Mountains and molehills

A couple of weeks ago I had a wee grumble about the fact that there were only 5 tests held during the whole of May, in Ullapool. Of course, it may have been possible that there were other tests scheduled, but they were cancelled at short notice. Well, the DSA have gone mad for June, no less than eight of my pupils have their tests booked…. All on the same day.

I booked some of them, so I know what times they are, but I am struggling to work out how the other tests fit in to the day. Maybe they are sending two examiners up to Ullapool? Maybe they have stretched the test times from 8.40am to 5.37pm? Even then, it will be a bit of a squeeze to fit all eight tests in.
My first course of action will be to get all eight pupils to confirm their test time (and date) in triplicate. Once I have confirmation, then I will work out how on Earth I will accommodate them all. Not ideal for my pupils; naturally they are all asking if they can have a lesson immediately before their test, but, unless Professor Hawking can crack time travel in the next couple of weeks, it is not going to be possible.

I’m enjoying a fine bacon and egg roll in the Tea Store in Ullapool, but, outside, it is not the greatest weather I have seen here (being a Bank Holiday). In fact, there has been fresh snowfall on Ben Wyvis and some of other peaks over the last couple of days. One of the highlights of the drive to Ullapool is the view of the mighty An Teallach (pictured), a strong contender for the title of ‘Britain’s Greatest Mountain’. When the snow began to melt An Teallach looked merely ‘menacing’, but the extra sprinkling of snow has elevated its status to ‘petrifying’. Although I am sure I would not enjoy falling thousands of feet from the narrow ridge that links the peaks, there is something magnetic about the mountain that, like a Siren, calls me to climb it.

It is to my shame that I do not take full advantage of the peerless scenery we have up here. When I lived in England, I would sometimes drive hundreds of miles to bag a Munro, but since moving up here I have taken them for granted, perhaps thinking I can climb them at any time. In fact, the last time I climbed a mountain was my wife’s first time.

Jane had never climbed a Munro before and was not interested in doing so, so I had to use deceit and cunning to get her up there. We had just rescued Jilly, our Retriever, and because she was in such poor physical condition, we thought we should get her out on a good hill walk. I parked in a car-park north of Garve and off we went. Jane (and Jilly) both seemed to be enjoying the walk, so I pressed on, and on, and on, until we were at them summit of Ben Wyvis. Jane’s mild fuming that I had tricked her into climbing a mountain was placated by the views (and a couple of beers I had carried up in my rucksack). She had the last laugh as she sensibly walked the dogs down at a sensible pace, while I thought it would be much more fun to run down the mountain….. My legs ached for years after.

Postscript: Just as I finished typing this, another of my pupils, who had her test cancelled due to snow last December, but has been in France for the last five months, has just called to say that she has booked her test in Ullapool..... on the same day as the other eight pupils! Getting slightly concerned about this.

Last-minute revision

(If you have come to this page after searching for information on Inshes roundabout, Inverness, I have written a more recent post with tips and photos. Click on the link at the end of this post)

Inverness has one particular roundabout that seems to strike fear into the souls of learner drivers (and some experienced drivers too). Inshes roundabout is a 6-exit spiral roundabout that crops up in pretty much every Inverness driving test. It may not be quite as bewildering as 'the magic roundabout' in Swindon (see above), but, it is a roundabout that cannot be mastered simply by application of 'normal' roundabout theory.
One of my colleagues at BSM produced a detailed diagram of the roundabout, detailing which lanes to approach in for each exit. Even better than the above diagram, it was a detailed, computer-aided design with lanes, landmarks, roadsigns and every scrap of information a driver could possibly need to tackle the roundabout with confidence.
This week, another instructor took his pupil for her driving test. The examiner met the pupil at the test centre, asked her to sign the green form and then invited her to show him out to the car. The pupil then asked him to hold on a minute. She opened her handbag and took out a copy of the Inshes roundabout diagram for a last-minute viewing before starting her test! I wish I had been there to see the examiner's reaction. Not the best way to demonstrate to the examiner that she is capable of driving independently!

