AI Solutions: The Pressure is on

AI Solutions: The Pressure is on: So road safety figures have fallen to the lowest they have every been, since records began in 1926. There are around 37m driving licen...

The Pressure is on

So road safety figures have fallen to the lowest they have every been, since records began in 1926. There are around 37m driving licences in the UK that are live, so the right to drive on our roads is quite high, yet the numbers are falling year on year, this means whatever we are doing must be right?

I've had a few discussions the last couple of days with the cynics, massaging of figures, cars are safer, no money for fuel, insurance costs, the list goes on. However are we as a nation safer and more aware than in previous years. A recent survey by Central DT found that out of 300 members of the public questioned more than three quarters believed our roads to be a dangerous place, our position on the EU road safety scale is always in the top three, but only 63% thought we were higher than number five, with 4% saying we were number 27. Is it this startling contrast between reality facts and figures and perception that keeps people safe.

For young drivers we have black box technology which will increase their awareness, by rote learning, however is black box technology the future for us all? It looks as if black boxes in cars will become a compulsory requirement as the Vision Zero date comes closer, with Ecall needing tracking for it to work, and the fatigue policy rolling out tacho requirements for van drivers and company car drivers, to reduce driving hours without a break.  So maybe all drivers will become more conscientious driving by rote as the data is recorded, will this replace the SPECS cameras planned to cover the UK motorway network for 2016.

With consultations having short time spans and legislation coming in to shake up a lot of the system, the RTA reaching it's conclusion for new laws is this the Government making work for itself, is it the back office reaching out for ways to save money, because the ADI looks to be getting a lot more spending out and not any more finance coming in.

Because of the apathy amongst the majority of instructors when it comes to taking part in processes, consultations and meetings, and generally having their say, the majority of the proposals will be pushed through and we will not be able to go back.

AI Solutions: Standards checks?

AI Solutions: Standards checks?: Or check tests? What really is the difference, will we as trainers notice anything we need to do differently in our everyday work, we...

Standards checks?

Or check tests? What really is the difference, will we as trainers notice anything we need to do differently in our everyday work, we asked for change to take place, a minority of ADI's asked for modernisation and it came dressed as the standards check. Tax payers handed over large sums of money for research, some of which will never reach publication and some went towards EU research.

So that is the stick, where is the carrot?

Well from where I am sitting we haven't had a carrot, we need better professional recognition, for road safety to be taken seriously and lives to be saved, cut price, cut throat lesson offers need to stop, all it does is undermine all of this spent money and hard work.  Cheap lessons send out the opposite message to the one we are trying to convey.

As driving instructors begin to take more training and qualifications they will also need time off to study, if the lesson prices are cut to the bone how will that be possible. So are the standards checks about road safety, really? The proposed penalty structure for the registrar? Really? Fine the ADI, as if we don't pay enough.

I have championed saving lives and have always had active involvement in trying to make our roads a safer place for our children and then their children, it has to start somewhere, but I also believe in supporting the ADI, what part of publishing ADI data, civil sanctions, and paying for check tests is about saving lives? It does of course boost revenue if every part of the service is paid for.

If the more structured approach is to do more than sort the wheat from the chaff, but really tackle road safety, then learning to drive privately with no formal instruction prior to test has to stop, otherwise it makes a mockery of dressing this up as a life saving exercise and turns it into a political one, ticking the EU directive criteria for the sake of it.

Education is the way forward, better teaching standards from ADI's has been identified as a step in the right direction, the question has to be how can we achieve this realistically, a standards check is not enough, one hour snapshot into our daily work is never going to be a clear picture, how many ADI's do not like losing paid work for this exercise, and now they may also have to fund this check. CPD really was the better option, taking part in academic qualifications, exercising the brain, learning something new, adding to our portfolios, would also save the tax payer money in the long run by cutting out the middle man.

Encouraging the majority of ADI's to take part in this consultation is hard work, some will not know, some have no internet, some have no access to the information, if you do not join the electronic age then you are left out, I think that is unfair. Technology may be the future, but if you are earning £50 for ten hours work there will be other things to pay and that won't include the broadband bill. Having to conform is the opposite to the essence of Great Britain, where we have always had freedom of choice. Despatch should still be sent out as a hard copy to instructors on the register, so then those who really do not want to take part have a choice.

