Whether you are training to become a Driving Instructor or a Learner training to become an independent driver with a full licence you can look at
your goal in different ways. Are you
concerned with passing the test(s) only, or do you want to feel equipped for
life after the tests too?
“Surely by passing the test I WOULD be ready to drive
independently!” – not a guarantee I’m afraid (even the DSA have evidence to back that fact up). Let
me give some real examples. Firstly,
looking at it from the point of view of a Learner:
In real life, you may need to be able to parallel park on
the right side of the road. Where I live
for example, parking spaces by shops are a premium and only on one side of the
road, you may not have the luxury of time to turn your car round so that you
can parallel park to the left as you are only asked to do on the test. Equally, you may live in a one-way street
with parking in the street on the right side only..... it happens, it really
happens.
You may need to emerge from a road that was on a 30 limit,
on to a road that is on a national speed limit eg 60. It is unlikely to come up on your test but
very commonly arises.
You no doubt will need to negotiate up and down very tight
multi-storey car parks – possibly narrow, maybe very low ceiling, maybe very
bendy.
You may need to take journeys along rural roads where being
able to read the severity of bends is a very important skill for ensuring your
speed is set correctly on approach.
You may need to drive in heavy rain, fog, snow, the dark, in
the early hours of the morning, after a very busy day at work, when you feel
ill, when you feel upset, when you have friends in the car – how many of those
will you get on the test?
You may well need to drive on a motorway.
You may well need to drive with the ‘help’ of a SatNav.
You may well get a puncture – what would you do then?
You may need to follow someone driving in front of you in an
area you are not familiar.
You may need to drive abroad.
This could go on a long time couldn’t it? The fact is, rightly or wrongly, the current
test of 38mins length does have limitations as to how well it assesses your ‘fitness’
to drive. By ‘fitness’ I mean, how well
you will be able to cope on your own, once you’ve passed. The list above is not intended to be
complete, not in the slightest, but it does go a little way to demonstrate how
restricting your training could be, if you were to only consider passing the
test. This is one of the reasons why I
absolutely disagree with the approach taken by a local ‘intensive driving
course’ organisation near to me, who provide the absolute minimum of in-car
training in their package, and then ONLY whatever crops up in the test to cause
a ‘fail’ is then provided in further so called ‘free’ training. This is passing tests by doing the absolute
bare minimum – it is a truly shocking approach to driving training.
Considering PDI’s, let’s look at what could crop up once you’ve
passed your tests:
How are you going to teach doing a reverse bay park – it’s
not covered in the Part 3.
How do you know what the Learner test standard is?
How are you going to market your business?
What are the pro’s/con’s for going indy as opposed to on a
franchise?
What are you going to do if a Learner doesn’t understand
what you are trying to explain?
What are you going to do if a Learner cannot do a manoeuvre
the way you want it to be done?
What are your prices going to be for lessons?
Do you intend to drive all the time, ALL the time, as you
want your Learners to drive?
How will you know when is the right time for your Learners
to go in for the practical test?
Again, there will be more, but I think you probably get the
idea.
So, my advice to you as a PDI or a Learner is ask anyone who
you may end up training with some really, really good questions. Ultimately, you want to know what the extent
of their training is – are they concerned with you just passing the tests or do
they take the longer view? So some good
questions I would suggest you ask:
Do you mainly drive round the ‘test routes’?
Can you tell me please the % of your Learners in the last
12 months who passed on their first attempt?
How long on average does it take you to get an absolute
beginner to test standard?
How many miles, on average, would I drive on a 1 hour lesson
with you?
Do you train me local to where I live, or where I take the
test?
Is there anything about what you provide that sets you apart
from other Driving Instructors?
Or for PDI's.....
How often can I book in sessions to do my part 2 and part 3
training?
Do you explain in your training the test sheets the
examiners use for my tests and the Learner tests?
Is your syllabus of training only based on the criteria of
the part 2 and part 3 tests? Can you
show me your syllabus please?
Do you offer any advice on marketing?
Why is the pass rate for the part 3 test as low as it is?
Do you think driving instructors should be accountable for
their Learner pass rates?
How able are you to fit the training around my schedule?
Can you tell me what % of PDI's pass part 2 & 3 after 40 hrs of your training?
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