(For a later item about this roundabout, click on http://martinsdriving.blogspot.com/2011/08/you-are-currently-approaching-inshes.html) 

Downs and ups

I could easily bore you senseless with tales of how good it feels when a pupil passes their test. What I am obviously more reluctant to write about is when a pupil doesn’t pass.

When I get a succession of passes it is easy to think that I am doing everything right and that all a pupil has to do is turn up to my lessons in order to pass their test. Then a pupil fails their test and I come back to Earth with a big bump. Conversely, I may have a run of several fails and begin to wonder what I am doing wrong, then a pupil will pass their test and I am reassured that sometimes I am doing something right.

This week I had six pupils taking their test; five 1st attempts, one 3rd attempt. As always, I will only put a pupil forward to test when I am confident that they will pass. There is no point me putting a pupil up for test when I only think they MIGHT pass.

My first pupil lives in Ullapool, but not wanting to wait months for an Ullapool test, she bravely booked her test in Inverness. No problem. She has not had to deal with traffic lights, dual-carriageways or even roundabouts in Ullapool, but she is a competent driver, so we had to work on transferring her skills to the new situations that Inverness would present. By the time her test came, I was very confident that she would pass. She was on the A9 dual-carriageway and safely overtook a slower-moving vehicle. Unfortunately, she was late moving back to the left lane. Result: Fail. I can’t explain it. She can’t explain it.

My second pupil was taking her third test in Elgin. I was confident that she would pass her 1st test. I was very confident she would pass her 2nd. I was convinced she would pass her 3rd. Result: Fail. The examiner said she put the handbrake on before she had fully stopped. I have never known her do such a thing and she doesn’t remember doing it. She was also faulted for driving too close to the centre of the road. Again, it is something she has never done before and she denies doing it.

Yesterday I travelled to Ullapool for three days of lessons and tests. A Dutch family, with a somewhat vocal toddler, are staying in the same B&B as me. I am beginning to wonder if they are over here on some family suicide pact. Firstly, the mother swung open her offside car door just as my pupil was driving past. Then, later, with a different pupil, the mother swung her toddler’s buggy out into the road as we drove past. There are suggestions that electric cars should be made artificially noisy to alert pedestrians to their presence. Judging by this lady’s actions, even those megaphones used by political parties as they drive around would not be enough to warn some people. Such situations may provide me with an opportunity to emphasise the importance of anticipation and adequate clearance, but I would rather use a wipe board or a sketchbook to teach these subjects, rather than real-life nutters.

Four pupils on test today. Last month I was pleased with four passes out of five tests. This month I was confident of a clean sweep. Very confident.

First up was Marcus, who has had all his lessons in his own car. I couldn’t see any weakness in his driving. Result: Pass. Very well done Marcus.
My next pupil was very nervous. She has been learning with me since November and, again, I could not think of a single weakness in her driving, possibly my best pupil. Result: Fail. I was almost as upset as she was. I guess the nerves got to her. She stalled at a T-junction, got flustered, rushed, and went to pull out when a car was approaching. It’s bewildering; she has never given any sign of doing such a thing in a lesson.
The third pupil has learned very quickly, but regular practice in his parents’ car has given him the necessary confidence. If I had any concern, it was that his reading of the road ahead could be improved. Result: Fail. Perhaps I should have heeded my concerns. He was on a road, full of parked cars (on his side). There is usually room to pass safely, but today, one of the oncoming cars was towing a caravan. A wide caravan. Too late he realised that it would be a problem and he stopped, but too far over towards the other side of the road.
My fourth pupil has also been with me since November and, despite regular practice between lessons, has been keen to keep taking weekly lessons. If I had any concerns it was that sometimes, when driving the Fiat after hours of driving his own car, he would be a bit light on the accelerator and stall. Result: Pass. Very well done Ryan. Hope you enjoyed driving around this afternoon without me to bother you.

After the 2.30pm test I was curious as to who had the 3.27pm test. No-one did. The examiner drove home. I have to confess that this troubles me. Yes, I know the examiners have a long drive to/from Ullapool, but, with only one test day a month, I would hope that more tests could be squeezed into that day. When my pupil took her test in Elgin this Monday, it was at 5.37pm. Sometimes, in late December, it is touch and go as to whether there is enough light for even the 3.27pm test, but that obviously doesn’t apply in May. So, with only five tests being conducted and only two passes (I know the other test did not pass), there are another three pupils who may have to wait until possibly August before they get another chance to pass their test.

