Trust me, I'm a Driving Instructor

Tom Ingram (Owner of BIG TOM Driving School) deals with the challenge of differing aspirations between a Driving Instructor and the pupil.

If you were to draw a poll of 1000 pupils who are learning to drive and ask the question “What is your goal for learning to drive?”, what percentage will answer “My goal is to pass the test”?  On the face of it, that is hard to argue with.  But in this blog I would like to offer a reason as to why that answer really must be challenged.

The driving test is rather limited in its ability to assess the competence of a pupil to drive to the expected levels as stated in our Driving Standard.  The degree to which driving test centres across the UK can test driving ability in a wide variety of class of road and conditions will vary.  Driving tests are not undertaken at night.  There is no parking in multi-storey car parks or pulling up to fast food drive thru outlets.  No friends in the car at the time of the test, no smart phones ready to hand.

So passing the driving test is really not the goal, it may be the goal of our pupil, but if you want to sleep soundly at night, how can it be the ultimate goal?  People can pass driving tests and still not be confident or competent for post-test driving.  People can be coached to pass driving tests.

We appear to have a conflict of interests.  In times like these it is always good to see what the DVSA have to say.  Thumb through to Role 6 of our Standard, Unit 3 “Enable safe and responsible driving” and you will come across this paragraph:

In the context of learning to drive, the instructor brings to the learning process their hard-earned knowledge, understanding and experience.  If they rely simply on telling the learner what they should do they will probably be able to teach them enough to pass their test.  However, all the evidence suggests that learners in this sort of relationship do not really change the way they think and quickly forget what they have been taught.  There is a better chance of a long-lasting change in understanding and behaviour if the instructor:

Presents their knowledge, understanding and experience clearly and effectively

Listens to the learner’s reactions to that input

Helps the learner to identify any obstacles to understanding and change

Supports the learner to identify strategies for overcoming those obstacles for themselves

In this context this is not about teaching learners to perform driving tasks in particular ways.  While it is reasonable to encourage learners to practise particular methods for performing a given task, because there are clearly explainable benefits to that method, the outcome of the learning process should be that the learner has developed a safe and responsible method which they can apply consistently and reliably; not that they have learnt any one specified method.

Spend time with your pupil to discuss this.  It is important.  The Standard states “… it is about creating a conversation between the learner and the instructor that is based on mutual respect.”

What percentage of instructor/pupil relationships will have that mutual respect is an interesting question, as is identifying the barriers to developing that mutual respect.

This is an incredibly interesting factor of the work of a Driving Instructor and is really assisted with the guidance provided by the DVSA through their Standard.

Tom Ingram offers PDI training on a pay as you go basis 0775 607 1464 

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



 

Consequences of Poor Driving

It can be difficult to appreciate the consequences of poor driving when a Learner is learning to drive.  In this blog, owner of BIG TOM Driving School Tom Ingram explores this problem in more detail for PDI and ADI readers.

Quite understandably, all efforts initially are focussed on what is going on immediately around the pupil.  The levels of awareness of what is occurring while they drive tends to go in this sequence:

Hands & feet activity

Directly in front of car

Further ahead up the road

Behind the car

To the sides

This is all very natural and improves with effort.  Eyes will look at the gear lever for example when changing gear, and even the pedals before the foot presses a pedal down.  The brain is really heavily consumed in working out how much to steer the steering wheel, which foot should be doing what action, which way to press the lever for a right or left signal, when the gears should be changed, how hard to press on pedals etc.  It is incredibly involved, and to ease the burden on the pupil, it is wise to do this driving in wide open spaces where there is no other traffic to distract from this concentration.  At this stage it is highly debatable what “gain” is to be had even talking about mirrors, because as can be seen above, what is going on behind and to the side of the vehicle is justifiably really low down on the levels of awareness.  Talking through what that risk represents, and how it can be managed (by you doing the observations on their behalf) is an important first message of how identifying and managing risk will be done in future sessions and how the responsibility for safety is being controlled.  It is also key in that it encourages a pupil to raise their self-awareness of how weaknesses affect safety.

