The white dot slowly vanishes

"That's right Sarge, thirty thwee, Upcwock Close," John smiled, he knew that one would go down well on the team.  Wait for it.  A garbled cough sound came over the radio.  There would be much laughing amongst his team.

As he turned into the street, he glanced at his watch, 1.35 pm.  It was slightly irritating to him to be given this task, at this time.  But sudden deaths, and how next of kin are informed has always been, in John's mind anyway, one of those tasks that should be done with care, and well.  This was why he had been given this particular one to do. 

A young lad of 21 had just died in a collision riding his motorbike.  Jake Longley was his name.  Bit of a sad story all round really, John thought.  A Community Officer had informed them that Jake's Mum died of cancer when he was only 17.  But Jake's Dad, Ian Humphries, had taken it so badly: the illness had come on at pace; that he left the family home and his son Jake, and has not been seen since.  The police do suspect that Ian has taken his own life as there has been no activity on bank accounts or any signs of him still being around.  But until his body is found, they have to treat him as a missing person.

That's why the team Inspector has requested that John attend to speak to the parents of Ian, grandparents of Jake.  It was a bit of a sensitive one.  John would have liked to have a young officer to tag along with him, as these kinds of tasks don't come up often, so it would have been a good experience for someone young in service.  But time was pressing, and there were only 25 minutes of this shift to go.  John needed to crack on, as someone had to attend the hospital to confirm the identity of Jake formally.

Upcrock Close, John tried to think if he had ever had any cause to come down this street in his 22 years on this patch.  It was funny how that happened.  There are some streets that just don't cause the police any bother at all, ever.  

"Just pulling up," John radio'd through.  

"Thank you Sarge, sowwy about this."

John winced at the obsequious remark.  It's part of the job.  I'm getting paid for doing this.  He was finding that far too many youngsters coming into the job now expected to be thanked for doing their job.  People were too quick to be apologising for aspects of the job that are just the job.  Shit happens John thought.  It just happens.  

He pulled up to number 33, and looked at the front of the semi-detached home.  Neat garden.  Very respectable-looking house.  Pretty much as John expected.

When the bell rang, George Humphries was sat watching snooker.  The bell made him jump.   "What's that Lyn?"

"The door, can you get it?  I'm washing up here," Lynda shouted out from the kitchen.

George struggled to get up.  He was unsteady on his feet now.  He'd not done too badly with his health, considering he was now 79 years old.  He slowly shuffled to the front door with his walking stick, opened the door and the sight of a police officer took his breath away.

"Hello, sir."

"Oh dear.  Hello officer.  Can I help you at all?"

"I was wondering if I could speak to Mr and Mrs Humphries please?  George and Lynda?"

"Of course officer.  Come in son," he opened the door wider for the heavy built policeman to enter.

"I'm so sorry to be disturbing you this afternoon," John said as he entered the hallway.  He glanced around.  All neat and tidy.

"Don't be silly," George replied, "I'm only watching the snooker.  I hope it's not bad news officer."

As the two men walked into the lounge, Lynda came out of the kitchen, visibly flustered, drying her hands on her apron.  "Oh my," she garbled, "hello officer, oh it's a Sergeant."

"Good afternoon to you both, my name is John Langer from Wembley police station.  I'm sorry to be troubling you today.  Can I confirm that I'm speaking to George and Lynda Humphries please?"

"Well, yes, Sergeant," Lynda was struggling to get her words out.  "Yes, is anyone hurt?"

"Is it possible if I may have a seat please Mrs Humphries?"

"Go on son, you are more than welcome, let me turn this snooker off Lyn," George fell on to his usual seat and zapped the controller off.

"You both had a son Ian who was married to Lesley?" John was thumbing through his notebook to make sure he got the names out correctly.

"Yes that is right, but poor Les, she died a while ago now son.  We don't know where our Ian is.  Have you found him?"

"No sir, bear with me.  I have no news today regarding your son Ian.  Now Ian had a son called Jake, yes?"

"Has a son called Jake, officer, has," Lynda was quick to respond.

John looked at Lynda.

Lynda stared at him.

How so much can be said without a single word spoken.

"Please go on, son," George seemed to miss that communication.

Lynda put her hand on the fireplace wall to steady herself.  She was the only one standing, but John had a very real concern it would not be for long.

John stood up, "Please allow me to help you sit down Mrs Humphries." He raised his bent arm to offer her a lever.  She took hold of his arm and gently lowered herself down on to the chair and took a very deep sigh.

John sat down again.  

"So if I have my details correctly recorded, your grandson's name is Jake Humphries, his date of birth being 5th December 1999, and he lives in Sudbury?"

