One Thing You Must Do To Save Yourself Cash When Learning To Drive - www.BIGTOM.org.uk

Driving Lessons in Bourne

If you are wanting to save yourself loads of cash on your driving lessons in Bourne, then read on and be sure to pass the following on to everyone you know.

With the economy as it is, everyone is getting smart with their cash.  But the problem is, you just can’t go and buy a Test Pass Certificate; “if only” some might think.  As such, erase any thoughts of this being a product you are buying as cheap as possible, instead, start thinking that you are purchasing a service, and the service provided needs to be centred towards your needs of obtaining the Test Pass Certificate.  See the difference?  It will be you who earns the test pass, the service you are purchasing is all about developing you as a safe driver.

A very real example of this that truly cost me dearly, was when I was training to be a Driving Instructor.  I did not pay enough attention to the ‘service’ that was being offered to me, instead I was bamboozled by gloss and clever sales talk.  In real terms, it meant the length of time it took me to qualify was double what it could have been..... OUCH!  I should have asked how often I could train with them.  So I truly know how easy it is to fall into this trap – do not allow this to happen to you. 

It is tempting to think that to save money learning to drive you simply need to negotiate hard on the price of the driving lessons.  That’s looking at it like a product again.... not good.  The difference of £3 or so on individual lessons will stand for nothing if they are not delivered in a manner that suits your needs.

Passing your driving test is going to involve the transfer and development of knowledge, skills, experience and attitudes from Person A (your Driving Instructor) to Person B (you).  How effectively these are passed over to you is directly going to affect your success in learning to drive.  Not everyone is motivated to learning by a certain time, instead it may be to do with handling nerves or a learning difficulty, or lack of co-ordination for example.  In effect, the thing standing between your desire to learn to drive and your Test Pass Certificate is the relationship between you and your Driving Instructor.  Here we come to the crunch, this is the bit that is going to save you a whole bunch of cash.

In order for you to maximise the efficiency of your learning experience, it is vitally important that your Driving Instructor and yourself communicate really well.  An open and honest relationship is essential.  Without good communications, you might feel like you are not making progress, or your learning preferences are being ignored.... and if that is allowed to develop it can often result in more driving lessons than is necessary. 

Let me give you just one example.  A customer from Bourne came to me having spent over £2000 in driving lessons and driving tests – within 8 days she had her Test Pass Certificate in her hand.  She clearly was more than capable of passing the driving test, but the relationship between her and her Driving Instructor had deteriorated to the extent that her goal was actually getting further and further away.

So try to avoid looking at this like buying a product....if your cheap driving lessons are actually so ineffective that you are having to buy 4 times as many as you needed, then actually how “cheap” are they?

Whether you are about to start driving lessons or you may be some way through, it’s not too late to review them and ensure you effectively communicate your needs.  You stand little chance of getting the learning experience you need, if you simply think you are buying a driving lesson – you are actually buying a service, and the relationship with your Driving Instructor is key to the quality of that service.

This short blog attempts to highlight how you can save yourself £££'s by realising you are purchasing a service from a Driving Instructor and not a driving lesson.  If you have any questions, please ask away.

www.BIGTOM.org.uk

The Best Method To Learn To Drive

Driving Lessons in Peterborough.  Driving Lessons in Grantham.

Surely I can’t deliver on the promise of this blog title, and no, I’m not going to pretend to even try.  I do however intend to offer you an opportunity for some clear thinking on the subject.

In this day and age, none of us are too far away from someone or other telling us what to do, when to do it, and why it’s so necessary.   Well you will be relieved to read, this blog is ‘lecture free’.

But it is a real problem that these days, the rhythm of life is rattling along at an incredible pace, we are all busy people, time is precious.  It is for this very reason that deciding how you intend to learn to drive is actually quite an important decision to make.  Exactly how are you supposed to fit in all the driving lessons?  I want to suggest to you 3 factors that you really cannot ignore in your decision making process so that you make the right choice for you.

Before going further, would it be acceptable to propose that the ‘typical’ response would be to suggest 1 – 2 hours a week for as long as it takes?  And maybe for some, that approach works.  But for many people that degree of uncertainty, that amount of commitment in time for 6 months, 12 months or even more, is simply not going to be an acceptable proposition.  And if you are one of those people, then for you, this is a real problem, I can appreciate how problematic it is trying to solve what is a complex problem.