Equally important is to develop an awareness of the range of impact/consequences as a result of the driving.  So appreciating what is the consequence of experimenting with steering, gears, pedals, signals is time very well spent.  Appreciating what effect the driving behaviour has on the car is really the first consideration.  Logically it would be unwise to attempt anything else on public roads if the car is not being properly looked after – we would have no car!  But once there is a basic smooth operation of the vehicle that ensures control of position, smoothness of acceleration/deceleration and gear changing, and I really do mean basic here, then it is time to move on.

On roads, Learner drivers are normally pretty aware of the presence of pedestrians, other vehicles, and cyclists that are DIRECTLY in front of them.   So identification of a potential hazard right in front of the car is normally good and maintaining safety for those hazards comes at the expense of all other considerations.  It would not be uncommon for example for a pupil to veer dramatically in either direction mounting the kerb or crossing the middle white line.  Right there and then, the consequence is not the issue, all priority is being placed on the hazard that is right in front. 

With progress, comes an increased awareness of literally what is all around the car, and importantly how events COULD change.  But what I would like to emphasise is the connection between driving behaviour and the consequences to others because this is not necessarily apparent to all so it is good to raise the awareness.

Pupils experience with their own eyes the standard of driving that happens at times on the roads – whether it be when being driven by their friends and family or observing the traffic around them.  When you add the accounts and opinions given from work colleagues, on social media, friends, family members and the press, you start to realise why some Learners might have an unrealistic understanding of what is acceptable on the roads from qualified drivers.  Many a Learner of mine has looked in disbelief when I explain how some driving behaviour will result in a driving test fail.

In combination with this is the fact that the ability to be aware of how driving behaviour affects other road users is not going to be the same across all Learners.  This is where driving is fairly unique.  In most learning environments that one can think of, the effect of failure is pretty recognisable.  Even in the academic environment of schools and colleges, teachers will be pretty sharp at raising the awareness of a student about the prospect of dropping down sets, or exam grades.  But how a Learner affects other road users is not necessarily so straight forward for them to recognise.  Not to forget that the attitudes about ranges of tolerance for both failure and effecting others will vary considerably between pupils.   Put all this into the mixture and you begin to understand why attitudes about driving behaviour can seem a little out of context with the required standard.  Do not under-estimate how powerful an influence role models, peers and family can have on affecting the beliefs and attitudes of Learner drivers and the domino effect it has between drivers.

As such, appreciating what the attitudes and beliefs of our pupil about standards and consequences of poor driving is important because it may be something that needs developing.  Having the instructor to appreciate it is one thing, but encouraging a pupil to raise their awareness about how they literally feel about such things as these is arguably more important.  Making links at an early stage between the requirements set out in the Driving Standard and how the pupil intends to drive going forward is an important message as it is about the scope of their training and the opportunity for them to develop skills that can be applied long into their 'driving life'.

For example Role 1 talks about planning routes for journeys based on driving experience.  So this is encouraging a driver to reflect on what previous experience they have had, where their strengths and weaknesses are and selecting routes on that basis.  With regards to choosing modes of transport, it suggests the pupil develop the self-awareness of knowing how they physically and emotionally feel prior to making a journey.  In Role 5 it states the importance of the pupil developing the ability to learn from experience and continue to improve.  These conversations that are based around the pupil's feelings about their ability and confidence levels are vital for continued progress.  Not so much because then we as their instructor know how they feel, but the pupil starts to firm up and visualise in their mind how they feel.

And as I have reiterated on the BIG TOM PDI videos Role 6 of the Driving Standard could really not be any clearer on the subject of responsibility for maintaining safety and the effectiveness of the learning process.  Role 6 Units 3 & 4 are particularly pertinent to this blog. 

Happy reading.

Tom Ingram offers PDI training - Bookings 0775 607 1464

It is ok.... not to know

As a driving instructor it can be tempting to think that our role is to be the ‘fountain of all knowledge’, but this blog which has been created for driving instructors is going to raise the pitfalls of having that mindset.

In a one to one learning environment there is the potential for developing an effective working relationship, the likes of which could never be achieved in a classroom of 30 pupils.  In our past, most of us will have been conditioned (to a certain extent) by the learning experience that we received at school.   It still consists of the professional standing at the front, exchanging knowledge (in whichever format) in to the minds of the pupils.  Except this is a fallacy; who can honestly say how much “knowledge” is actually being transferred to the mind of the pupil?  There are numerous ways that a teacher can offer the opportunity for learning to take place, but honestly, how many of the 30 are actively engaged, and what is the depth of the learning?