"Yes that's the one," George confirmed, he pointed up to the fireplace, to a string of photographs of Jack.  "There he is Sergeant, our pride and joy eh Lyn?"

George smiled at John, but John had to look down at his notebook.  

He thought this was going to be a bad one.  He'd only had a couple of these in his career, and this had the making of being bad.  

"Have I got that date of birth correct Mrs Humphries?"

Lynda slowly turned her head to John, "Yes you have" she slowly replied.  She got her tissue out of her apron and dabbed her eye.

Lynda's whole world was beginning to close in on her.  It was like how televisions used to turn off in the old days; it goes black and then right in the centre was a white dot which eventually fades out.  She felt like that was happening in her head right now.

"What's the matter Lyn?" George asked his wife; he was a bit slower in keeping up with the conversation.

"The thing is Mr Humphries," John started.  

"Please call me George son, everyone calls me George."

"I'm afraid George, that young Jake has died in a motorbike collision today."

John looked at George.  Silence.  No motion.  He was holding on to his walking stick with his right hand.  Silence.

"Say again, son? What's that about our Jake?"

John looked at the old man.  This poor chap has seen his family members go one by one — his daughter in law, his son, and now his grandson.  Life can be cruel, John thought.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this George, but earlier on today, your grandson Jake was in a motorbike collision," he paused to allow that to sink in,  "and tragically, Jake died as a result."

George looked at Lyn.  Her head was down, and her shoulders were rocking.  She was weeping in silence, with her eyes closed.

George turned to John, "No son, please don't tell me that is true.  Oh, no son.  That's not right, is it?"  He looked at John, with eyes begging, pleading that he had got the facts incorrect.

John looked at this old man in front of him and wondered if he and his wife were strong enough to survive this devastating news.

"I erm," John stumbled, "am afraid to say, George, that is what has happened."

John turned to Lynda.  

It's a bit like grading the severity of injuries on arrival at a collision, John thought to himself.  It's not the loud ones that you want to concern yourself with.  Grief has a similar feel to it.

As John watched Lynda weeping quietly in the corner, he could hear George saying "Not my Jake, not my Jake."
  

Roundabout!

"Woo hoo," Sarah put the tray of 144 eggs on to the top of the existing pile.
"Roundabout!"  Sarah and Ann sang in a chorus.

It was a little ritual that they have developed over the months of picking up eggs.  When they were feeling super happy, they would perform a little harmonic duet.  

Each tray of eggs, represents one tenth of a driving lesson (they worked out earlier in the Spring that they normally do about 10 roundabouts per driving lesson.  At their hourly rate, it takes them ten egg trays to pay for one driving lesson).  It was a way for the girls to stay motivated in their work.  It was back-breaking work and so cold in the winter months.  But perhaps the worst thing was the awful dust in the air.  Gulps of water, little and often helped, but you couldn't gulp too much down, as it just made you go to the loo all the time and you would miss your daily target of eggs.
   
North Wales was a beautiful place to live, both of the girls knew that, but it was rather limited in the hope it could offer them for long term employment.  They needed mobility - hence the driving lessons. But it was so incredibly expensive.

They started picking up eggs in February.  February 10th to be precise.  Ann remembers it well as it was the day her dog died.  She had left Sammy, the family golden labrador that morning, at 4.30am, not knowing then, that she would never see him alive again.  It brings a tear to her eye every time she thinks about him.  'See you later Sammy' were the last words she said to her dog.  She used to take him back an egg to put in some milk, just as a treat.  She missed her dog so much.  That was the worst day of her 17 years so far.  Sarah really helped her get through that grief.

Roll on 4 months later, and here they are, in the cold, dusty, noisy brick house, picking up eggs. Hundreds, thousands of them. The two girls have been doing this for 6 days solid, every single week.  Seventeen they may be, but it still breaks your back by the end of the shift.  "Can I have a 'break back Big Mac' please?" is the girls' little joke they say when they go to McDonalds.  The egg farm supplies the food chain, so whenever they go to their local outlet, the staff there know what's coming.  The two girls are well known in the village.  They've known each other all their young lives.  They will remain friends to "the day we die" is what they say. 

They took their driving theory tests on their birthdays.  Ann was in January, and Sarah a few weeks later.  They were very lucky to find their jobs at the egg farm, they knew it would be difficult to find somewhere that would take them both on, and they could work together.  So they want to stick at it, as a thank you to Ged's parents who own the farm. 

"Here he comes," Ann was first to spot the tractor pulling up.  The girls loved it when Ged came to see them.  He was the village heartthrob.  In he strode, with a big smile on his face.

Sarah stood up, and her heart melted each time she saw Ged smile.  Why couldn't all men be like Ged she thought to herself.  

"Ladies..."

"Geeeeeeeed," the girls knew the routine.