Here are 3 considerations that I hope assists you:

    1.        Time.  Whilst you can’t buy time, you can get clever with it, utilise paid holiday tagged alongside Bank Holidays, or adjust the timing of your day so that you can fit in sessions.  Some people choose to condense the training into a far shorter period of time, to minimise disruption.  The use of technology can maximise learning opportunities that would otherwise be ‘dead’ time for you.

    2.       Accelerated Learning.  Consider the options that are available to you to speed up the process of learning to drive – seek out people who specialise in this subject, understand the methods used.  How appropriate would this be to your preferred style of learning.

    3.       Motivation.  Don’t underestimate the power of a focussed, motivated individual who has a strong desire to achieve a realistic goal.  I am not referring to ‘the norm’ here, this is effectively performing above average, not standardised learning.

Ultimately, this has to be appropriate to you and only you know how you like to learn.  I have witnessed people learn to drive who have had to deal with timescale pressures relating to satisfying the criteria on a job application, a placement at a University, a house move, and a promotion.  Now that is pressure.  But do you know what?  They did it.  They did it, ultimately because they needed to do it. 

Let me give you Tom’s Top Tip for this blog.  Do not fall into the trap of associating ‘normal’ with ‘best practice’.  This is all about helping you find a solution that fits your needs, and that very often does not come under the heading of ‘normal’ or ‘standard’.  A very common mistake for people to make is right at the very start in fact, when they don’t set goals.  No goal setting means no monitoring of progress and that can be devastating, producing many negative outcomes.  I expand on this subject in my soon to be released eBook - freely available on my website soon www.BIGTOM.org.uk

What to do next?  Gather your thoughts, and start listing your key needs.  Goal setting, available slots in your schedule, budget, preferred learning styles.  You are the customer, you declare your needs and let people start providing solution options for you. 

I hope I have delivered on my promise to provide some clarity in deciding what are the important factors to consider when deciding how you are going to learn to drive.  Please feel free to drop me a comment or question.  

If you like my blog, please +1 it to your friends!  Thank you.

www.BIGTOM.org.uk                

How To Gain Value From Failing A Driving Test

Driving Lessons in Peterborough.  Driving Lessons in Grantham.

Don’t you think it would be just great if you can somehow convert a fail on a driving test to a more positive outcome?  The problem is that all of us tend to get consumed in negative emotions if we fail in anything we try, and we have a tendency to really beat ourselves up about it.  This affects our confidence, it can even erode our ability if we let it, and that is not a place we want to go.

Let me be clear and say I’m not for one second being critical of anyone who does feel bad if they fail the test.  I’ve had enough knocks in my time, where I’ve tried a test for promotions, or new jobs and failed.  It is perfectly natural to be affected, you wouldn’t be human if you were not affected! 

I want to provide some clarity in this short blog as to how a person who has failed the driving test can actually use that experience to their advantage, in a very practical way.  The fact is that the Driving Standards Agency tell us that statistically, more people pass their driving test on their second attempt.  Like many things in life, you only tend to hear from the ones that pass first time, funny that isn’t it?  The consequence of that is that you could come to the conclusion that seeing as you are only hearing from people who pass the test first time, that they represent the norm, they do not, more people fail the test on the first attempt than pass it.  So my first message to you is, don’t be adding pressure on yourself by listening to any myths on this subject.  But do read on, as the following could be really useful to you.

There are 3 things you can do if you were to fail the driving test that will help you convert this experience to a positive outcome.

Number 1.  Recognise you have taken the first positive step already.  You now ‘know’ the previously ‘unknown’ to you.  You have now witnessed so much that you were previously unaware of.  Don’t underestimate the power of this fact.  Whether it be to do with the Examiner, the test itself, how it was marked or any other aspect, you can now say, you have seen it first hand, you have a ‘handle’ of it if you like to think of it in those terms.

Number 2.  Properly root cause areas for improvement.  It may be very tempting to solely focus on the description of the driving fault that occurred to cause your test fail.  So for instance, a driving fault might be classed as an ‘observation’ error on a junction that was due to emerging from a junction too soon, as really you should have paused and given way to traffic already in the road.  It is important that you take the advice from your Driving Instructor (who was hopefully observing the test from the back seat), to ensure the ‘observation’ error is properly understood, set in context, and any underlying issue is ironed out eg lack of assessment of vision on the approach to a junction.

