Driving round with Mum and Dad

You’ve finished your exams, the holiday period is just round the corner.  Thousands of people will be taking their tests over the holiday period, and there will be loads of driving round with friends/family to help prepare for the test. 

Rather than just picking a destination and seeing what crops up, it’s a really good idea to develop the link between working on the information your eyes see and how that affects your driving actions.

An example of something you could try together would be to say out loud every time you see something up ahead that’s going to cause you to slow down or change direction, and what you literally have to do.  A bend up ahead, a roundabout, a parked car, a cyclist, traffic lights – these are all examples of things that are going to make you change your speed to deal with them, and some of them will ALSO need a directional change to.  So if you have a parked car on the left for example, as the driver you would need to say something along the lines of “parked car, central mirror, right mirror, off gas, steer to the right”.   The idea is to say all of that BEFORE you do it, your parent should then be able to watch you do exactly what you have said.  The central mirror check was to check what is directly behind you and how close to you before you slow, and the right mirror check is checking for motor bikes or anything that may be overtaking before you steer over to the right.  Gently drive around the residential areas in Stanground or Dogsthorpe for this one.

The beauty with this drill is that it is developing the skill of forward planning, which is an incredibly important driving skill.  Not only that, but your parent rather than trying to spot a fault, is listening and seeing you drive to a system – they will like that, you will feel good and the experience is generally so much more positive. 

One more example I’ll give is approaching a left hand bend, you should be saying something like “bend, central mirror, off gas, set speed, back on gas to maintain speed”.   The central mirror check is to check how close the vehicle behind is as you are about to slow.

Another drill is to simply spot speed signs.  If you travel from Werrington into Town on the dual carriageway, there will be tons of them – see who spots the speed signs first.

Another drill is identify what sort of pedestrian crossings are coming up eg zebra, pelican, toucan, puffin.  Go from Ferry Meadows along Oundle Road, into town and up to Queensgate Roundabout and there will be loads for you to spot on the way. Just tell your parent what sort it is.  Once you've done it, pull over, have a breather and tell your parent how you knew, what the differences are, and how that information helps you to anticipate events when you are driving - they'll like to hear that. Then go and do the whole stretch of Lincoln Road - doing exactly the same thing.  This is good quality practice.

A little tip for you.  Ask your parent to use a stopwatch and when you say something from any of the drills above, get them to start the time (or just count out loud) you should be looking at around 10 secs before you come to what you’ve mentioned.  So for example, if you said ‘zebra crossing’ in the last example, then there should be about 10 secs before you get to it.  The reason why is that at 30mph we are travelling at 45’ a sec roughly, so 10 secs will give us 450’ to think, plan, say and do our actions needed for that hazard.  In driving, you need time, time is the most important thing that allows us to plan a smooth journey.  The sooner you can spot these things up ahead, the more time you have to act on them. 

The other thing you may notice with the above, is that you can do them while you are a passenger too - so you can be working away in your head, spotting these things and saying in your head what you would do next - so there's loads of opportunity to practice.

Good luck with that – and happy driving with your family.  Don’t forget to give them a special treat for taking you out..... they are being very brave and incredibly helpful to your learning experience.  

Driving training - the art of deceipt

The day before yesterday I had a call from a chap who was asking if I wanted to go on board with his organisation that specialises in intensive driving courses.  Nothing particularly interesting or exceptional about that I realise but what he actually said I found interesting. 

He immediately went into what was clearly a bit of flattery talk which was designed to make me feel good about his call.  And he went on, for about 5 minutes telling me who is in his organisation and what they do, and why they do it.  The more he went on, the more I realised I was being fed a typical marketing speech. 

He dropped a name or 2 at the start telling me they used to be in the Police, and what their responsibilities were, ‘so we are what I guess you could call a serious bunch of guys’.

He said that their training methodology is based on the Police driving system as outlined in Roadcraft, ‘which means that you can never be involved in an accident that was your fault’.  He left that one to sink in before saying that again, ‘So what that means is, that if you are trained to drive to that system and you do drive to the system, you can never, ever have an accident that you can be classed as blame worthy’.