"Beautiful morning?"

"Geeeeeeeed"

"I'm looking for a few eggs, don't suppose you've seen any laying around?"
He gave Sarah a wink.  She was his favourite, but he found the company of both girls always to be pleasant.

"I don't think we have, have we Annie?  Not around here mind," she looked over to her friend.  Both girls radiated when Ged came to see them.  They would get a bit of rose in their cheeks.

"How's the driving going girls?"

"Bloody nightmare," Sarah put her hands in her pockets to try to help them warm up a bit while she chatted with Ged.  

"Why's that?"

"I'll tell you why young Ged," she liked to remind him when she could that he was actually younger than her, even if by a few days.  The three of them were very close in age.  "It's all those bloody manoeuvres."  She liked to emphasise the "oooo" in her manoeuvres.

"Why?"

"Because, where Ged, do we need to do the stupid things around here?  It's madness."

"She's got a good point Ged," Ann felt similar to her friend about reversing, "It does seem a bit unnecessary when we know we can just do a taxi-turn."

"The good old taxi-turn," Ged smiled at them, "Where would we be without it eh girls?"

"A bit further down the road I'd imagine." Sarah smiled her bestest smile to Ged.

"As ever, you talk a lot of sense Sarah," Ged started to carry over some of the egg trays to his trailer.

"Take care with those eggs Ged, we know what you are like with your heavy hands," Ann turned around to her friend and raised her eyebrows to her.

"I know what I'd like him to do with those heavy hands," Sarah softly added to her friend while Ged had his back turned.  The girls laughed.

"I'll have you two know, that these hands can pick up 6 eggs in each hand," he waved them to his friends.

"Get away Ged, no you can't," Ann was having none of it.

"I'm telling you Ann."

"Well you know what they say about a boy with big hands don't you Ged?"  Sarah was stood with her hands on her hips now, looking at him with a cheeky smile on her face.

Ged met her stare, but lost his nerve and started to go red in the face.  He turned towards the pile of egg trays, "Naughty, you girls are very naughty."
   

Authenticating what you say

A very interesting discussion with a pupil recently centred around blind spot checks.

Roughly, it went along the following lines:

I was attempting to show him the difference between 'chin to shoulder' observations vs blindspot checks

The resistance came for two reasons:

a) he felt that he did turn his head sufficiently for a blind spot check (I thought he did not)

b)  is a blind spot check really necessary

It's interesting because what we think we do, we don't necessarily do.  This was demonstrated very nicely within some CPD I did where I thought (as an instructor) I was doing a blindspot check, but as my trainer stated, I was not.

  <This is covered in a previous blog>

Look for a sight of the right ear, by the way, a good clue.

As such, when you know you are right (you must know you are correct), then the question comes down to, "Are you going to listen to my feedback or not?"

It's quite a good and valid question.

Point b though is good.  Is it actually necessary?  Nice question.  Rarely do pupils say this, but they most definitely think it.

This becomes a question of chance, risk, gambit, odds.  

That is a personal chance.  

Please don't attempt to transfer your own opinion at this point.  That is a very common mistake to make.  For some, not only will your advice be unwelcome, but honestly, this is the stuff that turns customers away.  At this point, all I can respectfully ask my reader to acknowledge is the benefit of experience.  As a writer, I can only assume you wish to improve your ability by taking the trouble actually to read this blog.  Franchisees for BIG TOM automatically receive these pointers, it's automatic.  Don't under-estimate the quality of this information.  

As such, be strong, you have facts, data, the research behind you.  De-personalise this if you need to.  Show DVSA publications.  It's vital as you are authenticating what you say.  

... has that dog had it all again?

