Whilst doing some paperwork in BSM’s Inverness office yesterday, another instructor’s pupil came in to wait for her instructor. Eddie, the office manager, was chatting to her about her lessons and the subject of the new cars came up.
“I hope I pass before you change to the new cars.”
“Why’s that?” asked Eddie.
“Because I will have to learn a load of new reference points”
‘Reference points’, for those of you who may not know, are points on the car that the pupil can use to judge, for example, how close they are to the curb or when to start turning the wheel when parking. Sometimes these are existing ‘points’, such as where the windscreen-wiper hinge is; sometimes these are marks on the car (often the windscreen) that the instructor has placed (usually with stickers or wipeable markers). When I first started, I was loaned a car that had been previously used by another instructor. There were marker-pen dots of various colours all over the windows and strips of tape, with numbers 1 - 10, stuck to the tops of the front door interiors. Presumably, these all represented various ’reference points’ for various pupils. It took me ages to work out what the strips of tape were for; I can only assume they were for Bay Parking.
When I was trained to become an instructor it was stressed that I must KNOW all reference points for all manoeuvres. This view is encouraged by the DSA who will expect Trainee Driving Instructors to use them on their Part 3 Exam (the final test in the qualification process to become an ADI, Approved Driving Instructor). I had to know that, in the Corsa, the curb should be, for example, in line with the right windscreen-wiper hinge when stopping at the curb and approximately 1/3 of the way up the rear left corner window when reversing around a corner (on the left). The trouble is, if your pupil is shorter, or taller, than you, these reference points will be slightly out.
Here is (the concise version of) how I was trained to teach Parallel Parking:
1. Pull up alongside the car; select Reverse gear and make all-round, effective observation.
2. Reverse, straight, until the rear (or front, depending on which way it is facing) of the parked car is to the right of the black strip in the rear, left window.
3. Turn the steering wheel one full turn to the left until your car is at 45 degrees to the parked car, then turn one full turn to the right (to straighten the wheel).
4. Reverse back, straight, until your left door mirror covers the parked car’s right corner, then steer continuously to full right-lock.
5. As the car approaches a position parallel with the curb you will see the middle of the rear window approaching the curb. When this happens, slow the car down and steer one-and-a-half turns to the left (so that the wheels are now straight). Secure the car (handbrake, then neutral).
(I have omitted all the instruction about where to look and how to control the speed of the car).
This works. BUT… it only works if the pupil is of average height, can keep the car at a reasonably constant speed, understands what 45 degrees looks like and has a fantastic memory to remember these instructions.
It is certainly useful to have these reference points (the black strip, the left door mirror, the middle of the rear window) to help pupils who are really struggling with this, but, after passing my final exam, I started thinking “I don’t use ‘reference points’ when I drive, so why should I teach them?”
You know these tear-off-a-page-a-day calendars - the ones that often have jokes, ‘on-this-day’ facts, or quotations? Well, a while ago, the ‘quotation of the day’ was Knowing is no substitute for thinking. Of course, I knew this. Anyway, although these quotations are often clichéd or corny, I thought that this one applied particularly well to driving.
I started experimenting with my pupils, not in a sick Nazi, or Science-fiction way, but in a philosophical way.
I had a pupil who had had quite a few lessons and was ready to learn some manoeuvres. We started with ‘Turn in the road’ and, instead of teaching him when to turn and at what point to turn the other way etc, I swapped places and demonstrated what I wanted him to do. Although I talked about controlling the speed using the clutch, I did not mention one single reference point. I wanted him to think about what to do, not memorise it. We swapped back and he did it perfectly.
I had similar success with this ‘experiment’ when it came to ‘Reversing round a corner’. Admittedly, I did use a reference point for the Bay Park because it works perfectly and I use it myself. The big test would be Parallel Parking…
No demonstration. I linked how to control the speed of the car and where to look to what he had learned with previous experience. Then I simply explained that he was to pull up alongside the parked car, reverse and steer so that the back of his car was pointing towards the gap he wanted to end up in, then decide whether he should be steering towards the curb or away from the curb. Simples (I can’t believe I am quoting a television commercial Meerkat!)
I’m not going to pretend it was the greatest parallel park I have ever seen, but he did it without having to memorise all those ridiculous reference points. It just took a couple of tweaks and practices to bring it to test standard.
Additionally, I’m not going to pretend that this ‘Jedi’ method works for everyone. Some pupils like the ‘comfort’ of knowing exactly when to turn and how much to turn. Verity has had lessons with another instructor before she came to me. Today, we were in Inverness and I wanted her to parallel park. Because she has been taught this by someone else I didn’t want to interfere with the method she already had. The trouble was, she ended up too far from the curb. When I suggested not worrying about reference points, she wasn’t keen on the idea - she liked having ‘a plan’. So we compromised: I said “Do it the way you are happy with, but, before you get too close to the curb, or too close to parallel, just stop and think, ‘Do I need to be closer to the curb, or further away?’” This worked a treat. Although she was relying on her knowledge, she was still thinking about how to adjust her position.
I’m relatively new to this game. I certainly won’t pretend that I’m the world’s greatest Driving Instructor. But, I do wish more instructors would teach their pupils to think about what to do, rather than learn what to do.
“I hope I pass before you change to the new cars.”
