Driving Instructor Health

In this blog Tom Ingram (Owner of BIG TOM Driving School) looks at one aspect of the health of a Driving Instructor; dealing with negative stress.


Not all stress is bad for us.  Some people actually thrive on stress but the general problem with "Negative Stress" is that we are not in control of the outcomes.  Something is occurring which we can identify as being far from ideal, but regardless of the frequency or the severity of the consequence, we just cannot prevent it from affecting us.  I have recently been watching the series on hospitals and the effect of lack of hospital beds on the staff, now THAT is negative stress.... in its purest form. 

Don't underestimate how this can affect Driving Instructors either.  We have numerous sources of negative stress: cancellations from pupils, cancellations of driving tests due to weather, long waiting lists for driving test slots, non-payment for training, pupils battering our car wheels into kerbs.  But not all of those few examples I've given there are genuine sources of negative stress and the one I want to concentrate on in this blog is the last, our pupils behaviour and the impact it can have on us. 

Fundamentally, are we in control of how our pupils affect our car?  Yes we most certainly are.  If you thought the answer to that last question was "no" then what about this next question.  Are we in control of the safety of our pupils?  I mention this because there is a link is there not?  Why is it that since I established my driving school in 2009 I have not had a single accident in my driving school car, and yet I hear from peers that they are regularly having accidents? 

If you have not had a single accident in your driving school car let the whole world know the fact, because YOU are controlling safety.  What pupil (or their parent) would not be happy to hear about this point?

It goes a little bit deeper than that though.  A Driving Instructor could control safety by frequent use of the dual controls while their pupils are driving.  Do pupils like Driving Instructors grabbing hold of the steering wheel, or applying the clutch or brake?  No, they really do not.  They really, really do not.  It undermines them. 

Unit 6.3.1 of our Standard which is titled "Create a climate that promotes learning", has a little gem hidden in it which says:

"Explain how you expect to work with the learner and how you expect them to work with you".  Think on that for a second because that is a biggy.

Unit 6.3.3 says:

"Transfer the balance of responsibility for their learning process to the learner as soon as they are ready to take it".

As facetious as this might at first seem, consider this approach by a Driving Instructor who is talking to her pupil:

"Right then Joe.  You've told me that you haven't driven before but do not worry yourself because I am here, I can step in with these pedals or your steering at any given time, in fact, I quite like to, just to keep me doing things.  And of course, this is all for the benefit of you..... how good is that?  You see, your safety is my prime concern, so if I don't manage to tell you to do something in time, for whatever reason, then I will just step in and help you?  Is that good or what?"
"Oh right"
"Oh yes.  Occasionally Joe I've had the odd few bad drivers behind hit the back of this car, which to be honest, I can't do much about them because I don't have a gas pedal you see, but rest assured that I will do everything I can to ensure our safety".
"Oh really?" *gulp*
"So that's how we are going to do things round here Joe.  I am here to help you, I am your friend, look upon me as 'the cavalry' Joe.  How does that saying go?  No job too big, no job too small - I will happily step in at a moments notice.  So you go ahead and do what you want to do, because I'm "client-centred" so basically the way we will work it is that you crack on, and I will make sure that we don't die in the process.  How good is that?"
"Ermmmm....."

Tongue in cheek for sure, but the thrust of this is to question who is owning this "learning process"?  The Standard does give the condition of "....as soon as they are ready to take it....".  That varies considerably between pupils, but really my point in this blog, for your own health, is to encourage your pupil to start taking on responsibility for outcomes.  Discuss with them the options of how you both can work on a goal, allow them to imagine how that will feel for them.  Lets anticipate what could go wrong, lets consider how these consequences can be effectively managed. What will "success" look like with this goal?

It is a very important message to get across from the start with a pupil that there are choices to be made about how they learn to drive.  There are consequences to giving no thought as to how they learn, and the sooner the pupil can start understanding the consequences the better.  The following Q&A epitomises this point:

"So how do you think you will like to learn to drive then Joe?"
"Oh I just like to give things a go"

This is superficial and actually pretty meaningless.  "Give things a go"?  What are we in a fairground here?  Pupils will not necessarily be used to the idea of considering 'cause and effect', how outcomes can vary for differing strategies.  They might need assistance in formulating ideas about how to do things.  Considering how results can affect their confidence, our heart, the cars wheels, other drivers opinion of your driving school..... this is all important stuff. 

If you are getting stressed about the outcomes with a pupil or pupils, then it's time you started thinking about how you are doing with developing responsibility and self-awareness levels in your pupil(s).  It is the nurturing of the mind of your pupil that you should be thinking about, not the state of your wheels. 

Tom Ingram offers PDI Training on a 'pay as you go' basis. 0775 607 1464