"Mum?  Mum? Sorry Mum.  But I can't sleep," Lucy felt sick.  
"What? Why?"
"Don't know.  Think it's because of the test."
"Bloody hell Lucy-Lou, you had me worried there."  Sheila started to sit up into her bed.  She patted the mattress and smiled at her daughter.
Lucy sat down with a big sigh, "I don't know what's wrong with me."
"It's my fault darling, I'm exactly the same.  I can't take tests for toffee.  I remember once I had to do a test in drama, I only had 3 lines to remember.  One of them was: 'But where?  Where should we run?  Where should we hide?  It's all too much...'   Mum raised the back of her hand to her forehead in mock distress.  
"Yea?  And what happened?"
"Instead of that line, I said one of the others."
"What did you say instead?"
"I can't find the milk, has that dog had it all again?"
Both of them laughed.
"Bloody hell you two," Mike was stirring, and smiling from what he had just heard. "What are you playing at?  Do you realise the sodding time?"
"It's your daughter; she's worried about her driving test."
Lucy whispered, "Sorry Dad, go back to sleep."
"I wish I bloody could, I've got sodding Meryl sodding Streep here by the sodding side of me."
Mum winked at Lucy.  She mouthed, "He loves me really."
"Do you think I'm going to pass Mum?"
"The only thing you'll be passing is wind if you're anything like your Mum in stressful situations."  He was awake now, he turned to see the two most precious beings in his life.  He was a very lucky man, and he knew it.
"You'll be fine hun, listen, if I can pass the bloody thing, anyone can."
"Yea, but it's changed a lot since when you took it, Mum."
"Excuse me, madam, it's not changed that much, if you don't mind."
"It has Sheila," Mike had a workmate who only had a test last week and he has been listening to him talk about it on the run-up.  Half of the stuff he has spoken about, Mike has not even understood.  "They cover all sorts of shit now, that we didn't have to do."
"Like what?"
"Block changes."
"What's a block change when it's at home," Sheila eyed Lucy and twiddled her finger around the side of her head, nodding towards Mike. "He's going mad, your Dad."
Lucy knew this one and wanted to show her knowledge to her Dad, "It's when you miss out a gear eh Dad?"
"She's a clever lass, my girl," Mike gave her a wink.  Sheila rolled her eyes.  
"I never had any problem missing out gears when I was learning," said Sheila, "I sometimes missed the brakes and if I was really on form, I could even miss pedestrians."
Lucy smiled at her Mum.  There was nothing that Lucy could ever say to her Mum that could not get sorted out.
"But cyclists, my instructor thingy used to say 'that was a bridge too far'.  I never did know what he meant by that, especially as I could never see a bridge when he said it."
"Ladies, is it too much to ask that I could possibly be given the opportunity to rest my head?"
"Course Dad.... sorry.  Love you, you two," she stood up.
Mike opened his eyes to see the young, innocent face of his daughter as she bent to kiss her Mum and then turned to leave.  'Not half as much as I love you my treasure' he thought to himself.  
"You will be fine in the morning love," Sheila smiled at her daughter, "Just you try and get some sleep, it will all turn out just fine, you see."

Thoughts on a driving lesson

Raining behind my eyes

While approaching a zebra crossing, 55-year-old driving instructor John attempts to help his pupil Sophie:

"You see the pedestrians on the left Sophie, approaching the zebra crossing?"
Sophie rolls her eyes and draws a heavy sigh: "Yes, thank you, John, I do see the pedestrians on the left.  Do you though, John?"
"It's possible that they may cross in which case you will need to pause."
"Not until they are ACTUALLY, ACTUALLY on the crossing thank you John."
John makes a mental note to go over that knowledge gap with Sophie.  As they draw nearer, a young child from the group breaks free from holding hands and runs towards the crossing.
"Slower Sophie, brakes.... brakes...."
John uses the dual-controls brakes pedal near his feet.
"Get off me!"
"Sorry?"  The car comes to a controlled stop.
"You just touched me!"
"No, I didn't, I just used the brakes to slow the car down for that young lad."
"But I could sense through my foot that you had done that, and I don't much appreciate it."
The pedestrians began to walk across the zebra crossing, and Mum puts up her hand towards John, and mouths slowly and silently "Sorry".  John smiles and raises his hand towards her.
"That is so gross," Sophie interjects, "do you have no morals at all?"
"I'm just acknowledging the mother Sophie, that's all."  Sophie began to move the car off again.
"Yeah, right.  If that's what you want to call it.  And you really shouldn't assume the gender of the little one either John."
"What do you mean?"
"You called the little one a "young lad", didn't you."
"Because he is Sophie, you can tell he is."
"No you can't John, and you really should try harder not to allow your white male privilege to discriminate against innocent passers-by who have done absolutely nothing to deserve your oppressive bias."
"What is he if he's not a boy, Sophie?"
"Well that is a good question, John, and maybe you should start asking yourself that kind of question before you make your assumptions.  How do you ALSO know John, that is the mother of that child?  There you go again making assumptions.  And what gives you the right to smile and gesticulate towards her?"
"Well she said 'sorry'"
"Did she though?"
"Yes.  Why don't you pull over Sophie, as I'm sensing that you are not happy about something."
As Sophie pulls the car over she says "Yes, that's right, subject me to more of your passive-aggressive adulting all in the name of 'driving instruction'."
"Why do you say that?"
"You assume that I haven't seen the pedestrians.  I had John.  If you had just kept quiet and allowed me some personal space I would have handled that all perfectly well without any "help" from you.  I may have been too young to prevent you all from ruining my generations' lives in the vote, but I'm not too young to have a voice now John."
"The vote Sophie?"
"Yes, you know, when all the reckless old people in this country decided my destiny for generations to come, without giving me any say in the unmitigated disaster of doom that you have created."
"Me?"
"You and old people like you, John."