Number 3.  Keep juggling all the balls.  It would be easy to focus your attention on one aspect, for you to drop a ball elsewhere, and find yourself failing a second attempt.  Avoid this by ensuring you keep yourself topped up with training so that you continue driving to a general high standard. 

Let me give you Tom’s Top Tip for this blog:  

Your thoughts and feelings about the test are really important.  For each driving fault that resulted in the test fail, write it down on a sheet of paper, and list why you think it happened.  So for example, let’s say that the driving fault that caused the test fail was due to not seeing a pedestrian walk behind the car while you were doing a left reverse manoeuvre (reversing left into a minor road from a major road).  On the marking sheet it might be “Left Reverse, Observation, Serious”.  You might write, “Pedestrian came out from nowhere.  I couldn’t see the pedestrian in my side mirror because it was raining, and the raindrops blocked my view in the side mirror.  I was distracted because I thought I had finished the manoeuvre, but the Examiner told me to carry on reversing”.   Pass those comments on to your Driving Instructor as they are very valid points you have perceived that need to be addressed.  It may turn out the observations were lacking because you were not looking out the rear of the car while reversing.  The point is, you now have a great place to start for further training that includes your thoughts and feelings.

  

What you absolutely must avoid doing at all costs, is simply re-booking another driving test, and not doing any further re-training.  Trying to deny that there is a need for further training is an expensive mistake to make, and will almost inevitably result in yet another test fail.  On my Intensive Driving Courses you are provided with as much further training as is needed for the next 21 days – completely free of charge, specifically to eliminate this common mistake people make.

To recap.  There is no harm in making a mistake in a driving test that results in a test fail.  See it as an opportunity to improve.  Do not ignore it though.  Take these practical steps I have outlined in this blog, show them to your Driving Instructor and you will already be well on the way to converting this experience to an outcome where you are handed a Test Pass Certificate on your next attempt.    

I hope this is of help to you.  Remember, I will be making available to you shortly an eBook which expands on the subject of how the driving test affects our nerves – look out for it on my website www.BIGTOM.org.uk

Please feel free to grade this blog, or comment/question below.  Thank you. 

Anxieties With Learning To Drive - www.BIGTOM.org.uk

Driving Lessons in Peterborough.  Driving Lessons in Grantham.

If you could just get some answers as to why you feel so anxious about learning to drive!

When people initially make contact with me, they very often speak of the fear of failing the test, or the concern of not having learnt anything for a while, or the worry of not being able to cope with speed or roundabouts or lorries.  It troubles many people, sometimes greatly.  Read on to learn about just one method that I and some other Driving Instructors use to help reduce these fears. 

There are lots of possible reasons why someone may be anxious about starting driving lessons.  You only need to look at my blog from 1/3/13 about me and a galloping horse to see that I can really empathise with this problem.  

There is nothing wrong with feeling this way, it is perfectly natural, and ignoring the fact is definitely NOT the answer!

Let me briefly explain to you how the use of video technology can assist you with some of your possible worries.  When you sign up to my Intensive Driving Course, you are automatically given access to near on 100 driving videos that you can watch in the comfort of your home, or at work, or on the bus/train.  These videos are short and sharp... what I call ‘golden nuggets’ of information.  In effect, you are being provided with a head start to learning to drive, some people have a phrase for this.... “hitting the ground running”. 

The reasons why that is useful are numerous.  Firstly, you are able to see and hear me explain important ideas and techniques, and I’ve been told from previous customers that this helps you get ‘tuned in’ to the way I talk.  Guess what?  When you come to train with me in the car, you will instantly recognise the same vocabulary, the same mannerisms, and the same thought processes.  This is an incredibly powerful tool.  It maximises the efficiency of the learning experience.  You are less inclined to be worried about what it will be like training with me, what am I like, wondering whether we will 'click', because you have invested time and energy already finding that out.  This is good because it means the communication between us is improved, and also the trust and understanding is already established.  This significantly accelerates your rate of learning.  My aim is to facilitate a learning experience that increases the depth of learning so that you pass the driving test with minimum fuss.