Learning to drive, being in charge of a vehicle is serious stuff, it's time now for this industry to stand up and be counted and not have another consultation where less than 1% have their say. The consultation tells us what the Government want and then hold out the choices, yet we should be saying actually we do want some of this but we want this too. We do not want to get caught up in consultations of the past that have been challenged eventually because the questioning was strategically structured to obtain the required responses, we want a fair process for effective moves forward and to see the road safety figures continue to fall.

To research some of the history behind these decisions is a good move if you are not familiar with how the proposed changes came about, it spans more than ten years, so a long time coming, but politically doctored along the way.  What do you want? Do you want the proposed changes or to really have your say with ideas of your own?  Now is the time to lobby ministers before the ink is dry.

If you believe you are good at what you do then fighting for the career you would like to see evolve is the only way.

AI Solutions: Client Centred Quality

AI Solutions: Client Centred Quality: There is a lot of predicted change in the world of driving instruction, it is making the news in the trade magazines and has genera...

Drink Anyone?

Do we need changes in the law? We would like to think so, otherwise ministers would just leave it alone, or would they. Back in the days of the Wigs and the Tories it was all about law for those less fortunate, law to settle disputes, law regarding taxes, the list goes on, but has it really changed.  A law is rushed through parliament when something has happened that is damaging to society, the Government responds but when is it enforced? This is going somewhere so bear with me. Enforcement is equally slow, the Corporate Homicide and Manslaughter Act is a good example, introduced in 2007 but not enforced until 2008, this law is being rewritten regardless of an update in 2010, so obviously it wasn't right the first time. A robust law that is losing it's teeth it seems.

So drink driving, the latest angle to prevent young drivers from drinking is that they will lose their car, so where will we store them then, or is it expected to be such a rip roaring success that nobody will drink and drive again.  Although young drivers, also known as adults, are in the frame, research from Europe suggests that over 45's are more likely to drink and drive, particularly those in rural areas. Well I can agree with that, I know of a little pub in Suffolk where all of the locals have a drink and drive home, probably because it is so remote their is no taxi service, and the nearest house apart from the ones by the pub are about five miles away. Not one of those is under 45.

So as a society have we already typecast the young driver? The figures for young drivers who drink and drive are based on stop and breathalyse as young drivers are more likely to be stopped, or do something that brings them into the spotlight, have we made a terrible error and let the regular drink driver off of the hook?

How many times is Mr Average stopped, driving along in his car with the children and his wife, who are just as likely to have had an afternoon in the pub garden while the children play, I know it happens I've seen it, sitting with my children sipping diet coke while a few pints and some footy later they all pile into the car and drive off.  The risk is the same but they are harder to spot.  Will their recklessness make the paper over the teenage tearaway, I think we all know it won't because that does not carry the same worth in the media.

The Government is working on it's belief that a twelve month ban is enough of a deterrent nobody will get behind the wheel after just one drink, I have been involved in research for my book that says that just is not true.  Of course a driving ban has always been the punishment for drink driving, or longer if the outcome had serious consequences.  However, if a driver is prepared to break the law for the sake of a couple of drinks, then why on Earth would they obey the law after a driving ban and leave the car at home. So then we have an unlicensed, uninsured drink driver on the road. There are so many more ways that drink and drive could be dealt with, unfortunately our politicians believe that a measly £740k campaign is the answer. Sorry chaps I don't agree.

copyright 2013 A.Green, this article may not be reproduced in whole or part without express permission of the author

 

AI Solutions: 112 - what number will you dial?

AI Solutions: 112 - what number will you dial?: I wrote about this several times over the past few years, yet up take is still slow with just 4% of emergency calls going to 112. Of c...

112 - what number will you dial?

I wrote about this several times over the past few years, yet up take is still slow with just 4% of emergency calls going to 112. Of course the majority are used to dialling 999 in the UK, but what about the rest of Europe? We have been able to use 112 for the emergency services since 2004, but of course it is not advertised on a grand scale, despite us having 112 day every February, because we have an alternative service. A recent survey found that only 58% of adults asked knew 999 was the number to dial with an very low 3% recognising 112.

The requirement for all new vehicles to have ecall fitted as a mandatory requirement was initially rejected by the previous minister Phillip Hammond, as being too expensive to implement, despite overwhelming proof that it saves lives.  Now the decision is being made for us.