John sat back, looked out at the rain falling on the front windscreen and felt it starting to rain behind his eyes.  He began to daydream about having a lovely meal later with his darling wife.....

Raising the driving test pass rate - the easy way

Welcome to the Elite driving school.  You are all very welcome.  We have one of these evenings occurring across the country, on average, every 7 minutes, such is our popularity.  Thank you for bringing your sons and daughters along.
So you might be sitting there, quite smugly, thinking to yourself how clever you have been to get your place this evening.  Now, all you have to do is sit back and relax.  No.  We have standards here at Elite, we don't get a name like "Elite" for no reason.  I will not tolerate anyone who abuses the reputation of this driving school.  You probably know this already, but let me confirm; pupils who enrol with us pass the driving test, on their first attempt, 99.97%.  We are working really hard this year to make that 99.98%.  And we need your help, every single one of you, to achieve that goal.

Do you think that we are interested in a national driving test pass rate of 45%?  Not in the slightest.  It doesn't affect us, because it does not represent us.  Do you think we have any interest in the UK % of Grade A driving instructors?  Not at all, everyone here at Elite is Grade A.  We actually like to consider ourselves A+ actually, and for a good reason.  Take me, for example.  I used to be a traffic cop for 30 years.  I use to drive around in very big, powerful, flashy police cars.  I now sit back and live in luxurious surroundings pulling on my not-insignificant pension per week - a pension that I think would make your Dad's eyes water.  I use to chase everything, and guess what, I always caught them; but I'm guessing you knew that already.  I use to escort VIP's, I was armed, I had so many specialities that frankly, I could spend the rest of tonight, talking about no-one else but me, but that's not why you're here tonight.  So rest assured, that the staff here at Elite, are nothing but elite.  Grade A?  You bet grade A, but you can add a plus to that too.

No, you are here tonight, because we have asked you to attend what is a very important evening with us.  It's important because in our vast,  and some might say, outstanding experience, we know how important it is for us to set our expectations of you.  Each and every one of you.  Don't drop your eyes at this point, that shows a sign of weakness.  If you don't want to drive round in big flashy cars, knowing that you've passed with the best driving school in the country, there is the exit, and I wish you a good evening.  Because I only want the best in this room.  I'm not going to achieve 99.98% pass rate by working with a bunch of losers.

We have standards here.  You will be passing your driving test the first time, that is going to happen.  Mark my words.  You will be successful. 

Any questions?

A Dad:  Hello, Sir, thank you so much for that inspiring talk.  I only wish I had this opportunity when I was 17.  You've not mentioned anything about road safety, is that something that you kind of, cover?
Mr Elite:  I've seen things on those roads that you could not even imagine.  There is nothing, absolutely nothing that you, or in fact, any of you out there tonight, could tell me about road safety.

*Gasps* from the audience

A Mum:  Hello, oh I must say that this is all very impressive.  One thing that I would like to ask is will my daughter be a confident driver?
Mr Elite:  Ha ha ha, yes very good.
A Mum:  No, what I mean is, having passed the test with you, which I'm sure she will, will she be confident?
Mr Elite:  Listen to me Mrs?   Never mind.  Listen.  You don't get where I am, with a driving school like mine that is running across the whole country, with zero confidence.  It's all about you knowing that you are buying into something special here.  Trust me.  I do know what I'm talking about.  Our record speaks for itself.

Another Mum:  Do you mind if I ask how you do it please?
Mr Elite:  Do what?
Another Mum:  How you manage to get a first-time pass rate of 99.97%?
Mr Elite:  That will be 99.98 after this year let me tell you.  There's no room here for complacency.  How we do it?  Well, we train your son or daughter really hard, that's how we do it.  THAT is precisely why, we need your son or daughter to be firing on all cylinders, chomping at the bit, ready to tackle those test routes.
Another Mum:  Yes but how?
Mr Elite:  Don't you get yourself worrying about detail like that.  Let's just say shall we, that no stone will be left unturned for preparing your sons and daughters to be ready for their driving test.  What I would encourage you to just think about for a second is, why do you think other driving schools are performing at about 45% when Elite is up at 99.98%?  Just think on that for a moment.

*round of applause*

A Dad:  Hello, your Highness, do you mind if I just ask?  How can I put this?  I hope you don't think me weak by asking.  I remember when I was 17 I really enjoyed learning to drive, it was actually quite good fun.  Is it fun training with you too your Highness?
Mr Elite:  Did you pass first time?
A Dad:  Sorry?
Mr Elite: When you were 17, did you pass your driving test first time?
A Dad: Oh I see, no, it took me two goes.
Mr Elite:*Pause while staring at the Dad*  Thank you.  I think that answers that one.