Driving lessons as learning environments go, offer more potential for learning.  There is only the pupil and you in the car.  There is an opportunity to really focus on our pupil to a depth that I honestly believe teachers could only dream of.

You could take the stance that many driving instructors still do; transfer the skills of driving to the pupil in a compliance based relationship whereby the pupil is required just to obey, don’t think, just listen and obey.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

When a pupil has taken the time and trouble to sit in your car, for the most part, they WANT to learn.  They are not wanting to waste their time and money in your company.  They may not particularly like you, they tolerate you; be under no illusions, the carrot is the full driving licence – they just want to learn to drive. 

How you cultivate that desire is up to you.  You can harness the enthusiasm and help develop a safe, confident driver in a very natural way.  It basically involves disengaging the mouth, and engaging the ears.  If you were to record one of your driving sessions (get your pupils permission first), replay it, and note how much talking you are doing compared to how much talking your pupil is doing.  This will give you a ready reckoner guide as to the source of the perceived responsibility for learning.

Pupils want to learn, and they would prefer to learn in a manner that suits them.  You rabbiting on irritates them, it really is not welcome. 

Put in a simple form, if a pupil is not progressing to the degree that you are expecting, then stop “expecting”.  Getting frustrated with your pupils lack of progress, and the consequent increase in your verbal instruction is doing practically nothing for the well-being of your pupil. 

We could all take the easy option.  I can tell someone how to drive quite effectively and safely within about 4 hours.  That is the easy, lazy, brainless and extremely ineffective way of assisting a pupil.  They will think you are marvellous, they will think they are marvellous, there will be much praise to you, many smiles and everything seems rosy…… until the time comes when you stop telling them how to drive.

Equally robbing your pupils of effective learning is repeating your demands until eventually they actually start to predict what you are going to say!  You have drowned your pupil in your words to such an extent, that they will actually know what you would do in a given circumstance before you tell them (as you were about to, one more time….  in the name of thoroughness and professionalism).  In effect, they have become you.  How wonderful that most make you feel!  Another replica you driving around the streets.  Except they don't copy your behaviour post-test do they?  Equally as superficial, impersonal and ineffective.  Passes driving tests for sure, but it lacks depth, understanding and integrity.

What is the answer then?

You could make attempts to understand what actual needs your pupil has.  They can vary enormously.  Some will be grateful for some practical tips on technique.  Others will have mental blocks that need dealing with.  The attitude a pupil takes to learning in general, as well as learning how to drive, will be quite unique and personal.  There is a need for you to understand the pupil.  Unless you have some mind reading powers or some extraordinary ability to make your pupils open up and talk personally about what learning to drive means to them, there is going to be a need to accept what you don’t know, and start listening.

'Not knowing' is an opportunity not a weakness.  It requires courage, patience, understanding, self-belief and an unending respect for your pupil.  When you start to ask questions of your pupils that you could not possibly have imagined they were going to answer in the way they did, you are beginning to know them.  This thirst for getting to know them makes for an effective working relationship.

Don’t give up the other stuff, the stuff that is just useful to know.  All pupils will want to hear about that stuff at least once, but get the balance right. 

To summarise.  I am encouraging you to experiment with the notion that you are not the most important person in the car.  You will need to facilitate a safe environment.  It is handy to pull on experience of being in the right location at the right time to help your pupil achieve the given goal.  Progress does still need to be made.  But it is the manner in which progress is made that is the important bit.  School children can be present in a class room, they can attempt to answer a question directly asked by the teacher, they can behave but that does not mean that learning is taking place.  When you are stimulating your pupils to think about aspects of learning to drive that are deeply meaningful to them, learning is taking place.  Not only are you learning about them, but importantly, they are learning about them too.   

The author, Tom Ingram trains driving instructors.  Interested? 0775 607 1464

Why Do I Have To Drive Like That?

When customers come to train with BIG TOM Driving School they come with differing attitudes to learning.  This isn't intended to come across as a judgemental statement, but rather a statement of fact.  It is one of the factors that makes everyone's learning experience unique.  How much weight a pupil places on the advice of a Driving Instructor is dependant on many factors including the trust, understanding and effective communications between them, as well as the previous experiences the pupil has had in learning, and any opinions from others that the pupil will be influenced by.   