Now THAT is some claim and he made that comment twice. 

What he didn’t know is that I come from a Police background, I’ve seen first hand the standard of training for emergency call driving.  I’ve driven to Roadcraft, and I’ve seen the collisions that have occurred from Police drivers who have been trained to this system he speaks so highly of.  Saying that to drive to that system you can never be ‘at fault’ for a collision, is a bit like saying to young males ‘if you practice safe sex you wont be responsible for any STD’s or for getting anyone pregnant’.  The point is, and this is what I find is so misleading in his speech, is that if everyone drove to DES, there would be no accidents too, but it’s such a meaningless statement, it defies belief that he can even say it.  He is in effect saying, ‘train with us and you’ll never be involved in an accident that is your fault’ – which is so incredibly deceiving, it is unforgiveable.    

The sad fact is that if he’s coming out with this fantasy speak to me, a driving instructor, you can be sure he’s saying it to his potential customers (learners) too.... and they wont necessarily be in a position to see through his flannel.

Before I upset too many lovers in the Roadcraft world, I should point out that I provide a pre-course video viewing list to my customers who book up on my intensive courses, and the number 1 video, top of the list, is this video......

 http://youtu.be/JZi6993qjro 

If you take the time and trouble to view that, I hope you will then realise precisely my stance on this subject; in my training I provide to Learners and PDI's, I continually, without any prejudice, make reference to both publications, Roadcraft and DES.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roadcraft-drivers-handbook-Essential-Handbook/dp/0117021687
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Official-DSA-Guide-Driving/dp/0115531343/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341023326&sr=1-1

Getting in to 3rd gear after 10 lessons

After finishing a 4hr session of an intensive course yesterday, I checked my phone and saw that a Mother had called me about lessons for her daughter, so I returned the call, and she explained about her concerns.

She told me that her daughter had taken 10 x 1hr lessons with a local driving instructor when she turned 17, but after 10 lessons the instructor was still doing the driving to/from home, and her daughter was not getting out of 2^nd gear.  A year on, her concern was that her daughter is getting older but still not driving.

Now I find that interesting, as I said to this Mother, the chap who started the intensive course yesterday morning drove home after 4 hrs on Day 1.  But, we are all different, some learn quicker than others.  However, the Mother started opening up the discussion a little bit.  She started to say that the driving instructor had tried to persuade her daughter to have 2 hr driving sessions, not 1 hr, and as such, she suspected he kind of resented that they didn’t take his advice.  On 3 seperate occasions she made a direct comparison to when she learnt to drive, that she only did 1 hr sessions and although she couldn’t put a number on it, it didn’t take her long to learn to drive.  So I confirmed that was the same for me 20 + yrs ago, but I directed her to the DSA website where they have loads of information about such things, and I said that the DSA recommended number of hours of training was near on 70...... see here.....

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/LearningToDriveOrRide/DG_4022483

...... and I went on to say that when I had recorded how long it took me to get absolute beginners to test standard on average, I discovered mine was just over 30.  But one must be careful of such facts, because people learn at different rates, some people can practise with friends/family between lessons.... others can’t – there are many factors that determine how effective a driving session is. 

The discussion then turned to the strategy of how her daughter was learning to drive.  I asked the questions of where they live, and where her daughter was planning to take the test, the answer I got back was....... “I don’t know, she’ll take it where ever you think really”.

Now that’s an interesting answer, because that tells me that the onus of ‘making this work’ is solely on the instructor.  As it turns out they live about 15 mins from Peterborough, so if she wanted to take the test in Peterborough and if she wanted to train in Peterborough, then half an hour out of a 1 hour session is being used travelling to where the training is taking place.  The Mother was very sensitive about the way this was going, and started getting rather defensive about 1 hour was all she could afford for her daughter, and was all she needed when she learnt to drive.  When I raised the point that a block booking of 2 hr sessions is cheaper than a block booking of 1 hr sessions, and yet is more effective, because there are less journeys to/from the training site – the Mother reiterated that she realised ‘all of you instructors want everyone to take 2 hr lessons these days’.