So if there are no more questions, time is money as they say.  I have a question for all you sons and daughters.  I need a really loud reply to this question:  What are you going to do?

A variety of softly spoken answers including "Go home and have fish and chips", "Play Xbox", and "Fuck right off" .

No no no no no no!  This will not do!  You, are going to *pause* pass *pause* first *pause* time.  That's what you are going to do.  Now, let me hear you, what you are going to do?

"Pass first time"

How's 2019 been for you?

As we approach a broad sweeping bend into advent, I thought now might be a good time to share my thoughts on 2019 in the driving instruction world. ADI's often ask why I bother putting pen to paper on the broad range of subjects that I cover, wondering if I do in fact, 'have a life'. The fact of the matter is, that since I started my blog on 15/11/2011, it has proved to be of excellent therapeutic value to me. I imagine some will scoff at that remark, how can that possibly be true they will undoubtedly say.  

I've discovered that the resources that an instructor provide a pupil are just an opportunity to help reach a goal. No-one can force a pupil to engage in resources. We should raise their awareness of the possible benefits for sure, but after that, it comes down to their call. This very point was proved only yesterday with a pupil who was getting herself tied up in knots. Driving instructors will be familiar with the struggles our pupils encounter on the learning path; some of these are painful to observe. It is human nature to allow self-doubt to consume our heads and affect outcomes due to the 'fog' that slowly but surely sits and impedes cognitive thinking. The turnaround that occurred yesterday was entirely due to the systematic application of the resources I provide for my pupils. As pompous as that sounds, there is no other way of describing what occurred. I've personally observed this transformation on so many occasions with pupils now that I can say without hesitation, it is entirely due to the resources. Just because my pupil yesterday had not had the time to read them previously, it didn't stop the two of us reading them at the side of the road. Readers of this blog from many years ago would know I use to have a low opinion of instructors who spend too much time paused at the side of the road. Paused, engaged in this kind of activity though is time very well spent. If you are a reader who likes labels and names for such things, then, in my opinion, it would be metacognition and self-regulated learning. A process of developing knowledge by the use of techniques, to help our pupils think about how they are learning. 

It was a while ago when I concluded that we could not "force" learning; we can only help create the environment in which facilitates it. If any readers here don't believe that the act of writing my thoughts and feelings about my instruction experiences in this blog is not therapeutic, so be it, let that be. But it is.

I have never experienced such a good feeling of job satisfaction as I currently do. 2019 has brought its challenges (more on that to follow), but I don't think I can convey to you in this blog, quite the feeling of satisfaction I have in helping my pupils. The more I get to know about the intricacies of this job we do, the more I realise what I did not know. The flip side to this feeling of satisfaction and pride is a deep sense of regret that I may have been able to help many past pupils in a better way. I guess that is the nature of the beast; if you strive to improve in your professional work continually, in doing so, you are more able to recognise your previous limitations. A point not lost on brain surgeons I imagine. But I will go into more detail on this subject later in this blog.

So, buckle up! Settle yourself in and let's take a brief tour of all driving instructor things for 2019.

Making progress

A unique aspect of being a self-employed driving instructor is that on the one hand, you are mindful of the health of your business (revenue vs outgoings). Yet, on the other, you would do well to keep in mind the state of the industry that you are in (road safety statistics).

It would appear that there is a flat-lining effect over the past few years where the DVSA have responded with their 2019 strategy to continue improvement (see previous blogs for more details).

The challenge that every driving instructor wrestles with daily is how to balance the needs of proper quality driving training, with customer needs. What our customers recognise to be their needs do NOT necessarily align with maximising road safety, or for that matter, their learning potential. It is sad to reflect on customers who go through the process of learning to drive, qualify and find that they are ill-equipped for the demands of every day driving. We find ourselves in an industry now that attempts to resolve this fact by the use of 'black box' telematics. We have witnessed a very clever (one could suggest manipulative) strategy from the insurance industry. The implication is the continual (telematics) monitoring of driving behaviour can mitigate poor driving standards. A claim that the DVSA has previously proven through research to be false (see Published Project Report PPR828).

I have discovered that some 17-year-olds are quite literally unable to fully appreciate the responsibilities that come with driving safely on public roads. I think it manifests itself in a variety of different ways: impulsive driving due to influences from peers, imperception of increased risk factors, not recognising the possible consequences of poor driving, a lazy attitude to learning, a desire for immediate gratification. The hope for the outcome is so immense that there is a clouding of judgement regarding meaningful learning.

But before I get too carried away with my teenage character assassination, there is nothing particularly new about the delayed frontal lobe development in teenage males versus females. This fact has not evolved only in the last few decades. There is peer pressure, but hasn't there always been?  