Those same videos are accessible throughout your training with me, and you can refer to them as much as you like.  It is in effect, having an unlimited resource of my driving tips and techniques constantly available to you.  Even questions that get asked from previous customers get featured – if I’m asked a question often enough, I will do a video on it – so perhaps you can see how you are actually a step ahead?  I’m proactively providing you with answers and explanations on issues that have previously been asked about, perhaps to do with  the test, or manoeuvres, or roundabouts – and this is all available to you as and when you are able to fit it in.

Let me give you Tom's Top Tip for this blog.   Some people use this opportunity to see them driving on a personal video clip.  No-one else can see the clips, only you.  This can prove to be a very powerful resource if you have any self-doubts about your ability, or if you prefer to independently see your progress.  There is no obligation with this, but it is something that many of my customers have used to great advantage.

This gives you a flavour of how some of the anxieties associated with learning how to drive, can be overcome with the benefit of technology.  As I say in my soon to be published eBook, these things are great to know about, but they are only truly useful if you APPLY them.  If you want to receive a sample of 10 of these videos, simply go here, put in your email address and in ‘Further Information’ put in “BLOG BIGTOM”.  That’s all you need to do, and I guarantee to get them off to you immediately.  Even if you are not a customer of mine, give it a try... this is a free resource being made available to you.

I hope this has been useful.  Please feel free to grade this blog below, or add a comment/question.

Thank you.

www.BIGTOM.org.uk

Your First Driving Lesson - www.BIGTOM.org.uk

Driving Lessons in Peterborough.  Driving Lessons in Grantham.

If you are about to start learning to drive, having never sat in the driver’s seat before, then this blog is for you.

There will very likely be 101 things flying round in your head, ranging from concerns for your safety (and everyone else’s), to self-doubt about your ability, to extreme excitement about driving, to anxiety about speed and how will you stop, and even things like what will your Driving Instructor be like.  I know how it feels.  Let me tell you about something I did many moons ago.

I went for a horse riding lesson having had no previous experience at all.  Mounting the horse was odd, sitting on it was odd, when it walked along it felt odd, the sounds, the feel, even the smell, everything was odd.  And listen to this bit.  Initially the horse was just walking round in very large circles in this big hut.  Then the coach encouraged the horse to pick up the pace a little.  As it did so, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of no control at all, tensed up, and instinctively clenched my legs into the horse.  Unbeknown to me, that is a signal to actually ask the horse to pick up the pace even further.  Well you should have seen it!  I was extremely close to literally jumping off the horse such was my fear of falling off anyway, before eventually the coach grabbed hold of the horse.   Whilst it’s funny now to look back on, you know, I never rode a horse again after that – so these experiences can be life changing.

There’s a number of points you could make about the above experience from the ‘Instructors’ point of view, but I want this blog just to concentrate on what it’s like to experience something new, for the first time.

You’ll be sat in the drivers seat – that looks odd, you’ve never looked out the car from that angle before, all your awareness of position in the road will be different to how you’ve normally seen it.  When you get the car moving, your senses will be bombarded with new information going into your brain.  It will feel odd, your hands steering, your feet on the pedals, the sound of the engine will be odd.  You wont be used to asking both hands and both feet to do jobs, that will feel strange, and your eyes will be shocked in seeing literally what it’s like when you are driving round!  And all of this is a great feeling, your heart will be ticking faster, breathing faster, it's all very exciting.

But thinking about my horse example above, it’s a great feeling as long as it’s properly controlled.  And that is a key thing.  You must be in a safe environment, you must have the freedom to experience all this in the knowledge you are in good hands, and it is also very important to be given the freedom to safely experiment; check out the different pressures on the clutch, brake and gas pedal, see how steering is affected with just a few miles an hour change, listen to the sound of the engine in different gears inc reverse gear. 

In summary.  I know from my own experience on the horse, there is no fun when you are in fear, none at all.  Learning should be fun, exciting and rewarding.  It is a great opportunity to learn to drive in this way.  If you have any questions about it, please feel free to contact me on 07894 262 718.

This blog has identified some of the emotions involved when learning to drive for the first time, and how any concerns can be controlled.  I hope it helps... good luck.

www.BIGTOM.org.uk