That left me feeling very disappointed for my pupils and starting to blame myself. What had I done wrong in their lessons? What had I missed? Had my fault analysis been good enough? No time to dwell on such matters because I still had another four pupils to give lessons to:

1st pupil: Had been having the odd problems with junctions. Analysis: Approach speed too fast. Remedy: Brake earlier. Result: Much better junctions and one happy pupil.
2nd pupil: Ready for her test but lacking confidence in her parking: Analysis: Trying to drive accurately while making effective observation. Remedy: Give herself more time to deal with accuracy and observations, stopping if necessary. Result. Perfect Parallel parking and another happy pupil.
3rd pupil: Junctions are inconsistent. Analysis: Not always applying Mirror-Signal-Position-Speed-Gear-Looking routine. Remedy: Commentary driving. Getting her to talk her way through her approach to junctions. Result: Much better junctions and one beaming pupil.
4th pupil: Junctions are also inconsistent. Analysis: Coasting due to fear of stalling when braking. Remedy: Demonstrating how much he could brake before having to use clutch. Result: Perfect approach to junctions.

That is exactly the afternoon I needed: Four pupils all showing definite improvement over the course of their lessons. All I need now is for the DSA to show more improvement, or generosity, in the scheduling of their tests.

Lastminute.com

Oh well, I guess it was too much to hope for. David Cameron urged you to vote for change and (just) enough of you did. It may not have been entirely clear what this ‘change’ was, but he took a gamble that you wouldn’t ask that question. Unfortunately, the grass isn’t greener on the other side; it is an unnatural mix of blue and yellow.

I hope they prove me wrong. I hope the ConDems do succeed and make a good job of running the country; otherwise I shall be up (near) the front come the revolution.

The other week I mentioned Michael passing his test, first time, and how he was a model pupil. He was keen to take regular lessons, studied for his theory, started practicing in a family car and took extra lessons when he thought he needed to work on a particular aspect of his driving. As his test drew closer I made each lesson as hard as I could for him; giving him horrible reversing manoeuvres up steep hills, asking him to parallel park in awkward places and just trying to take his driving to the highest standard I could. He was determined to do whatever it took to pass his test and has recently asked me to take him for the Pass Plus course.

Unfortunately, there are some pupils who are not quite so dedicated. In fact, sometimes I wonder if they really want to drive at all? You get the ones who find endless reasons for cancelling their lessons. You get the odd one who never seem keen to learn, almost as though they are just passing time (as I’m sure my BSM colleague, Susan, will testify). You get the occasional one who finds various excuses for not taking their theory test, or even their driving test. And then you get the few who seem to take everything so lightly……

Last Winter I took on a new pupil who had learned to drive in his native country, and could drive quite well. However, his mirror work was non-existent and his general awareness was not good enough. After a couple of weeks he started cancelling lessons with short notice and finding excuses for not committing to dates and times he had previously assured me would be convenient for him. After Christmas I heard no more and I decided it was not worth my while encouraging him to book further lessons - if he wanted lessons he could contact me.

Today, five months later, I got a text from him. It said that his test was at 8.40am TOMORROW morning and could I take him?! Oh yeah…. I just sit around, keeping days free, just in case a pupil (I presumed I had lost) decides they need my services again.

Actually, if I was free tomorrow morning, I would take him, but I am 90 miles away, in Ullapool, and am not going to disrupt any of my other pupils’ lessons. So I sent him a text, politely explaining that I would not be able to help him. I then received another text asking if the DSA will provide a car for his test (No. They won’t). He has his own car, so it is not disastrous, but I’m just hoping he was able to get an extra rear-view mirror today, because I can’t think of anywhere he will be able to get one before his test tomorrow morning.

I obviously wish him well and will be hoping to hear that he has passed. But there is a little, tiny, tiny, microscopic part of me that thinks he does not deserve to pass because of his apparent lack of commitment to driving.