So I took a few minutes to explain that from my point of view, I will fit into the needs of my customer. ... rather than my customer fitting into my schedule.  I said that ultimately what is important is finding a strategy that was going to enable her daughter to learn to drive.  The idea that the previous driving instructor was deliberately holding back his customer so as to make more money out of them is a non-starter because all the customer will do is go elsewhere – so from a business point of view, that suggestion is I would say, not representing reality.  I got the very real impression that the Mother was looking on me to take this problem away, just like with a magic wand – “this is my problem, listen to how horrible this previous instructor was, what are you now going to do to make this problem go away for me and my blessed daughter –all she wants to do is pass the test”.     

How do you go forward from here?  First, you have to have a goal eg pass by September.  Then you have to break that goal down.  Pass Theory Test by mid-July, and Practical Test by September.  Then you need to research, research how long the DSA think it will take to train, how long friends say it took them.  You need to consider your budget and your time constraints for lessons.  In other words, check that the goal you've set yourself is realistic and achievable.  You need to understand the relationship between short-circuiting the training period/quality of training, with the increased possibility of failing the test, which costs £62 a time.  


As this Mother said to me yesterday, she was very concerned about her Daughter passing her Theory Test, and wanted assurance that I would be training her for the Theory too.  She had heard of friends of her daughter taking 3-4 attempts to pass the Theory Test, and didn’t want her daughter to waste that money too.  Well some people properly train to pass tests, and some people short circuit training, and end up failing tests to still learn.  But do you see how this conversation is going?  Rather than seeing what study material is needed, and planning in study time to learn the theory, what Mother is doing is putting the responsibility of learning the theory over to the instructor.  As it happens, I am big into applying the theory knowledge, so there would be constant reference to the theory, but if people want to use me just to learn the theory, then that can be done 1:1 for £10/hr (only 1 person has used me for this, and he had Learning Difficulties).  More than that though, I explained I do provide reference material free of charge for my Learners, and the vast majority pass first time after some focussed and dedicated study.

I emailed some suggested days later in the day to Mother, and as it transpired, all she was actually after was booking up the 2 hr session for £20 - so it was all a non-starter.  But it’s interesting if you stand back and consider the attitude here.  I believe it is similar to what is happening in schools all across the UK – the responsibility for learning is being placed firmly with the school – there is no (or very little) willingness to consider an effective strategy to maximise learning.  Rather than the responsibility for learning being with the student, instead it’s with the school/teachers, therefore, if the end result falls below expectations, then it’s nothing to do with the student and purely the fault of the establishment.

The idea is crazy that this previous instructor is thinking to himself, ‘because she wont take 2 hr sessions, I’ll only let the daughter stay in 2^nd gear for all the 10 1 hr lessons, and then that way, they’ll come round to my way of thinking’ – it is clearly a nonsense.

I have never been one for forcing my Learners to take lessons – if they haven’t got the motivation to learn to drive, then they wont learn to drive.  Mixing up the perceived responsibility of a school to ensure a son/daughter passes exams, with the responsibility of a driving instructor to ensure a son/daughter passes the driving test is not good.  My approach is that if you come to me and tell me what the desire is, when you want to pass, how much time a week you have and the budget you have, then together we can formulate a strategy.  If the strategy is to bung £10/hr to a driving instructor in the hope that after a very short period (just like the old days), the test pass will soon be coming then I think it may be a while before that daughter is driving. 

Pricing of Driving Lessons

I recently received a phone call from a business man who was wanting to organise a driving course for an employee.  I kid you not, his opening gambit to me on the phone was “The thing is Tom, I’m very pushy in business, I want things exactly on my terms”.  Oh dear, how unfortunate I thought.

But I persevered, the criteria went along the lines of, the employee was only available on 2 days of the week, week-ends are out, and the course had to be completed before August.  So on that basis I managed to find 20 hrs and gave a price for 2 block bookings that equalled 20 hrs.  Then, it was discovered that the employee can also be free any weekday evening, so ok, I then found a further 7 hrs in the diary – so the max I was able to accommodate in my diary was 27 hrs.  So I added a further 7 hrs at the same hourly rate as the 20.  That process took a few texts and emails and a call or 2 to complete, about 2hrs of my time.  Then...... quiet..... nothing.