I do feel there can be ineluctable differences with the Millenials approach to learning; I wonder how much it hinders them when learning to drive. This multi-tasking that occurs so frequently is baffling to me. I was brought up with the thinking that to concentrate on a task takes focus, no distractions and a clear mind. I see my sons doing homework and revision with earphones in; I increasingly see drivers with earphones in too. My boys will watch the television while using their devices. Single-minded attention while performing a task is old-school. Technology has created an attention-deficit culture which is not conducive to periods concentrating on driving. Perhaps the biggest obstacle that it has created for a learning environment relates to how practised a pupil is listening to information, analysing it and expressing thoughts/feelings. I often observe a complete breakdown in a meaningful conversation due to facile responses. Let me give you an example from one only the other day where I was discussing with a pupil the distance travelled in a second at 20mph. The topic was being able to stop in the distance seen to clear, and we were attempting to understand the necessity for reduced speed and increased attention when passing parked cars in case a pedestrian stepped out between them. It went like this, with the HWC stopping distance table in front of the pupil: 

Me: "Can you work out how far the car will travel in a second at 20mph?"

*Pause for much thought*

"Nine hundred."

"Nine hundred what?"

"Metres"

"Really? Are you sure?"

*Pause for thought*

"Yes"

"So you are suggesting that a car will travel 900 metres in a second at 20 mph?"

"Uhm..."

I'm not saying that I know enough on the subject to say that this error is due to inattention, but it does demonstrate a severe lack of meaningfulness. How practised are our younger folk at analysis and understanding? Listen carefully, think deeply, check and verbalise the response. I do wonder how over-exposure to technology contributes to a lack of practice.

A subject that I have mentioned previously in my blog is this culture in schools of superficial learning of keywords to regurgitate in a test, that has no bearing on context, perspective, application or knowledge. You get these answers that are meaningless to the question, perhaps incoherent and show no depth of understanding. I don't think this approach to learning helps in any way when we are attempting to relate about a practical skill. 

Much is affected by the attitude our pupil has to the process of learning to drive. The author Alain de Botton recently remarked "If you expect to succeed, you will almost certainly fail" which is an interesting take on the subject. It is most regrettable when a pupil has grossly under-estimated the task of learning to drive; the autodidact has a rude awakening of the difficulties that lay ahead. It would be naive to think that all pupils arrive for driving training with a perfect alignment of expectations and understanding for the instructor-pupil working relationship. But much can be done with effective communication to help develop constructive bonding. When there is a breakdown of the relationship, it can often be rooted in the decision of when to take the driving test. The dissonant opinions of the instructor and pupil will test the most established of a working relationship. I have blogged, vlogged and spoken much on the subject. Newly qualified teachers will no doubt struggle with setting expectations as they start their career, and I am in no doubt it is common for recently qualified ADI's too.  

One of the particular challenges for ADI's in these days of social media is the obloquy that can arise simply by an ADI who has safety standards at the forefront of their mind. The byzantine tactics being used by some members of the public in these situations begin to justify why some ADI's will put aside their professional judgement for the sake of their reputation. Irrational responses to feedback can be a problem. Whether it be towards a pupil who then implodes with the perception of being an utter failure, or sometimes the reaction from parents is unhelpful. Parents will often compare what their son/daughter is doing to how they learned to drive and might be confused by differences. But helicopter parenting is tricky when an instructor is attempting to raise standards. The fragility of mental health in teenagers is relatively new. I've only been working in the industry for ten years, and even I can detect a difference over that period. It's troubling because driving instructors are merely attempting to ensure a pupil is safe on the roads. But learning to drive does sometimes involve digging deep and working hard; part of the process of improvement does necessitate constructively working with feedback from an instructor. If a pupil crumbles into a heap of self-loathing on receipt of some good quality, formative feedback, then it does leave you wondering if they have the necessary maturity for the task in hand. I get the general impression (I could be well off the mark here) that some of our 17-year-olds appear to be struggling to cope with the stresses and strains of modern-day living. The perception of feedback is aggression or undermining. It comes across as a very fragile mental health perspective, where feedback is undoubtedly questioning their right to drive. One of my sons relayed to me recently a snippet of information that he had heard and he was asking for my thoughts. It went along the lines of how GCSE exam grades can have a sliding scale of additional points on offer depending on the circumstances in which the exam is taking place in the student's life. Family grief, the death of a pet, break up of parents, financial hardship, not feeling very well and on it goes. Whatever my thoughts, the fact is these rumours are even doing the rounds! According to a recent article in The Times, 26% of children at private schools are being awarded extra time in exams on grounds of health/special educational needs - compared to 17% at non-selective state schools.  Food for thought.