From 2015, ecall will be compulsory in all newly manufactured vehicles. The airbag system will activate a call to 112, this will help towards saving those trapped in their car unconscious and unable to call for help, particularly in rural areas where accidents are difficult to locate. GPS systems have improved so much that where they once gave a radius of ten miles it's now almost a pin point location. It is expected to save 2500 lives a year across the EU.

The ecall system will allow emergency services and the assistance of the Highways Agency to warn motorists in advance of unprotected accident areas through the signage system. It is also expected that ecall will be developed to allow vehicle tracking for stolen vehicles, of course we can feel another usage here, compulsory black box style technology for everyone, not sure how the human rights campaigners will like that, but how do you equate it as a road safety measure, a difficult call.

Ecall can be triggered manually by pushing an emergency button in the car, some vans and top of the range vehicles have this installed already and have done since 2010. It won't be so easy to let the children fiddle about with wipers and buttons while you're waiting parked up in a car park then, the results could be embarrassing at best and detract already stretched emergency services from a real emergency at worst.

Green paper for New Drivers

Whilst the back office sends out yet more surveys, I've had three in the last two days, and one email regarding research data, I also received an email notifying me that the results of the green paper consultation has been delayed until the autumn, no surprise there as this will coincide with the budget, the run up to a general election, and the likelihood of unpopular decisions being stalled until  May 2014.  This also coincides with the ERSC survey regarding amalgamation of driving standards in Europe, the decision to cap EU speed limits at a maximum of 80mph and the slowed introduction of kerbsafe.

Tackling seat belt law, where uptake across the World amongst drivers is at an all time low, the UK enforcement is weak, with civil liberty groups complaining that it restricts their human rights, yet there seems to be no reference to the right of the innocent party killed by a passenger leaving a vehicle at point of impact and killing someone else. Roads are shared space and shared space is shared responsibility, so if a conscious decision is made to ignore the research and advice and of course the law of the land, then that individual should be expected to deal with the consequence. Unfortunately this is not always the way, my studies show that any driver may not accept they are wrong, even when the evidence is clearly pointing a finger at them.

Across the member states, lack of seat belt use comes in second only to speed as the cause of road fatality, hence the decision to change the law with regard to child seats. We do of course have the lowest fatality rate ever recorded for 2012, despite this flouting of the law. Yet the UK Government has stepped away a little from road safety and road safety budgets, while declaring that they are dedicated to road safety the information I have read shows that is because this is being tackled by the EU and we have been reluctant to encourage targets, with the London Mayor appearing to be the only one who wants to make serious inroads into protecting the vulnerable road user.  Road safety will not be able to sustain looking after itself.

Driver trainers were heavily targeted in the mid 2000's and steps to overhaul education and monitoring has been slow to come to the forefront, however silence does not mean the cogs have stopped turning it means they are being fine tuned.  There seems to be a shift towards recognised QCF awards which again will support the private sector and will show a more even knowledge base than the current system allows.  However having a qualification is not a guarantee of anything, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, being part of a tick box system as an ADI is surely not going to have a big red standards check stamp as a seal of approval.

Where is the future of road safety heading, well I have a very good idea, and a little knowledge too, if you read between the lines it will be crystal clear. The meeting on the 1st July will definitely throw up few answers but lots of questions.  The transcript will make interesting reading, much more than before, I'm certain.

Client Centred Quality

There is a lot of predicted change in the world of driving instruction, it is making the news in the trade magazines and has generated a lot of surveys through different medias, for those who are involved in training outside of the green badge system, classroom presentations and fleet presentations the proposed changes are likely to make a difference there too.  Fleet clients are much more aware of their business needs and actively seek value for money and quality assurance. So how can quality be assured by a provider who is a sole trader?

The plans behind the streamlining of Government services, the introduction of changes to legislation which will see the phasing out of the pink badge completely as it does not fit in with quality control and will be difficult to monitor under new guidelines, will see more regular checks across the board in all departments not just driver training.  Drink drive rehabilitation courses, instructor training courses, new driver training courses will all be subject to spot checks. So will the spot light shine on the on road courses delivered by trainers, well it is believed, or may be sought, for CPC to come under deeper scrutiny, this will be achieved with the help of independent testing.