Yesterday I get a text from the employee, not the ‘pushy’ boss, querying the price.  He wanted the 27 hrs to be cheaper than my 30hr 1 week intensive course price.

Now whilst I accept ‘business is business’ and straight talking with no fancy frills is clearly a way some people like to do business, this idea that declaring yourself as being ‘pushy’ in the opening conversation somehow sets the scene for being a time waster is not one that I find attractive.

In over 3 years I’ve never had someone question my pricing like that before, but seeing as that has now happened, I will go over the pricing structure I do and also the industry I’m in:

Customers can pre-book a week long intensive course, which is a 30 hr course spread over 7 days – this is the cheapest rate available.

Customers who are not so pressured on time, can choose between a range of block booking options, 1/1.5/2/3 hr sessions which still offer a discounted rate but need to be used up within 3 months of booking.  These customers (who tend to be absolute beginners) are also entitled to a heavily discounted 2 hr introductory session.

Customers who want complete flexibility with no obligations whatsoever, can choose to just take lessons as and when they like(a range of 1/1.5/2 hr sessions are available) – this is the most expensive option available (PAYG) – these customers tend to come and go as they desire.

The above is, generally speaking how it works in our industry too – customers who are willing to show loyalty and commitment with a block booking are rewarded with a cheaper rate.  So ringing up as and when suits (PAYG) and expecting block booking rates is a non-starter, as is booking a block booking and expecting the rates of the intensive course. 

What I have never offered is a package of lessons for a very low fee.  So typically you will see ’10 lessons for £99’, or ‘5 lessons for £40’ and such like.  Personally, and this is just my opinion only, I don’t like the way those ‘offers’ de-value the industry we are in.  It is generally recognised in our industry that it costs £10/hr to run a driving school car – all of the costs included.  So when you have a Driving Instructor providing lessons for £9/hr and less, they are running at a loss, they are not on minimum wage even, they are literally losing money.  The way it works is that after those 10 lessons at a loss making £9, are used up (by the way, look at the small print as to how they are spread over the whole course of lessons), then the customer tends to stay with that Driving Instructor and pay ‘normal’ rates.  So the people who choose to employ these techniques, tend to be the people that cannot survive WITHOUT employing these techniques, in other words, you are hiring the services of the ‘weak’ that need to de-value the industry IN ORDER to survive.  And on that basis, you have to question if that is ultimately what you want for your child who is learning to drive.  


Now coffee houses, barbers, supermarket shopping etc all employ a variety of similar marketing ‘hooks’ but I ask you this..... what other 1:1 professional service that you hire employs such techniques?  I'm talking about a professional who LEGALLY has to be  officially registered in order to be paid for their service eg an accountant, dentist, solicitor – whose service do you hire who relies on such marketing techniques?  I bet if there is any, there wont be many, and there is a reason for that, because professionals who HAVE to adopt them, are de-valuing their industry.


 

Just my opinion .... have a good weekend everyone!

(And ‘Come on England’ for Sunday night)!! 

Booking Your Test

When booking your test for a test using my car, I need to know the dates/times being suggested before you commit to it (pay) – so that I can confirm the car is available.  One way of doing that is to press the ‘print screen’ button when you have all the dates displayed (see below example), open up your photo editing s/w (photoshop or paint) and paste it on there via ‘cntrl v’.  If you then save that as a jpeg file and send it to me as an attachment on an email, I will be able to see in one glance what the options are and advise you accordingly.

It’s nice as it prevents what can be an exchange of texts trying to find a suitable option.

My thanks go to Jon for this little tip - he's a clever guy!