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) produce a "standard" by which the public are to drive to, the one for cars and light vans is here .  The purpose of this standard is:

The standard is for car and light van drivers and tells you what you must be able to do to be a safe and responsible driver.

It is some document, as it encompasses a wide scope of content detailing the expectations required of a driver taking into account differing vehicles, roads, driving conditions, whether passengers are present in the vehicle, preparing for journeys, maintenance checks, managing risk, legal requirements of drivers, planning journeys, how to drive, how to engage with other road users, and even how to continue learning from experience.  It even includes a section that is dedicated to the process of learning to drive.

The reason why this standard exists is to take into account that Learners in the UK can learn to drive with or without the assistance of a professional, DVSA registered Driving Instructor.  As such, the public are able to refer to the standard and understand what is expected of people learning to drive that goes beyond solely looking at the driving test standard, but takes into account many more factors for the benefit of life-long learning.  (If you were interested in the standard required for the driving test incidentally, then this guidance document for Driving Examiners may be of assistance).

One of the benefits for providing a standard is that provides an opportunity to achieve some consistency in the methodology that Learners adopt in learning to drive.  The DVSA periodically monitor the quality of Driving Instructors against this same standard so there is a complete loop between the professional driving instruction that a pupil receives and the expectations of the DVSA.

How does all this information help you?  Well, if you find yourself wondering what on earth a Driving Instructor is attempting to "teach" you when taking driving lessons, you could quite simply and very legitimately ask the question "Could you tell me where that advice you are giving me fits within the DVSA Driving Standard?"  

Ultimately, the standard creates a consistent approach to driving training, it provides a set scope and depth to the training, and it details guidance on a learning experience that is effective.

The author, Tom Ingram is the owner of BIG TOM Driving School and can be contacted here.  0775 607 1464

Do We Learn to Perceive Danger?

The simple answer to that question is yes.  From the time we are a baby, and our motor skills begin to develop so does our perception of danger.  When my niece visited just a few days ago with her "just walking" toddler, there was an instant perception of danger of the open fire in the lounge.  There were no words needed from Mum, this was ingrained and perfectly natural.

So it begs the question why a 17 year old cannot perceive danger when driving a car.  

This morning, on an intensive driving course in Bourne, my pupil wanted to drive out to Stamford using a rural road rather than one of the arguably easier, more forgiving A roads that he could have chosen.  He actually deliberately chose this route as he wanted to experience driving on a rural road in pouring rain.

So, after raising the question to him of any potential hazards that may be coming our way, his response was in the negative.  In my mind I am thinking of increased seperation gaps between our vehicle and others; reduced vision out of the windscreens and side mirrors due to the rainfall; the increased mental fatigue due to the effort required driving in rain; the potential of aquaplaning and the prospect of having large pools of water on the road surface; the importance of tread depth on tyres and correct tyre pressures for traction; the prospect of spray suddenly hitting the front windscreen from a passing vehicle that temporarily reduces vision; the possibility of sliding on a country road bend due to the wet and how it would be sensible to adjust speed and gears on the approach so that there is no braking or gas on the bend for maximum stability.  But despite the fact that this pupil had just passed his theory test 4 days earlier, none of these potential hazards came from him, in fact nothing at all came from him regarding how this journey was going to go.

Unsurprisingly, straight away I could sense that he was not adjusting his speed at all to adapt to the driving conditions, so in the interests of safety, I instantly intervened and raised his awareness of the potential hazards associated with the speed he was travelling in the rainy weather.
  
Any change?

Marginal.  

He kept on driving through the large puddles on the left near the verge.  So I intervened and raised his awareness of what he was feeling in his hands through the wheels and steering wheel as he drove through the puddles; the potential for loss of traction, driving off the road, the possibility of driving through large potholes that the puddles could conceal.  We discussed coping mechanisms, he spoke of reduced speed, I spoke of changes in position to avoid the puddles.
  
Any change?

None.