Then we come to driving instruction, the standards check, are you up to standard or does your service fall below par. Data collected from a recent survey found the majority of ADI's against radical change, with just 22% saying they thought that learning to drive needed a shake up. if that is the case then how will the 85th percentile be reached.  Well the easy way around that is for it to be 85% of those who respond to surveys or consultations, from past experience those who respond are clearly the associations representing members although not necessarily the majority view, and those who are really interested in the future of their career, voting apathy has spread across all sectors, even voting within the private sector for board members has fallen to an all time low.

Can the instructor be heard, it is possible it really is if you want it, would you like your career to be the same one it was when you qualified, would you like your career to have prospects and be a respected profession, or do you want to just have a say about how you would like change for everyone else.  A PDI survey, again difficult to encourage participation across the UK, muted that ADI's want harder qualifying exams for new entrants when they should be concentrating their efforts elsewhere. The longer someone is qualified the easier it is to see flaws in an entrance procedure, however that applies to everything, experience is key, or is it?

The favourite subject at the moment is client centred learning, and I have come across a few blogs relating to this, I was amazed to find that not one had grasped the concept. Clients do not want more or different questions, our phone is ringing more frequently with pupils complaining that they need a new instructor as their old one keeps asking at the beginning of each lesson, what do you want to do today. That most definitely is not client centred, as the instructor has a responsibility and they are being paid to fulfil a role, the clients expectations, client centred.

A life coach would never sit in front of a client and say what do you want to do today, does your dentist say what would you like me to do, the expert guides and encourages and waits for feedback. Then the client makes a choice, client centred.  Trust has to come about in a learning environment, between both parties, which is where a formal agreement is essential, signed by both parties. A client does not lose trust in their tutor a client is led like a child learning to walk and then let go to make their own footsteps. When they stumble there is someone there to reach out and stop the fall, and when those hands are no longer needed the client begins a path of their own. Client centred equals client responsibility.

Coaching and the Client

Today I stumbled across a website specifically aimed at driving instructors, as most of my students and clients know I run a driving school and I am a practising life and executive coach, so my experience is as varied as the people I meet everyday.

The website claims, 'with the advent of the new check test and it's heavy reliance on coaching or client centred approaches I have developed courses to help you become ready for the 21st century' surely nobody actually falls for this sort of unrealistic claim, it actually leads other instructors into believing that this one ADI knows more than anyone else about coaching and client centred learning.

The DSA is quite clear about the fact that client centred learning is about giving the customer what they want, coaching is not a teaching tool and the evidence supports that coaching for the novice, be it driving or sky diving is not the way forward. The DSA recognise this and are not looking for coaching, their modernisation is a less restrictive approach to teaching and learning not an overhaul of the current system.

For the cynic amongst us, by incorporating the fleet check test and the ADI check test it is a smoother path for independent examiners to replace the civil servants who currently oversee the work of the driver trainer. By introducing a customer friendly service by the ADI, the standards that examiners will seek are the same as within any organisation or business that serves the public. As role play will not be an option it opens the door for any private sector service provider to tender. There is a whisper that the DSA will offer training to the private sector for testing, to coincide with their accreditation of courses, this will include driver trainer courses and see the end of the ORDIT registration, as this will no longer be needed.

The standard check forms that are being revised are point scores, so clearly designed by the private sector for ease of use.

This myth about coaching being CCL, quite apart from the rejection of this by the DSA, is quite ridiculous as not one person who is a coach, life or executive will recognise or refer to CCL.  The coach does not teach. The DSA have referred to the coaching chapter in the NDRS document as not being relevant, this supports the statement from the ERSC, and the fact that HERMES 2 was in 2010 and further developments have taken place since then.

So how does one person working for a national school but advertising themselves as an expert in the future of the check test justify scaremongering amongst those that don't want to be left behind.  In the case of all Government parties, it is better to just wait and see.  Having written to two ministers and having two completely different replies, I can't see that there is anything definite on the table.

As the DFT is to become the DFTandF we are in year one of a ten year programme to reform the back office and for the injection of private sector money, the NHS reforms and the fact that the NHS is also to be fed private money leaves the UK over a barrel, a very deep one.


copyright A.Green 2013 no extracts or reproduction of this blog without express permission of the author

CCL for learner drivers

Four weeks ago I wrote to the minister of transport, as a fully qualified life and executive coach. I did identify myself as a driver trainer, however I also passed on some of the research I am involved in.

