Mock Driving Test Gone Mad

The problem with mock driving tests, is that any 17-25 year old will naturally compare it to an academic test.  It is instilled into us from a very early age, that if you practise enough academic mock tests, eventually..... eventually, you will reap the rewards when it comes to the actual test.  We only need to look at the energy created by enthusiastic Grammar school parents who coach their 10-11 yr old children for the 11+ tests to see this in action.  This is just a taste of things to come.  It is little wonder that by the time our 17+ year olds come out of this process of learning by continual testing, that they feel inclined to have the same attitude towards learning to drive.

I have witnessed pupils hopping across the country, repeatedly attempting the driving theory test having done very little actual study, but in effect, only learning by repeatedly failing the £23 test.  

Likewise, there are a great many young people who will shortcut the process of learning to drive, and hop on the driving mock test route, with the view that if you do enough mock tests, surely you will pass the driving test eventually.  It is not uncommon for pupils who repeatedly fail mock tests, to still insist on going to test, in the misguided hope that just like the academic tests, if they don't get their ultimate intended "grade", they will still pass.

Now at this point in my blog, I am very conscious that if I haven't already completely switched off all 17-25 year olds, then the remaining few, are actually quite serious about learning to drive well,  and doing it 'cost effectively' - yes that combination really is possible!  If you are still with me, then take a look at this video of how to monitor progress when learning to drive, and see if you can spot the fundamental trap that many poor folk will fall into that inhibits any further learning.

If you get nothing else out of this blog than appreciating how "learning by testing" is not the way forward when you learn to drive, then it has been time well spent for you, and could possibly save you several hundreds of pounds as a result!

Big Tom Driving School - 0800 689 4174 (Free from mobiles too!)

School Road Safety Presentation

I had a very enjoyable time presenting to the 150 Yr 12's of my local school yesterday.  Before going any further I should give some insight as to where I am situated and the demographic.  I live in a small but expanding town (pop. 15,000) which is located about 12 miles from any significantly larger town/city in any direction.  There is a large population of elderly residents, so hairdressers and charity shops are a plenty, however, there are primary and secondary schools that are catering for over 3000 pupils such is the quality of the schools in this town and how well they draw pupils in from outside the town.  There is a bus service leading in/out of the town; the vast majority of my young pupils complain that it is an expensive and pretty infrequent (hourly) service.

I have taken care not to name the town or the school that is the subject of this blog in the interests of neutrality, but suffice to say, the school in question is a well reputed school that is known for it's high standards of achievement for end of year exam grades.

I was called on the phone a couple of months previous by the Head of Yr 6 and invited to give a short presentation on road safety.

You can imagine that with a subject as wide and varied as "road safety" there were many options for me as to what to concentrate on, especially as our local "A" roads (A15, A16 and A17) do suffer with high collision stats but I was very keen to remember my audience and provide something meaningful to them.   I wanted to demonstrate that much like my driving lessons that I provide, my preferred style is to seek engagement as opposed to "lecture".

My opening gambit was to ask for a show of hands for who intends to learn to drive.  I turned to the teacher who had remained in the hall, and we agreed on roughly 50% had put their hands up.  Now this might surprise some, but the statistics that are provided by the DVSA who monitor these things, have been indicating for some time now that this is the current trend.  For example there were 300,000 fewer driving tests (16%) in 2013-2014 than there were in 2007-2008.  The UK and indeed global economy could well be responsible for this situation, but as I raised in the presentation, there is plenty of evidence around that "learning to drive" is fast becoming an activity that is simply too costly when you take into account insurance and fuel costs.  One lass mentioned that a member of her family had been quoted £4000 for insurance, and another lass mentioned that her brother of 23 years, recognises that despite passing the driving test, he is not properly prepared for driving independently - a fact that similarly brings into question how well learners are being trained, and whether financial resources have a say in that regard too.

On the subject of insurance, I have been in this industry for 6 years now and up until my last renewal, despite never having a single accident of any kind whatsoever, the insurance steadily rose year on year.  This last year, has for the first time, seen a slight dip in the premium.  Whether this is an acknowledgement from the industry that car insurance and indeed "driving" is fast becoming financially unviable for huge numbers of the young adult population, we shall see.  I did raise the question in the presentation yesterday, how many years of driving will the pupils who had just stated they intend to learn to drive actually drive for?  There is an increasingly popular case being made for driverless cars that will have positive effects on road collisions and insurance premiums, so arguably, as a Google video from 2011 demonstrates (found on my Facebook page "driving lessons in Bourne"), the consequences of humans driving motor vehicles is doing nothing but strengthening the case for them NOT driving and allowing advanced technology to provide a safer means of transportation.

At this stage, I hadn't shown my hand as to the topic of my presentation, and I was keen to get an early indication that I suspected may well prove useful as the talk progressed.  I asked of all the pupils who had just raised their hands indicating they intend to learn to drive, how many of them, consider that they will be a "good driver".  The hands went up, and I then asked all those pupils to then stand up.  It was roughly 50% of the original cohort and all male; not one single female.  I then invited the teacher to declare if she thought she was a good driver, which she responded in the affirmative.   It led nicely into considering what makes a "good driver" and how could anyone reliably measure it.

I asked for 2 volunteers to come up front, one male and one female.  A male pupil shot up instantly, and a brave female pupil reluctantly came up.  I asked the audience to consider statistically, who the better driver will be.  I asked them who was more likely to pass the driving test first time.  I asked them if they both took turns to drive who was the more likely to cause a fatality.  I asked who was likely to get the cheaper car insurance.  It sparked great engagement.  I then offered my own opinion based on my 6 years of driving instruction, which gender learnt to drive more effectively, and I gave my reasons.  Lots of open eyes, staring at me.