We pull over.  We talk about the perceived danger here, and there was no perceived danger.  We talked about the "thrill" of driving through these large puddles at speed, and how a vehicle can lose traction in a second at these faster speeds and be off the road.  I ask him how he thinks I feel at this moment.... "I don't know, could you tell me?".  I most certainly could, "I am shitting myself here".

From the age of a baby, through pre-school years, into primary school years, yet further into secondary school - all these years this pupil of mine would have come across danger.  Danger to himself, or his family or friends.  He will have experience of perceived danger relating to amusement parks, Call of Duty video games, riding a bike on a road, playing a prank on a friend, riding a 2 wheel scooter, walking alone in the dark, learning how to swim, crossing a busy road.  There will have been dozens and dozens of instances where he was either aware of the impending danger and managed the situation, was unaware of the impending danger and suddenly made aware of the near miss or unaware of the impending danger and learnt the hard way.  But, one thing is for sure, he has not spent the first 17 years of his life wrapped up in cotton wool, living a "risk-free" existence.  As such, why on earth when I raise his awareness of the impending danger of driving as he is in the heavy rain, is he not adapting his behaviour?

We get back home.
  
Me  "How did that go?"
Him "Ok"
Me "Talk me through how you felt when you drove on that road in that pouring rain"
Him "Yea ok.  It is harder driving in the rain"
Me "It is?  How?"
Him "Well I could just feel it sometimes as I drove through a puddle, even in the villages, in the 30's I felt it on my hands, through the steering wheel"
Me  "How did it make you feel?"
Him  "Ok"
Me  "Did you perceive danger?"
Him "No"

I then spoke to him about the perception of danger.  I in effect, steered his brain into the thought of what danger means to each of us, and how some people can perceive danger more than others.  He immediately took a defensive response with, "Oh you mean I should slow down a bit more, and steer away from the puddles?".  Well..... is that what I mean?

No, that is not what I mean.  

That would be a coping mechanism for dealing with the dangerous situation that he had just been in, but what I am referring to is his ability to even KNOW that he is in a dangerous situation.  I made the point that today, I was present with him in the car, overseeing to make sure we did not crash, that both of us lived to have the discussion that we were.  But crucially what I was raising was the fact that he himself had not imagined these dangerous hazards when he chose the route he did, and more than that, even when I raised his awareness of the dangerous hazards, he did not heed my warning and adapt his behaviour despite my giving him the guidance of how to adapt.  All of us behave in a manner that reflects how we think and feel.  
  
Unconsciously incompetent.  

What I am keen to develop in this young man is his ability to start identifying risk, assessing it, making appropriate decisions based on that assessment and reflecting on the outcomes so as to refine this skill-set.  

So no, the skill being developed here is one of self-awareness, not one of regurgitating a sentence about slower speeds in the rain - regurgitating answers in this manner is best left to school exams or dare I say, theory tests; what I am wanting to hear and see is a bit of deep meaningful reflection that will hold this chap in good stead when I am long gone out of his life.  How will he respond when he first drives in mist or fog for the first time, or plans to drive with 3 mates to a party, or buys his first powerful car?

I can't MAKE my pupils wear seat belts after they pass the driving test, I can't force them to drive to conditions rather than maximum speed limits, the influence I have on them is tiny compared to the influences of others in their inner circle.  What I can attempt to do however, is raise his awareness to realise that it will be him and him alone who makes the choices of how he drives a motor vehicle - now that is some responsibility.

The Chief Examiner of the DVSA recently made mention of this subject in a driving instructor conference explaining about the frontal lobe development in the brain of 17-25 year old (particularly males) with the consequent affect of limiting "anticipated regret" (not considering consequences of actions)

Tom Ingram is the Owner of BIG TOM Driving School

PAYG trainee driving instructor training Bookings: 0775 607 1464

Mobile phones & cars

“A person’s behaviour can be predicted, in large part, from knowledge of the social circumstances in which it occurs” 

‘The Correspondence Bias’ Daniel T. Gilbert & Patrick S. Malone

In this blog, I would like to expand on the theme that is becoming increasingly common to see in the driving training industry regarding mobile phone use while driving. Rather than taking a critical, judgemental view on the drivers who regularly do this, I will attempt to put the activity into some kind of context.