 I am deeply concerned by the watered down approach to change within the driving instruction industry, particularly this spoon fed coaching which are words with no substance. having studied hard for my qualifications over the last few years and taken time to build a robust portfolio of clients within the executive sector as well as individual clients, I have found it quite difficult to see how coaching can be incorporated in it's purest form to help learner drivers. It was a relief to find that it has been recognised within Government that misuse of coaching has the potential to be damaging to the client, as I felt that had been over looked.

Some of the response covers the Standards document and the fact that trainers should not change their methods, just that ADI's have felt restricted within their work with clients and this encourages more listening and a better transition of the transfer of responsibility from trainer to trainee.  It also says that once the standards check comes into force instructors will be given a clearer idea of what is expected of them and this will enable them to choose more effective training.

I asked how an instructor could present coaching to a client without years of study and qualifications

'We do not want to lose what we already have and if we were to suddenly say that all ADIs had to become coaches there would be some who would become confused about what was being asked of them.  Others would try to deploy what they understood to be coaching tools and not do it well.  The result could be an overall deterioration in the quality of driver instruction.'


I asked why CCL is considered to be coaching within the driver training industry, the response was

'I can assure you that we are very aware client centred learning (CCL) is not the same as coaching. '


Although the reply was very in depth I have felt that these are very relevant to the sudden twist towards coaching for instructors, there are many other elements that were specifically asked linked to my research and understanding of the real risk within the young driver sector.

However, I am passionate about road safety, I do still work as a driving instructor, and I desperately would like to see better fatality figures for young drivers. Some of you may have seen my research and others may have read extracts from my up coming book, although not for the driving instructor industry, young drivers and road risk is touched upon. So, with this in mind I needed some answers, and today they were not just answered in full, but they satisfied my concerns.  As I am known to be cynical, as most writers are, when dealing with quotes and lengthy exchange, I feel that this response was by far one of the best I have received to date.

Moving along, it was felt that although HERMES was used as a reference which had emphasised coaching as a concept, this has been decided against, with the overall feeling being that there will be no attempt to use fully formed coaching skills, the aim is to relieve instructors of rigid approaches to training and allow more listening in the learning environment.

This appears to be quality control with the clients needs being more important and the tutor taking a guiding role. However, although this seems like a sensible approach it still doesn't tackle scientific evidence which shows that the young driver brain activity, risk, excitement etc is the controlling influence as opposed to the training environment.

Copyright A.Green 2013 - no extracts or reproduction without express consent of the author.

 

Government Consultations

Road safety consultations, NHS consultations, MOJ consultations, the list is endless, so why, for the last few years we have had occasional consultations, usually when the Government wants to trade an unpopular idea, but over the last few months surveys and consultations are in abundance, with a new survey in almost daily mailings.

How many consultations can one person respond to, or read thoroughly without losing the will to live? It seems quite a lot, although time consuming answering these surveys makes us feel as if we might at least be heard, yet when you look at the volume of replies it is shockingly low, are we that apathetic that it just doesn't matter any more, or do we believe we are unheard. Well, if out of 64m people a few hundred reply then how can we expect to be taken seriously as a nation.

The Government back office is fulfilling it's duty, treat the public as paying customers, which we are, listen to their comments and act on the majority, because when they present to the private sector seeking investment they need to be in a position to say, we did listen, but if you can't be bothered to get involved and say what you want then don't expect to get it, quite rightly too.

Privatisation is here to stay, the merging of offices is not a surprise, the merge of VOSA/DSA had been mentioned several times in various papers, the DSA are not striking because they are bored on Fridays, more that they can see the ship sinking and are trying to save it, but really the ink is dry so they would probably be best advised to jump.

Driving tests, modernisation, syllabus, consultations, reading between the lines and adding it to the facts from the back office and their announcements in trade papers tells the whole story.

For more on the Government consultation summary follow the link below

http://www.centraladitraining.co.uk/2013/06/21/consultation-summary/

Research

I am currently collecting research data and am looking for some more volunteers, it involves filling in a short questionnaire, all responses are confidential and no personal details are asked for, if you wish to be sent the conclusion please tell us, otherwise your details will be deleted on receipt of your response.

You need to be a driver, it does not matter whether you have a full or provisional licence, but you do need to be female.

This research will be included in a book due to be published later this year, no references will be made to those who take part only the content of the group as a whole.

If you fit the criteria and would be willing to take part please contact us at aicoachingsolutions@aol.co.uk and a questionnaire will be emailed to you.

A huge thank you to those who have already taken part.