Driving is an important life skill - it can mean the difference between life and death - your licence has to be earned, it is not a right. I like to think I give my best efforts to all my pupils, but it is sometimes hard to treat pupils equally when some are doing everything they possibly can in order to get extra lessons and improve their driving, while others seem to be going through the motions, almost as though they expect their licence to be handed to them on a plate after they have had minimal number of lessons.

(Sighs) It’s May, but the snow has returned (to even quite low hills), I think I may be getting a cold, and now Fulham have just lost the Europa Cup Final……
I blame the Government.

D'Oh!

When I urged you to USE YOUR VOTE, I meant for good, not evil.

A Partly Political Broadcast

So we’ve got the General Election this Thursday and, like millions of people, I still don’t really know who I am going to vote for. The trouble is - and I usually think this - I tend to end up voting for someone who I believe is not quite as crap as the others.

The LibDems are probably more credible than they have been for a long time, but I’m not convinced by Nick Clegg. I think it is his name. Up here, a Clegg is a particularly spiteful little flying beastie, like a horsefly, which gives a nasty bite when it tries to suck your blood. Also, in some parts of the country, a ‘clegg’ (or ‘cleggnut’) is the term for a piece of excrement that sticks to fur (specifically sheep) or anal hair (humans).

Deep down I believe that Gordon Brown is the lesser of the three evils, but he just looks knackered and crumpled, almost as though he would welcome being put out of his misery.

And don’t even get me started on Cameron.

So is there any alternative? Well, yes. Whatever you do, get off your backside and vote this week. ‘Not voting’ is no protest, it is just lazy, and an insult to the billions of people around the world who do not enjoy the privilege. Even a spoiled paper is a more meaningful protest than not voting. But there are plenty of alternatives to the ‘Big 3’ (the ‘Big 4’ if you live outside of England):

Usual suspects, The Monster Raving Loony Party (officially, the Monster Raving William Hill Loony Party at the moment - they have sponsorship) have candidates in many constituencies. Now, is it me, or are the MRWHL policies more mainstream than they used to be? Some of their policies include ‘Making it illegal for superheroes to use their powers for evil’, ‘Introducing a ‘99p’ coin to save on change’, ‘Adding the Loch Ness Monster to the endangered species list’, ‘All socks to be sold in packs of 3 as a precaution against losing one’ and ‘Banning all terrorists from having beards as they look too scary’.

If that doesn’t convince you, how about The Church of Militant Elvis and Bus-pass Elvis Party. The pick of their policies is probably ‘Building moats around houses to keep out randy footballers.

CURE, the Citizens for Undead Rights and Equality Party, are keen to promote their message that “Zombies, like students, are people too, so we should fight for their rights to politically party”. If they get into power, they plan to ‘Increase the minimum statutory retirement age to beyond death’ and ‘Make cemeteries more comfortable for their inhabitants’.

Captain Beany, leader of The New Millennium Bean Party, has been a parliamentary candidate at several elections but, for some reason, has always lost his deposit. Some of his policies sound quite reasonable to me: ‘Public officials convicted of abuse of office will have their pictures printed on toilet roll packaging’ (although on the toilets rolls themselves may have been a better idea), ‘Chewing gum collected from scraping the pavements is to be used to fill in potholes in the roads’ and ‘Convicted drink drivers are to have their cars painted bright orange for five years after their driving ban is lifted’.

It is good to read that some parties do have the motorists’ concerns close to their heart. I am sure that there are plenty of other policies that would be sure-fire vote winners. How about...

‘Banning those ridiculous yellow diamond signs (or, even worse, the mini T-shirts) which say things like “Small Dude on board”, “Cheeky Monkey on board” or “Little Princess on board”.’ What are the point of those? Is it because you are concerned that someone will ram you unless you are displaying a warning? Or do you want following vehicles to get really close to you so that they can read about the nature of your offspring? If you are so concerned with the safety of your passengers, why do you perform dangerous overtaking manoeuvres and travel well in excess of the speed limit? And why do you obscure your view of the road, thus reducing your safety? A sign saying “Warning: Partially-sighted person on board” or “Warning: The driver of this car has no idea how close you are” would be more accurate.