One other little point while on this subject.  So the slots are currently coming on for 6 weeks in advance (it varies between Test Centres but Peterborough is currently this far in advance).  So what I do is make an assessment that if you continue your progress at the current rate, then in 6 weeks you will be ready.  Don't fall into the trap (quite natural but try to avoid) that once the test is booked you can take your foot off the gas so to speak!  This is the 'business' end of the course so to speak, and attention to detail is key so that you have a successful test.

Think of it the other way round, if I only advised you to book when I knew you were completely ready, then you would all then have a 6 week gap between being at that 'ready' stage and going to your test - hardly great.

So to make this work, you do need to keep up your sessions as we plan and agree on in the car, so that you will find yourself exactly where you need to be in time for your test.

Hope this has been of use - all f/b, comments welcome.

A trip to the Peak District

My Wife and I got some ‘me’ time last weekend.  Before marriage and kids we used to enjoy going to the National Parks for some long walks.  So it was a real treat to ‘dispatch’ the kids, and trot off to the Peak District. 

However, something happened that has been nagging away at me since, troubling me even – that occurred on the very first day.

You see, we have just updated our family car just a week or so before, and because my Wife uses it to travel to her work, all except a token 5 minute drive when she brought it home on the first day, I’ve not driven it.  I appreciate that might come as a little surprising given my job, and given the fact I’m a “bloke”, but honestly, cars really really don’t interest me.  Don’t get me wrong, I can stare in awe at a photograph of a nice Merc, or Audi or such like as good as the rest, but I’m not “interested” in it.  The thought of seeing F1 completely switches me off – I’d rather have a nice round of golf.  So what I’m getting at is that when we loaded up the other day, I kind of fell into a bit of a time warp trap that I had not expected at all.

Despite the fact that our previous family car was a Ford (I hate Fords) it did have some nice touches about it like the wipers used to come on automatically at a rate that matched the amount of rain.  It had leather seats that could be warmed/chilled.  The central mirror could automatically detect someone dazzling you from behind and deal with that unrequested.  You get the gist, it was how can I say...... a little bit like a favourite Uncle – very friendly, very reliable, and a pleasure to be around – but you wouldn’t necessarily want to live the rest of your life with him.

So there I am finding myself in the driving seat of this new car that I’m not familiar with; it seems to have a lower seating position, and the seat seems to ‘wrap’ round you, and it has more knobs and techie things than you can possibly imagine.  Coupled with that, for a birthday present I had received Pete Tong’s latest Ibiza compilation on my iPhone and before I had realised this new car didn’t have a conventional handbrake, my Wife had plugged my phone in and up on the dash is the track listing of my new album, that instantly gets turned on.  Hmmmmm..... all very nice, but all very.... different.

The stereo was phenomenal, and before I know it, my Wife has bluetoothed our phones in and she is making calls after she has tapped in our destination so the in-built Sat Nav is kicking in – both of those functions occurring seamlessly with the music fading in and out correspondingly.  Oh boy.... it would seem things have moved on!

So I’m trying to figure out getting the cruise control settings done, whilst also getting my head around the fact that this thing has got 6 gears, as well as coming to terms with the fact that it has so much more zip and power than the previous family car.  But after about an hour I’d guess, I was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable.

We found ourselves approaching the Peak District on an A road, with national speed limits and we were about 5 cars down of a stream of about 30 sat behind a car way up ahead doing between 40 and 50.  After a while you begin to see a pattern to someones driving, I noticed that when the vision altered in any way, the driver in the lead car was slowing to between 40 and 45 depending on the severity.  When the vision opened up again, he’d make his way slowly back up to about 50.  Not such a big deal for us, we are in no hurry at all, but for Friday evening commuters (and clearly for the driver of the BMW in front of us with 4 exhausts), this was quite obviously infuriating!  But what could he do?  It was one lane in each direction, and overtaking would have been really hairy on the A617.  

