AI Solutions: Wanstead instructors vs the rest of the UK?

AI Solutions: Wanstead instructors vs the rest of the UK?: I thumbed through an article in Driving Instructor Magazine and was a little shocked by the content.  Having browsed instructor forum...

Wanstead instructors vs the rest of the UK?

I thumbed through an article in Driving Instructor Magazine and was a little shocked by the content.  Having browsed instructor forums for years, the majority frown upon on intensive courses, whereas a few embrace the intensity, this article sent mixed messages along with a large dose of self righteousness. The writer, Noel Gaughan, says he gives a better service for the money he charges, you can see this where he charges £250 for ten hours, against a £200 charge by another instructor for a two hour lesson and use of the car on test day, which actually equates to four and a half hours on test day. Pass rates are not relevant, post test survival is, and there is no current evidence to support that a high pass rate equates to safer drivers.

So along with the self elevated status comes comments regarding 'cash machine instructors', so also we have to assume that Noel teaches for fun and not to earn a living.  I've been involved in road safety for many years, I have written articles about it, I blog about it, follow the statistics and decipher them and I give talks about it too, but I would never claim to be better than anyone else, my previous experience as a research journalist led me to tracking figures and outcomes.

The test centre mentioned in the article, Wanstead, is one I used when I lived a stones throw from there, it does have one of the lowest pass rates in the country, but you can't only blame the instructors that use it.  Several examiners were disciplined here after failing the last wave of tests so they could have a darts match, an examiner at the same centre wasn't invited to take part and reported it to the DSA.  Of course nobody knows how many more of these incidents there were, it can of course be assumed if using the same logic as this article, they are in it for the money and not to put safe drivers out there.  Retests did take place once it hit the press.

Wanstead test centre, on the outskirts of East London no car park facilities, the waiting room is akin to a cupboard and you can hear examiners discussing previous tests while you wait.  The roads surrounding it have double yellow lines and are heavily parked, so quite difficult to park pre-test.  I used this centre infrequently but on one occasion I took someone who lived nearby, it was pouring with rain so I waited in the very cosy waiting room, an hour later no sign of pupil or examiner, other tests of which there were three had returned and the ADIs gone, it was the last test of the day. I knocked on the office door and was told the examiner had gone home.

It transpired that my pupil had been left in the car two blocks away and told to wait there.  The examiner had gone to the test centre through the back door, of which I did not know there was one, dropped off his paperwork and gone.  As while I was waiting another examiner had opened the door to the waiting room and had seen me there it wasn't as if they didn't know I was there.  Although the conclusion of my complaint was in my favour, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.  Although I now live in a different part of the country I still use test centres in those areas for instructor tests.

So cash machine driving instructors? Examiners believe their life is in danger? The test won't end happily because of the school presenting the pupil for test? I think that is dangerous ground and absolute prejudice.  I have seen many people present for test who have never had a driving lesson, some arrive driven by someone else and then try to drive away from the test centre, some arrive without L plates, others believe they don't need a car for test.  Although the figures for those arriving for test independently are not available does that mean this is okay or is Mr Gaughan going to choose this category next time.

'How do we get rid of the cash machine driving instructors? Only the DVSA are in a position to do so' (Noel Gaughan Driving Instructor Magazine p.23, 2014), as a tax payer and member of the public I think my money is better spent on education and the health service.  Leave the DVSA to test, and us to continue to do our job. The research to date is varied and extensive, and I have read the majority of it, the aforementioned people will not pass the test if they are below standard, if they choose to try then that is their prerogative.

In six years we reduced our road fatality rate by 1200, a huge achievement and one of which as a country we should be proud, our driving populous has grown yet still we are saving lives, the opinion of a high percentage of the (voting) public is that there should be some form of assessment, and the EURSC would like the same, yet our Government is a little reluctant to be that controversial although they are quite happy to have a postcode lottery for cancer drugs.

The future sees the DVSA being a training establishment only, with quality control being the order of the day and private companies controlling examiner employment, which is why more remote centres will appear and along with that no requirement to publish performance results.  As the DFT becomes a limited company in the same vein as the HA and the DVSA follows suit, I think the opportunity for some to use the DVSA as a punch bag for all that is wrong in driving training will end, and personal responsibility will finally take over.

The Dividing Line

The bridge has widened between the driving instructor fraternity and the testing agency.  Although the top four national associations have banded together to provide a voice, and this can only be commendable it still isn't reflective of the general vision that is debated in various groups who do not belong to an association of any type.

A recent survey identified that the driver trainers who took part, want to see the industry as a whole respected more by members of the public, with 60% blaming the Government for this view, 30% believe that cut price lessons are promoting poor public image, 5% believe that instructors are respected and 5% don't know.

In 2007, the then DSA announced at their Nottingham conference that as testing changed and driving instructor standards rose, the public would appreciate the professionalism and that the DSA would encourage and promote raised awareness of the crucial role ADIs hold in the future of road safety, so why did this not happen? As soon as purse strings tightened and the DSA road shows stopped any help to raise profiles disappeared, the proposed changes to the check test finally happened seven years later but where is the encouragement and support for the instructor, regardless of their role in driver training, be it teaching a novice, training a company car drive, supporting emergency services to name a few.  The stand alone statement that ADIs are doing a great job just isn't enough.  Although the majority are self-employed people the testing agency has great input to structure, with the test being an ultimate goal rather than a stepping stone.  Road safety figures so far in 2014 have bucked the previous trend of declining fatality figures, so tapping the instructor to perform better (standards check) and the modernisation of the driving test (questionable) has not had the effect anticipated, this confirms the view that attitude hasn't changed nor have inroads.

The economy has lifted, this is evident from generally raised trading levels for internet businesses despite the loss of six high street stores every week, as people turn to on line shopping they can spend without leaving the house and some are happy to pay a premium for this as it does not compare to the cost of fuel and parking expenses.

Many driving instructors are reporting an upturn in business too, as the financial outlook shows improvement, also reflected in the drink drive fatality figures then accident rates are likely to rise, can driver behaviour change, definitely, will it, not without some serious Government input and with Department for Transport PLC round the corner, who is going to lead the way where the general public listen.

A recent meeting that I chaired discussed public information films and how this really does make a difference to knowledge, because a good advert will stick in peoples minds, this meeting was attended by over sixty full licence holders, a mix of ages and experience.

Can the profile of the ADI be bought into the 21st century? Can the Government finally fulfil their promise? Or is it just on the shelf gathering dust until figures stay on an uphill trend and the EURSC step in and demand targets.  Oh no of course we want to leave the EU don't we, despite the fact that without their enforcement of the changes to safety features as a compulsory measure it wouldn't be happening.  112 in airbags from 2015, distance separators on LGV1 just to name two.