres is another.  In fact, the manoeuvres is a really good example.

When we see friends and family performing manoeuvres it seems so effortless.  They are quite happy to use the opening of a junction to enable a U-turn in one go.  They bay park seemingly without giving it a second thought.  And yet, when we do our driving lessons, the instructor seems to be really making a big deal out of them.... what’s that all about?

The first thing to realise is that the manoeuvres that the DSA test all of us on, in the driving test, have little in common to what the vast majority of us will then do after we pass.  What could you be asked to do on test?

1.        A turn in the road – turning the car round in a street without using any of the footpath or anyones drive

2.       Parallel park – pulling up alongside a parked car and tucking yourself behind it by reverse parking

3.       Bay park – reversing your car into a vacant bay

4.       Left reverse – reversing your car left, into a minor road

5.       Right reverse* – reversing your car right, into a minor road

*I do not know of anyone getting this one on a learners test, it may have happened, but I don’t personally know of it.  It’s in the recommended syllabus so it is worth covering.

But the point is, how the DSA want these manoeuvres executed on test is very specific.  A long time ago, I made a string of videos on my YouTube channel (“2010BIGTOM”) for this very reason; you are welcome to go and have a look at them, they are very regularly viewed because I think the test manoeuvres in general terms is one of the great mysteries for learners.  It’s not really for me to express the right and wrongs of the stance the DSA take on this subject but I will make one observation:

The attention to detail needed when performing a ‘test style’ manoeuvre is similar to that used by a writer when selecting his/her words.  It is the same attention that a person will give to exactly how/where they will trek up a mountain.  It is the same detail to how a teacher will structure a lesson.  It is the same detail to how a plasterer will plaster a wall.  The same attention to solving a Rubik cube.  Nothing is left to chance.  All these people doing those tasks, don’t “suck it and see”, they are not “seeing how it goes”.   An artist will spend hours on the most minute of detail. 

And so it is with learning the manoeuvres.  You need to learn how to perform it accurately (in terms of position), with control (in terms of pace) and with regard to anyone around you (vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists etc) – and you need to be able to do all of that in a reasonable timeframe too, in other words, efficiently.

So it is no surprise really that manoeuvres can be a pretty big reality check for learners.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there will be learners that go to test that are not prepared for all of the possible manoeuvres to the extent I have described above.  Some will be praying they don’t get one or two or maybe even three.  Remember, you only get one manoeuvre on the test.  But in order for you to be properly prepared for what might come your way after the test, my advice is practise your manoeuvres to do the following variations:

1.        Gradients/cambers – you will be amazed how these CAN affect the pace of the car

2.       Tightness – narrow roads, wide roads, sharp corners, wide corners; this affects the amount of steering you need to put on

3.       Busyness – on a quiet road, on a busy road, with pedestrians and cyclists and buses to cater for and without

4.       Conditions – in the rain, bright sun, in the dark, when there is and is not white paint, when there are and are not any double yellow lines

5.       Near vehicles – try practising parking sometimes next to a vehicle (numbers 2 & 3 in the above list of manoeuvres), and also when there are no vehicles nearby.

6.       Real life – don’t forget to practise how you will perform manoeuvres in real life too, although they may not follow the same specific regime of the test manoeuvres, they must still be done safely, with due regard to others and fully in control.

Being PROPERLY prepared for the test

I was out with one of my learners very recently who has so far taken 18hrs of instruction.  She came to me as an absolute beginner, and she does not have the opportunity to practise in between my lessons.  Now 18 hours is NOT long, at all, in the driving instruction world.

With no intention whatsoever of insulting any other driving instructors out there who may be reading my blog, she is a typical example of someone who an instructor could so easily be fooled by.  By that I mean one could very easily consider her ready for test, take her to test and yet she fails.  I say that for the following reasons:

She very rarely makes a driving error in terms of driving to a ‘system’ – so she does demonstrate a structure to her driving, MSpsl, POM, LADA are all there.  And boy do we like to see that.  That is a big tick in our world.

She does not flap.  Whatever happens, she is able to deal with without seemingly panicking.  This is quite unique for someone with so little driving hours under her belt. 

She is a ‘calm’ driver.  Although I’m sure her mind is working very hard, the actions of her hands and feet are controlled.

When you ask her a question as she is driving, almost without fail, she will correctly answer the question.

So outwardly, you look at her, and you see ‘control’.  In other words, when she is driving, you are not anticipating the need to suddenly go for the duals at all.  Instructors will be able to relate to that remark I’m sure; some learners you cannot give them an inch, you must always be 100% at the ready, but not so for this lass.  But dig a bit deeper and there is much to take note of:

She will very occasionally have not enough regard for her position in the road, driving too close to parked cars, or coming on to a roundabout a little too soon when someone is already on it, so she pulls off too near to the car that has just crossed her.  Very occasionally she will emerge from a junction without taking all the necessary obs.  Although she will recover very quickly, she will repeatedly stall due to the gas not being set.   She may use too much width of road on a turn in the road, so that she touches a kerb, not mounts, but touches.   She may drop some ‘mirrors in pairs’.

In other words she makes driving faults that we all see FLH’s making constantly every day of the week.  If you and I were doing a turn in the road for instance, I bet we would use the full width of the road so we ensure we do it in 3 and not 5.  The stalls occur because she is right at that transitional stage where we robotically set the handbrake and then set our feet for every given pause, she is experimenting with holding it on the clutch momentarily so she is driving more efficiently. 