Maybe a law forcing motor manufacturers to somehow link the indicators to the brakes should be introduced. Then, when an Audi driver (and, to be fair, other drivers as well) approaches a junction, they will not be able to brake until they have indicated to let everyone else know what the hell they are doing. Yes, yes, there are times when it is necessary to brake without turning, but it wouldn’t be the first time a policy has been suggested without thinking it through.
I could go on…. and on…. and on, but I’m not a politician, so I won’t.

Don’t forget - USE YOUR VOTE.

Question time

Not everyone who passes their driving test has had lessons with an instructor. Many parents assume that, because they can drive, they are capable of teaching their son/daughter. And some parents are capable. But I have had so many calls from parents (mums usually) saying that they have tried to teach their son/daughter, but have eventually decided to leave it to a professional instructor.
Sometimes it is just a clash of personalities that causes the problem. Sometimes it is because there is a big difference between knowing how to do something and being able to teach it. I clearly remember the first time in my instructor training  that I had to 'teach'. Bob, my trainer, pretended to be the pupil and asked me to teach him how to start the car and move off safely. I had been a qualified driver for over 20 years by this time, but I struggled to instruct him to do this seemingly simple task. It was something which I could do so easily without thinking about it, but it was that very fact which made it hard for me to teach. It was a bit like asking Monet how to paint, or Robbie Fowler how to score a goal.
Of course, that is partly why I parted with thousands of pounds to BSM, so that someone (Bob) could teach me how to teach. It was a quite a long process, but it was definitely definitely worth it in the end.
If you are training to become a Driving Instructor, by far and away your biggest priority should be passing your Part 3 exam. Almost all your training should be geared towards this. Additionally, if you are teaching on a pink licence, you should use that time to perfect your delivery of the PSTs (the Pre-set test themes: Crossroads, Turn in the road, etc).
When it comes to the Part 3 exam, you are required to tailor the level of instruction to the ability of the pupil. By that, I mean that a novice should get full instruction (e.g "Check your rear and right mirrors", "Postion your car just to the left of the centre line"), a part-trained pupil should be taught by prompts and Q&A (e.g. "Which mirrors are you going to check here?", "Where do you want to position your car?"), and a test-ready pupil should be almost independent of instruction, but have their knowledge tested by questions such as "If you saw a fast-approaching vehicle in your right mirror, what effect might that have on the timing of your signal?" or "Are there any circumstances when you would not want to position your car to the right when turning right?".
This tailoring of instruction makes sense and I am not going to suggest any deviation from it, especially if you are a trainee instructor.
But.......

I am finding that I am having a lot of success with introducing the Q&A and even the hypothetical questions at a very early stage. It seems that this gets the pupil really thinking about what to do (and WHY), rather than relying on being told what to do.
This morning I wanted to teach Dean how to reverse into a road on the left. He has had about 6 hours of lessons and in his last lesson we looked at how to turn the car around in the road.
Apart from telling him the aim of the manoeuvre, I didn't actually give him any 'instruction', I just got him to think his way through the whole thing by a series of questions: "How can you let other road users know of your intention to reverse?", "What is the problem with going too close to/far from the curb?" "How will those potholes affect your clutch control?" "How quickly can the situation change around you?" "How far back do you think you need to reverse to make the junction safe for others?" and so on.
You can imagine my delight (and Dean's) when, after this heavy theory, he executed an almost perfect left reverse first time with no full, and barely any prompted, instruction. Ok, maybe I got lucky with Dean. I am certainly not naive enough to start thinking that this is going to work every time with every pupil.
But maybe instructors may benefit from crediting their pupils with a bit of intelligence and encouraging them to think what to do rather than tell them.
Of course, if I ask a pupil a question and they reply "I don't know", that is fine. I won't necessarily tell them the answer, but I will try to offer another question so that they may arrive at the answer that way. And there will be times when a pupil has to be told how to do something, or they will have to be told the answer because they do not have enough related knowledge to work it out for themselves.
A final bonus is that it makes my job even more interesting, trying to steer someone else's brain in a certain direction, rather than repeat a list of instructions I have given to hundreds of previous pupils.
Just a thought.