“Why’s that?” asked Eddie.
“Because I will have to learn a load of new reference points”
‘Reference points’, for those of you who may not know, are points on the car that the pupil can use to judge, for example, how close they are to the curb or when to start turning the wheel when parking. Sometimes these are existing ‘points’, such as where the windscreen-wiper hinge is; sometimes these are marks on the car (often the windscreen) that the instructor has placed (usually with stickers or wipeable markers). When I first started, I was loaned a car that had been previously used by another instructor. There were marker-pen dots of various colours all over the windows and strips of tape, with numbers 1 - 10, stuck to the tops of the front door interiors. Presumably, these all represented various ’reference points’ for various pupils. It took me ages to work out what the strips of tape were for; I can only assume they were for Bay Parking.
When I was trained to become an instructor it was stressed that I must KNOW all reference points for all manoeuvres. This view is encouraged by the DSA who will expect Trainee Driving Instructors to use them on their Part 3 Exam (the final test in the qualification process to become an ADI, Approved Driving Instructor). I had to know that, in the Corsa, the curb should be, for example, in line with the right windscreen-wiper hinge when stopping at the curb and approximately 1/3 of the way up the rear left corner window when reversing around a corner (on the left). The trouble is, if your pupil is shorter, or taller, than you, these reference points will be slightly out.
Here is (the concise version of) how I was trained to teach Parallel Parking:
1. Pull up alongside the car; select Reverse gear and make all-round, effective observation.
2. Reverse, straight, until the rear (or front, depending on which way it is facing) of the parked car is to the right of the black strip in the rear, left window.
3. Turn the steering wheel one full turn to the left until your car is at 45 degrees to the parked car, then turn one full turn to the right (to straighten the wheel).
4. Reverse back, straight, until your left door mirror covers the parked car’s right corner, then steer continuously to full right-lock.
5. As the car approaches a position parallel with the curb you will see the middle of the rear window approaching the curb. When this happens, slow the car down and steer one-and-a-half turns to the left (so that the wheels are now straight). Secure the car (handbrake, then neutral).
(I have omitted all the instruction about where to look and how to control the speed of the car).
This works. BUT… it only works if the pupil is of average height, can keep the car at a reasonably constant speed, understands what 45 degrees looks like and has a fantastic memory to remember these instructions.
It is certainly useful to have these reference points (the black strip, the left door mirror, the middle of the rear window) to help pupils who are really struggling with this, but, after passing my final exam, I started thinking “I don’t use ‘reference points’ when I drive, so why should I teach them?”
You know these tear-off-a-page-a-day calendars - the ones that often have jokes, ‘on-this-day’ facts, or quotations? Well, a while ago, the ‘quotation of the day’ was Knowing is no substitute for thinking. Of course, I knew this. Anyway, although these quotations are often clichéd or corny, I thought that this one applied particularly well to driving.
I started experimenting with my pupils, not in a sick Nazi, or Science-fiction way, but in a philosophical way.
I had a pupil who had had quite a few lessons and was ready to learn some manoeuvres. We started with ‘Turn in the road’ and, instead of teaching him when to turn and at what point to turn the other way etc, I swapped places and demonstrated what I wanted him to do. Although I talked about controlling the speed using the clutch, I did not mention one single reference point. I wanted him to think about what to do, not memorise it. We swapped back and he did it perfectly.
I had similar success with this ‘experiment’ when it came to ‘Reversing round a corner’. Admittedly, I did use a reference point for the Bay Park because it works perfectly and I use it myself. The big test would be Parallel Parking…
No demonstration. I linked how to control the speed of the car and where to look to what he had learned with previous experience. Then I simply explained that he was to pull up alongside the parked car, reverse and steer so that the back of his car was pointing towards the gap he wanted to end up in, then decide whether he should be steering towards the curb or away from the curb. Simples (I can’t believe I am quoting a television commercial Meerkat!)
I’m not going to pretend it was the greatest parallel park I have ever seen, but he did it without having to memorise all those ridiculous reference points. It just took a couple of tweaks and practices to bring it to test standard.
Additionally, I’m not going to pretend that this ‘Jedi’ method works for everyone. Some pupils like the ‘comfort’ of knowing exactly when to turn and how much to turn. Verity has had lessons with another instructor before she came to me. Today, we were in Inverness and I wanted her to parallel park. Because she has been taught this by someone else I didn’t want to interfere with the method she already had. The trouble was, she ended up too far from the curb. When I suggested not worrying about reference points, she wasn’t keen on the idea - she liked having ‘a plan’. So we compromised: I said “Do it the way you are happy with, but, before you get too close to the curb, or too close to parallel, just stop and think, ‘Do I need to be closer to the curb, or further away?’” This worked a treat. Although she was relying on her knowledge, she was still thinking about how to adjust her position.
I’m relatively new to this game. I certainly won’t pretend that I’m the world’s greatest Driving Instructor. But, I do wish more instructors would teach their pupils to think about what to do, rather than learn what to do.
Yet another preachy post, I’m afraid, so lighten up with ‘Tighten up’ by Archie Bell and The Drells http://open.spotify.com/track/6IIcvtmuGpWIasqOpyGlyY
p.s. Here is a video of me demonstrating Parallel Parking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIXYtYHA958&feature=related
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