Anyhow, what happened next was surprising to me and very uncharacteristic.  We eventually find ourselves on the A38 and being late rush hour on a Friday night, people were generally not really giving two hoots about the many very large speed signs that were up.  So I found myself doing 30 on an approach to some lights controlling a large crossroads, when I spot this vehicle approaching fast from behind, doing a very late overtake of me at about 50-60 I would guess on the approach to these red lights – not a great combination really.  I came off gas, and this vehicle flew passed just zipping back in to avoid a rather high kerbed concrete island – it was not great.  We then come on to a large roundabout, and unbeknown to us all, there is a car broken down on the roundabout that is forcing the vehicles in that lane to readjust lanes.  As I began to do just that, this vehicle to my right (yes it is the same one), speeds right up effectively closing the gap to block me off, and we then had a 30 second pantomime of ‘chest thumping’ using our cars to display our might.  It was bad for lots of reasons.  Not least as there I am, going off for a relaxing weekend when I imagine the driver of the other vehicle has at least got the ‘excuse’ of being a legitimate commuter.   Later in the evening, I brought the subject up with my Wife, and she said how it had surprised her that I had reacted as I had.

 

And considering that this is my work, it does expose a shortcoming in my driving ability or at least mental attitude.  I’ve been thinking about it on and off all weekend.  I wonder how much of it is to do with the fact that I found myself driving a car more powerful than I’d driven for a while – and whether that sparked off any memory of very old driving styles.  I wonder how much of it was related to reacting to a driver who had by then directly demonstrated twice to me how ‘not to drive’.... and I was unwilling to continue allowing this person to play Russian roulette with our safety.  I don’t know.  I will need to give it some more thought.  I literally can’t remember the last time I have responded to another persons poor driving like this.  

The text book answer is that our own driving and mental attitude has to be adaptable enough to accommodate whatever poor driving occurs around us, so that we continue on our way, unflappable, with no emotional angst towards any other...... best I start reflecting on my own driving some more then!

 

Either that or only potter about in my little 1.1L Driving School car.        

e2-e4

The standard required to pass a driving test is without doubt, far too low.

*STOP*  re-read.....  did he REALLY just say that?!

Well, this is my blog, and the above statement is a true reflection of my honest opinion... and I’m entitled to it people!  It may be wrong, but I believe it, for what I think is good reason.

It is not being too controversial to say that in very general terms, getting a person to physically drive a car without killing someone, and without causing excessive disruption to others is not in itself, overly difficult.  Plenty of parents I’m sure know only too well, with the benefit of the experiences of taking their young ones on empty car parks on a Sunday morning, that it is possible to get the hands and feet doing roughly the right things, relatively quickly.  I take my hat off to all parents who get involved in this way, I really do – that’s why a long time ago, I dedicated a section to them on my website, to help them in these sessions they do with their young ones.

But... there’s always a but isn’t there..... but, hands and feet is only half the battle, and I would argue not even half.... perhaps a 1/3 of the requirement.

What is by far much more difficult to develop is a driver that THINKS.  Engaging the brain, before engaging a gear is not so easy.

Let me give you two prime examples that I have encountered over the last 2 days:

  

Yesterday, Chap no.1 wants me to assess his driving – he has been a motorbike rider for quite some time (1000cc no less) but wants to learn how to drive a car.

Today, Chap no.2 wants me to assess his driving – although he hasn’t driven a car before, he has to manoeuvre HGV’s at his work (on private land) and so although he has never got out of 2^nd gear, he knows about the clutch, and seeing as his work would not be happy with him reversing into stationary objects, he has some spatial awareness too.

Two very different people, very different backgrounds, both with their own stories to tell, their own recollections/experiences in driving matters, they have different needs, different concerns, and different aspirations. 

Chap no. 1 drove my car like he drives his motorbike – superb at reading situations ahead of him, always looking to make progress -  “Stand by world, I’m coming through” mentality, and is keen as mustard.

Chap no. 2 could not be much more different.  He is more thoughtful, his actions are more deliberate, much more methodical, reserved, considerate, and does not want to inconvenience others.  Oh..... and keen as mustard.

Now, my point about the statement at the top of this blog is that until the test starts to interrogate what is going on in the brain, it will only churn out temporarily robotic drivers.  What I mean by that is, it is too easy for a candidate to attend a driving test, and drive to a standard that is acceptable on the test but have not the slightest inclination to drive to that standard/system from the moment he/she leaves the Test Centre. 