So, to start with, have you any idea how addictive technology is these days?  This seems a reasonable question to begin with given the latest statistics that are pinging around the Net.  The majority of people are increasingly relying on technology in modern day living.  “Relying” not “choosing”.  This reliance is in our work environment as well as our private lives.  Age is no boundary, from the youngest toddlers to our senior citizens, there is a place for technology in all our lives.

The first time that I encountered how technology is going to start seriously affecting us in a work environment was in the late 1990’s.  When I was a Police Officer in London, one of my expected daily duties was to check a “Court Attendance Register”, where I had to sign within a thin line of dozens of entries to acknowledge notice that I was needed to give evidence in court on a certain date.  It was not fool-proof by any means, there were many reasons why that process broke down and the consequences of failing to attend when required were significant and expensive.  The method of these notifications was then modified by way of an email being sent requiring no action on my part whatsoever, the mere fact that I had opened the email was enough – woe betide me if I did not attend court AND had opened the email. This was the first time that I recognised the controlling nature of technology.

I mention this example because with the passing of 20 years, the degree to which technology has progressed in controlling human behaviour has increased exponentially.  And one of the most significant developments is this sense of needing it to get by.  When I was a young kid we played in the school playground with a cap gun, football or a bag of marbles.  Now, smart phones are being used to “catch Pokemon”.  When I made some chocolate and marsh-mellow cookies last night with my son, as soon as he put them in the oven, he got his iPad, taped it to the back of chair, and photographed them being cooked on a time-lapse.  The idea would never even have entered my mind…. but it was such the norm for him, he did not even mention a word of what he was doing – it was as if it was as much the ritual as was the washing of the dishes afterwards.

Technology is monitoring and controlling our behaviour all the time.  Cars have their own WIFI nowadays, the on-board information is updating automatically in real time.  The complexity of the interaction between smart phone and vehicle is quite incredible.
 

There are apps to entertain, educate, inform, motivate and pacify you – the apps can monitor your behaviour to raise your awareness, they can analyse data to offer instant and personalised feedback and they undoubtedly can control you whether you actually desire it or not.  This is where the ‘sting in the tail’ is regarding technology.  Such is our need to receive the latest financial data, breaking news, status update, reward notification, important email or send the latest selfie, play the next game level, publish the run we just did, photograph the next meal we will eat; no longer is our inter-connectedness desirable, it has become an absolute necessity.  We feel a need to thrust upon others our children’s achievements, we must see the latest batch of selected match-maker date prospects INSTANTLY, the text to the boss or customer must be responded to with immediate effect.  Our technological engagement levels within “work, rest and play” are difficult to distinguish between; it is impossible to ascertain if a person is working on the smartphone or playing, but on the phone, most people are, most of the time.  Marbles?  When did you last see a couple of kids playing marbles together?

These days, we will use our mobiles absolutely everywhere.  We don’t care if we are dining out, attending a sporting event, driving, sleeping, working – it really matters not, the device is always primed ready to interrupt us with the latest, must see instantly data.  People can be on holiday and absolutely must stay connected, they can be in the most intimate of situations with their loved ones and STILL must stay connected.  It appears that there is no “OFF” switch to technology.

And it is on THIS basis that my peers in the professional world of driving training, really do have to stop wondering why they are seeing so many drivers on mobile phones.  Attempting to “educate” a 17 year old about how they should not use their mobile while driving is a completely alien concept to them – the awareness levels can undoubtedly be raised, but does it change behaviour, will it affect attitudes and beliefs?   In issue 8 of “Driving Instructor”, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport of the National Police Chiefs’ Council says regarding drivers using mobile phones:

“We will continue to stress the dangerous consequences, and arrest offenders but we also need people to take responsibility for their behaviour behind the wheel and exert some social pressure on family and friends who take this risk”.

 

As any secondary school teacher will confirm, effective education of young adults absolutely does rely on the support and assistance of family and friends.  Raising awareness and enforcement as important as they are, really pale into insignificance compared to the overwhelming social conditioning influence of engaging on one’s mobile phone – a fact that Suzette Davenport knows only too well.

Tom Ingram is the Owner of BIG TOM Driving School - offering PAYG and Intensive Driving Courses in Peterborough, Bourne, Grantham, Sleaford, Boston, Lincoln, Stamford and Spalding.  Bookings: 0800 689 4174