Just in my adult lifetime, there have been a few signposts along the way that may begin to explain what is happening. I recall attending a primary school as a parent governor, and being struck by all the wall displays that explained all of the rights the students had. I won't repeat the detail, but the message was clear. No mention of responsibilities, just rights. I remember the first time when attending a primary school sports day; there were no losers. Everyone was a winner. It's almost as if there can be no failure, hardly preparing our youngsters for adult life. Just look at how younger pupils of ours respond to driving test fails: it's truly devastating and unjust because the CAUSE of the failure had nothing to do with them. The result was related to another road user, the weather, the time of day, the examiner, the sat nav, the quota of pass/fails. If you keep telling young minds that there is no such thing as failing, then they have no experience of failing and recovering from a setback. When I listen to some of my pupils talk about stress, it often involves their ability to manage adversity. Mock test results, relationship breakdowns, pets dying. When schools place a heavy burden on homework and revision at home, they feed this sense of impending doom. I can only imagine it must be a thoroughly miserable existence. They are continuously bombarded, in every academic year with tests which are supposed to be preparing them for the final exams. So there is this very high expectation from teachers for success (one might even use the word 'demand' these days), failure is not an option. Look at all these tests that we have prepared for you over the last five years; you better make sure you nail these exams. It's like a 'Step by step guide how to damage mental health' by insisting upon unrealistic demands.

Our industry is currently pondering on why theory test pass rates are as low as they are. As I say, I could be way off the mark here, but I think you will find theory tests come low in priorities in the workload of your average 17-year-old. We are creating 'pressure pots' of stressed teenagers who know there are high expectations but have no idea what it is to fail. You imagine living your life like that and see how that starts to affect your outlook.

I recall speaking to a Mum on the phone recently. Her daughter has high anxiety levels due to an event which neither Mum nor pupil cares to disclose. The driving behaviour of her daughter is inconsistent, erratic and progress is flat-lining. There is nothing about the situation which is anything particularly unusual, on the face of it. Typically, if I demonstrate that what I'm attempting to develop in my pupil is technically sound, as per the DVSA driving standard, then all is good in the world. But all is not good in the world for this pupil, and she is not slow in letting me know she has no time for my contribution.  Everything that comes out of my mouth is beneath her.  Taking the emotion out of the situation and showing this pupil the same message via DVSA publications makes no odds.  This pupil won't even look at the publications.

She is consumed in self-doubt, expressing feelings of hopelessness. She can't hear my advice on a technical or metacognitive level, because there is too much 'noise' distracting her. You could say the red mist is truly fogging up any rational thoughts. Her emotional state of mind is busily telling her how useless she is and how she may as well give up. It is very, very sad to observe, and not at all unusual. Mum tells me that her daughter does, in general, tend to focus on negatives. You see, it often comes down to learning to deal, manage, cope with adversity. All of this wrapping young folk up in cotton wool is not helping them. Life is hard, a struggle, often cruel, with the odd addition of unjust at times. It can be miserable, some might even say at times unbearable, but we learn to plod on, recognise our weaknesses and make our way through life. Beautiful sunshine at times gives way to being dark, wet, bitterly cold and downright miserable - but hey, that is life.

One particular disappointment for me personally in 2019 is the quality of some CPD I attended on Safeguarding. I blogged on it at the time. It's a great shame as there are so many opportunities to provide proper, meaningful support for ADI's. I am a regular listener of the DIPOD podcast as well as a member of one of the driving associations and can see how poor the CPD choices are for ADI's. I haven't seen the latest statistics on retention in the industry. Still, having attended a safeguarding course mid-2019, I do find myself less inclined to participate in such activity. A generous description would be 'unprofessional'; let's leave it at that. On the subject of resources, the new 'Official DVSA guide to learning to drive' book came out on 23/10/19 and is available on Amazon for £7.19. It's an excellent guide, and the updates are good to see. My only gripe is with repeated reference made to 'The Driver's Record'. Not only is there a mismatch of the 'five levels' mentioned in the book (pg 14) as against the > online version of the driver's record < but the graphic shown within the book (pg 169) does not even exist! But as I've mentioned before in this blog, all publications from the DVSA should be purchased by ADI's, and I can see no reason why ADI's shouldn't be buying a copy of this book for their pupils. At £7 it is a small price to pay for a handy guide to pupils and accompanying drivers.  DES has also been updated near the end of 2019 and while I would always recommend the latest versions, the updates in this are less significant.

There may be some more news coming to us in December 2019. There was talk a couple of years ago about a review of the SatNav TomTom model for driving tests - a change for an improved device would get my vote. I believe there is an update to the driving standard coming our way.

Happy training folks.