When the DSA has a tag line of ‘Safe Driving For Life’, what exactly are they doing to test a candidates ‘readiness’ for exactly that.... safe driving for life?

It is a complex mix of things that produces a persons attitude to learning to drive.  People are influenced by the attitudes and actions of friends/family who already drive, they will become conditioned to what they believe is acceptable eg wearing a seatbelt or not, drink driving, driving with no insurance.   Some of us have our attitudes affected by a traumatic experience.  Not everyone can afford to learn to drive, or insure a car or even properly maintain a car.  Some may be influenced by an authoritative figure like a stern Father or a driving instructor.  

But for that precise 38minutes, you can put all these things to one side, and just drive for that moment in time, to a ‘safe’ standard, efficiently and with consideration to others.  38 minutes.  That is not long.

What I would prefer to see is some kind of interaction that tests the brain.  It needn’t be requiring to hear a ‘commentary drive’ as such, it may be as simple as asking why a mirror check was done, or asking for an opinion on another road users driving.   Anything that digs a bit deeper, and truly searches inside the psyche of a candidates attitude to driving has got to be a good thing.  The options are endless when you think about it:  opinion of ‘amber gamblers’, asking how overall stopping distances applies to a very specific driving situation up ahead, asking what a candidate is assessing on the approach to a roundabout, asking how they have trained for the test, asking if they see any difference in the test standard compared to real life.

To have a driving test that only tests a persons ability to physically drive is a little bit like asking a Grand Master at chess to play a game of chess considering the next move ONLY; stopping them from anticipating, stopping them from planning, stopping them from developing – it is complete and utter nonsense.  To play chess well you HAVE to be able to predict outcomes, you must anticipate strengths/weaknesses of what you see in front of you, you absolutely must appreciate the consequences of poor/irrational decisions, and 

I see comparisons with a good driver  ....  what I call a good driver anyway, maybe not what the DSA call a good driver.

I’d like to see a test that tests a persons mind, rather than scores driving faults. 

Got any comments about the above?  Bung them down below.....  

Stand by...whirlwind coming through!

I was at Peterborough Test Centre yesterday morning and there were no fewer than 6 ‘5 DAY’ cars seemingly waiting in queue to go to test.  Oddly enough, my pupil and I did not see one of them actually come into the car park, so quite what that was all about, who knows.  Maybe they go round en-masse as a marketing strategy to emphasise their might.... maybe.

 

One of my own pupils said to me the day before yesterday that a friend of his has paid them over £800 where he has passed the theory test, and had 20 hrs of in car training, and now they want him to pay to go to test.  But this lad feels so lacking in confidence he is refusing to book the test!  I took a look at their website last night to see if I could independently verify any details, and it is impossible to – it is severely lacking in detail!

But I’m not complaining at all.  Their marketing is clearly raising people’s interest in intensive courses, and as my intensive course bookings have certainly increased of late – they are doing me a big favour!

It’s quite entertaining to watch from the sidelines how businesses ‘LAUNCH’ into a flurry of intense activity, and with the passing of time, it all naturally fades away into obscurity.  I wont name names as it would seem disrespectful, but just in the 3 years I’ve been in this industry I can think of a few such situations.  It’s a great example for us ‘independents’ to learn from actually.  With time, it seems the truth does emerge stronger than all the glossy marketing – and when the public realise exactly what is going on, these businesses find themselves going into administration soon after.

Pretending to have some mystery key that unlocks test booking slots from the DSA is just one such example.  It is utterly mis-leading and completely underhand to suggest to potential customers of a means of booking tests quickly that is unique to them....the DSA do not get into cosy little arrangements with anyone.  Getting late cancellations for just a few days time is something that has been, and continues to be available to everyone, absolutely everyone..... if this is on an organisation’s homepage as being some kind of USP, then that says much about the organisation.

Anyway, it’s interesting to sit back and watch all this unfold.  It is quite amusing to watch 6 cars turn up to a Test Centre en-masse, and yet no-one is taking a test.  You have to laugh!