So it’s interesting.  She is good.  She is really good.  I would not be in the slightest bit surprised if she produces a clean sheet on the test (no driving faults at all), because I can see that she has got so much potential for being an extremely good driver – but test ready?  Oh no.  Not yet.  You see, I absolutely refuse to treat my learners like guinea pigs.... this is not “BIG TOM Driving School – if you like a gamble, we will take a chance”.  I would say she is about 70% there.  So it would be so easy to get her to book her test, she then continues taking a few more lessons before her test.  She would then end up going to test about 80% ready, technically more than able to pass the test, but she could very easily fail.  The test day nerves will almost certainly reduce that driving ability down to about 60% and that would mean her test pass/fail is more down to luck than ability.

My learners tell me about their friends who take the test 4 times before they pass, due to ‘unlucky’ incidents that you could not possibly have predicted cropping up on the test.  As I posted up on my Twitter (“tukkr”) yesterday, these events DO crop up, and having someone on a bike waiting at an emerge on the wrong side of the road, is a great example of the kind of thing that happens.  You may go through your entire course of driving lessons and not experience that (quite freakish) event.  You go to test, and see the cyclist effectively blocking you from turning right, and so you think, "well, the best course of action is to let her emerge so she is out of my way".  You then give her a hand signal to tell her to go, and she sees you, and rides straight across an oncoming car that has to stop suddenly.  THIS is the reason why people fail tests.  They are not properly equipped to be able to accurately assess and decide on what the proper course of action is.  Driving has an incredible amount of potential for unusual events occurring – it is extremely fluid*.  You could not possibly expose a learner to each and every possibly event that MAY crop up on a test, but what you can do is provide them with the skill and ability to anticipate, assess and properly act on situations as they develop. 

*It is my opinion that this is ONE of the reasons why the driving instructors part 3 test has such a low pass rate (about 30%).  An SE who is role-playing a learner, has an enormous amount of possibilities to create many problems, and if the SE is not careful, he/she can fall into the trap of creating far more than would ever be experienced in an hour of driving with a real learner.  This ‘flooding’ of faults does not represent reality, and does not properly test a PDI’s ability to apply the core-comps.

Continued learning...... post-test

What I find interesting about this job is the diversity.  I train people on a 1:1 basis, so with the passing of time you get to know them well. Unlike studying for an academic qualification, or learning to play an instrument, learning to drive has a very real, safety aspect about it; most cannot ignore the fact.

Some want me to TELL them how to drive.  They work on the basis that they will aim to do exactly what I tell them, so in effect, they become replica me’s – in their driving style.

Others are far more independent in the way they learn to drive. 

I can’t get overly excited about the rights and wrongs of either approach.  Both methods can comfortably pass the driving test.  

However, if I was asked to state my responsibility, I would summarise it by saying I like to think that I assist someone to learn to drive, rather than I teach someone how to drive. 

And this is the bit that I really find interesting.  I can see so clearly that the driving test in itself, features little in the grand scheme of things.  What is so much more important, is how that person is going to drive AFTER the test. 

This is the challenge for me.  How can I encourage a safe attitude to driving, how can I influence a learner so that they remember the key principles and golden threads that we talk about in our driving sessions? 

Sorting out hands and feet in order to drive is not difficult.  Engaging the brain while driving is not particularly hard to achieve in most but not all.  But what is INCREDIBLY difficult to tap into is ‘ownership’ for the long term learning. 

I have provided internet links that graphically show the consequences of poor driving.  The DSA provide evidence to us all of how many newly qualified drivers are feeling unprepared for driving on their own after passing the test.  Insurance premiums particularly for young males tend to reflect the risks they take after passing the test.   I constantly raise discussions in the car that explore attitudes to driving in many respects.  I try desperately not to preach, instead I make efforts to raise awareness, and provoke thoughts, tease out attitudes.... honestly, along with many other driving instructors I’m sure, I constantly strive to reach out beyond the mere act of driving the car, and affect deeper in the brain, to the bits that will shape how a learner is going to drive post-test.

It is a massive subject.  It seems to me at this early stage of being in the profession, that it is THE aspect of driving education that is missing.  If you choose not to test for it, and therefore by implication, you are not ENSURING that all training for learners is covering the subject, then it seems to me you have to make provisions in the ‘system’ to cater for it eg re-testing every x number of years, or after x number of collisions.

In the 3 years of being a driving instructor I have offered free voluntary annual refresher sessions for my learners that passed their test with me.  I have not had one single person take up the offer.  Not a single person.  What does that tell you about the attitude of long term learning?

Learning difficulties

Much to look forward to

The numbness of one side of my tongue, my jaw and even my chin is beginning to subside, and in its place, an increasingly dull ache – the joys of fillings.  If you are one of these really annoying people that have no fillings in your teeth whatsoever, you don’t know what you’re missing.  I especially like the bit when the needle goes in..... niiiiice!

But it has given me the opportunity to update my blog, which I’m hoping wont spring the words ‘increasingly dull ache’ straight to your mind. 

It seems to me to be a real time of opportunity.  I’m looking for, indeed NEEDING an instructor to assist me with some work.  My recent house move is making me spread a bit thin on the ground, and I could do with some help to keep me afloat.  It’s not that I don’t want to continue working around Peterborough, I am perfectly happy to, but I simply can’t service where I currently live AND Peterborough.  So if you read this as a qualified ADI or as a PDI, or perhaps you may know someone who is, please spread the word, I’d be mighty grateful.

Things are indeed looking up.  Daylight hours are on the increase again, Spring will be with us in no time (he says with the forecast of snow tomorrow).  The car, the website, much is ticking along just fine.  As I write this, I can just sense that this is not wise to be publicly making such declarations.  Yes there are currently 5 chaps also in the house as I write: drilling, sawing and all the other things you do when fitting a kitchen, and the noise they make is unbelievable.  But you have to believe me when I say that the noise does not even register a tiny blip in comparison to the dull ache I’m feeling.

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