I then introduced the subject of my talk, attitudes to learning and drew comparisons with pupils attitudes to learning at school and learning to drive.  We discussed goals of achieving academic qualifications, independent learning, and developing life skills of ambition, perseverance and overcoming obstacles and considered the differences with learning to drive.  I introduced the idea of the learning that occurs on driving lessons for the purpose of the driving test compared to that of life beyond the driving test.  I questioned with the pupils that given the fact that 20% of newly qualified drivers were having an accident within the first 6 months of passing the driving test, how useful is the driving test, is it fit for purpose, and I gave some figures for the pass rates of driving tests.

I had prepared a light-hearted, fun exercise that required no less than 9 pupils to respond to one of my driving videos that was on the large screen on the stage, and with the use of my verbal instructions, demonstrate how difficult it is to multi-task driving actions in real time.  The first band of volunteers were unsurprisingly, all male and between them, they had achieved 41 driving actions on one circuit of my video.  The less willing but significantly more able group of female pupils managed to clock up almost double that number of driving actions.  It highlighted the necessary skills of effective communication, multi-tasking, co-ordination, and concentration when driving.  

Having witnessed this staggeringly higher achievement by the female group I then made reference to the all male assertion of who will be a "good driver" - cue the 'tumbleweed' moment.

To conclude, we had some facts given relating to the DVSA figure of the average number of hours to pass the driving test, also the price of the theory and practical tests, average driving lesson cost, and the number 1 reason for failing driving tests.  This led me nicely on to referring to a recently released dramatic video relating to THINK BIKE! which was also on my Facebook page. 

It was a most enjoyable session as I felt that I had personally learnt a great deal from the experience and the feedback from the teacher was very positive too.

BIG TOM Driving School in Bourne 01778 309 773

Cost of driving is just too expensive! by Tom of www.BigTom.org.uk

As a nation we are in difficult times when it comes to the cost of driving.

The Government has just released plans to try to relieve some financial pressure off "hard working families" with the cost of driving.

I would encourage them not to ignore our young people.  

The number of driving tests being undertaken by our young people has been in steady decline over several years, they simply cannot afford to either learn to drive, or even drive once qualified.  Of the 3 young men who just passed their driving test with my driving school in the last 2 days, not one is going on to drive..... not one!  Now that truly is a recipe for disaster.

Car insurance and fuel costs do play a part in this problem as has been identified in the above Government press release, but I would personally place the importance on helping our young people; they are the new blood who are going to be so needed for this country's economy, and we ignore skilling them up at our collective peril.

UPDATE: At a recent presentation on road safety to 150 Yr 12 pupils (9/9/14) in a pretty affluent area, only 50% of them stated that they intend to learn to drive - my blog has more info on this concerning trend.


BIG TOM Driving School  Intensive Driving Course in Peterborough, Spalding, Stamford, Sleaford, Boston and Grantham  0800 689 4174

How to plan to pass the driving test

Intensive Driving Course in Peterborough or Grantham

I attended a Grammar school this week to talk about the DofE Award (Duke of Edinburgh), and I realised just how important these ‘life skills’ are.  Not just in terms of learning new skills, with groups of like minded people, and being given the opportunity to apply these skills in far from home locations, but also, and possibly more importantly, to get used to the idea of planning goals, keeping motivated, conquering fear, acknowledging progress, combating anxieties, overcoming self-doubt, persevering after failure and eventually achieving, being successful.... experiencing the taste of success after effort.   It is a wonderful opportunity for mid-late teenagers in schools to begin applying themselves to achieve an end goal – the positive outcomes of this “process” are far too numerous for me to list in this blog.

I see striking similarities with the “process” of learning to drive.  There are plenty of hurdles to jump over to gain this life skill too.  And my few words of advice are to recognise the size of the task ahead and plan for it with attention to detail.  It will require resilience to overcome knock backs, willingness to dig deep and recognise weaknesses and train well. 

In short, learning to drive can’t be ‘bought’ for someone, like we go and buy an Xbox game.

It is a very personal experience, the training is 1:1, there are many different subjects to cover, and everyone has their unique elements they like and dislike.  The real key to success, and to make passing the driving test a reality, is in the planning.  Can you imagine turning up to an expedition in some remote location, late, without adequate clothing, no route planned, and no equipment?  It is not going to happen is it?  These are not the ingredients to success!

So a convenient checklist to help you on your way to planning how to learn to drive (I’m spoiling you now!), here we go:

Set goals, such as:

       When do you want/need to pass the theory and practical tests

       Where do you want to take the driving test

       How much does it cost to train, how long, and who provides good training

       What can you do BEFORE the training to give you a head start

       What time do you have available in your diary to train and practise

       How are you able to practise/study in addition to the training sessions

       What are your preferences for learning, can they be included

You get the picture?  Answer those types of question and you are on your way to planning how to drive.  Ignore these questions and you are on your way to a very prolonged, frustrating and expensive process.  If you had a choice which would you prefer?

The really good news is I’m more than happy to assist in this planning.  I regularly provide help and support to my customers on THIS very subject before they have even placed a deposit on my Intensive Driving Course.  The reason?  Because it is ESSENTIAL to success, which is what we all want!

If you like this, and want to hear more, I have 3 golden tips for getting the most out of your driving lessons.  Text "3 tips" to 07894 262 718 NOW and start planning for success TODAY!

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