AI Solutions: Preaching to the Converted

AI Solutions: Preaching to the Converted: Is it any wonder that less than 1% of ADI's take an active interest in the future of driving instruction or their career path, th...

Preaching to the Converted

Is it any wonder that less than 1% of ADI's take an active interest in the future of driving instruction or their career path, that CPD is a nasty word along with the equally unpopular business skills. The majority of driving instructors currently on the register have no up to date information or comprehension of the changes taking place.

National membership of associations is not representative of the majority, which suits the ministers because if every ADI became actively involved their hands would be tied and bowing to the majority would become a reality not a threat. Power is addictive, we all know that, human nature not nurture, adrenaline fuelled pleasure. So who is the real voice.

There is no voice, I have just been reading through a programme of an up and coming conference, which shall remain nameless. Every speaker in that list knows each other, the list of attendees, passed on is a list of familiar names, and as I know the majority I am comfortable that they also know each other. So is a conference about informing the ADI, getting the information out there and helping the World to be a better place, or is it about back slapping and secret hand shakes.

The EURSC are moving in to great change, the UK is hanging on the tails of this major upheaval, we have left it to the last gate to make changes in the UK, where other countries have embraced these moves sooner, the ultimate goal is to save lives, yet that has become diluted in a potential opportunity to market new qualifications to the ADI.  The shake up of the qualifying process, or maybe the shake down.  If the response to the consultation is as confirmed by the DFT to be a majority group of Government employees and members of the public, then the final word is out of the hands of those affected by it.

Should those who spend the majority of their time taking part in streamlining the future of the ADI and purporting to be representative be actively out there spreading the word, or is it just a case of if you're not in then close the door behind you.

When the DSA ran meetings around the country, which ADI's who have been in the industry post 2007 will know nothing of, the information was up to date, there were no fees to pay, and forecasts for the next ten years was common place, the conferences stopped because of the cost, yet the instructor who was not a member of any association could go, by invitation, and it cost nothing but time. Why are there no moves to reinstate this, particularly in this time of change? I shall tell you the answer to that in due course as the minister will be getting back to me on that one.

As tax payers, before we are ADI's, what do we get for our money, with potential charges for ADI errors, a fee for a standards check that we have to have anyway (hmm), the potential to have all elements of our qualification scrutinised and then of course there is the grading for the elite, pass or fail should be enough, then there is no need for the DSAVOSA group to publish anything, as self-employed people we are surely capable of advertising ourselves.

The converted do not need the preaching, the information or the time, the ones on the outside with their noses pressed against the glass who have no idea what the writing on the wall says, need our help more.

AI Solutions: Do You Give Way?

AI Solutions: Do You Give Way?: I've have been carrying out extensive research for my book, which means I have missed my deadline but no change there then, the...

Do You Give Way?

I've have been carrying out extensive research for my book, which means I have missed my deadline but no change there then, the problem of course is getting too indepth. Although my book itself is not for the driving instructor market, there are two chapters which relate to the young driver and the complacent one, so mid sifting through the reams of material sent to me from various resources I was pointed towards some medical research about mood swings and driver patterns.

Our brain rewards us depending on behaviour, so a rush of pleasure because someone thanks us when we let them pull out of a junction gives us a greater high than when someone lets us go, the brain sees that information as approval of our behaviour and in turn transmits happy endorphins. The happier the driver the less instances of road rage, the shared space environment then becomes a safer one, as the driver relaxes the likelihood of tailgating reduces, thereby allowing a more acceptable safety margin.

So does a reward system work for the learner driver? Apparently not. A novice driver finds that someone allowing them the opportunity to pull out when at the earlier stages of their learning cycle, to be stressful, however the tutor sees the invitation to proceed as a reward, thereby increasing the chance to demand the novice joins a traffic flow that they do not feel themselves to be personally in charge of.

We then have a conflict of interests, the happy endorphins flood the brain of the tutor the depressed endorphins flood the brain of the learner and a mistake is more likely to happen. In this research it was found, when questioned, that a tutor feels pressured to respond to the driver giving way as they see this as holding up the other traffic if they fail to react, some admitted to helping control the situation by either encouraging the learner to proceed against the novice's better judgement, or to take control by moving the car themselves while the pupil steers.  Both actions reduce the positive mood in the brain for the novice but increase the happy mood in the brain for the tutor as they have achieved their goal.

So should we be taking more of a back seat when it comes to decision making, the research suggests a resounding yes, ignoring the chemical make up of our brain is difficult, but a good tutor would quash the urge and make no comment, this allows responsibility to be placed solely at the hands of the learner.

Being thanked by the other driver when a novice gives way has a positive affect on them and the learning experience, this triggers their internal reward process and encourages them to be courteous in a shared space environment. Sadly the research amongst the learners surveyed told a story less encouraging, with the majority feeling pressure from their tutor to push on and take ultimate road space in the name of progress, whereas the majority of learners preferred to stop. There was however a different response from the early novice, uncomfortable with stopping and starting wanted to press on and hope for the best, disappointed that their tutor in some instances wanted them to give way, being thanked didn't reward the learner enough because their fears of moving away again and feeling under pressure squashed any elation they may have otherwise felt.

This therefore indicates that not enough time is spent on core skills, and the learners own desires and wishes are over ridden by the tutor. The surveyed group all had a maximum of twenty hours tuition. The brain activity research was taken from a paper not yet published, but due for release and ultimately for sale in November 2013.

Are You Putting Your Licence at Risk?

Identity theft has been in the news on and off for many years, theory test fraud in particular not easy to detect until centre staff begin to recognise a face, selling pass certificates, a little underhand dealing for a test pass, instructors selling pass plus certificates, and yes that does still happen but what about the test itself? How many fraudulent untraceable cases are there.

Of course then we have social net working sites, how often do you see personal information uploaded, have you ever sent your licence image by email or fax, how safe is it. Today the Government warned motorists about protecting the personal data that is available on the driving licence photocard, a nice quick way for a fraudster to build a profile, a driving licence isn't just about illegal drivers, to gain credit of any description identity proof is needed, what is accepted readily ? Photo bearing licences. The one licence for 28 member states was supposed to reduce fraud, with the steering wheel symbol identifying where the chip will be located once a common licence is held by all, target date 2030. However that is only the case if you protect this valuable information.

Could you be held partly responsible if it goes wrong? ID theft is one of the fastest growing crimes, can we really be unwitting victims? The most likely victims are young drivers who have just received their first licence, but at what point can we be protected, if you have scanned and mailed your photo card and info are you at risk?

Are we as instructors telling our pupils the risk of publishing a copy of their pass certificate, are ADI's putting pupils at risk with a photo of test day pass with a pupil holding their certificate as the information is easily recycled for someone else.

https://www.getsafeonline.org/protecting-yourself/safeguarding-identity/

AI Solutions: Consultation - Ministers reply

AI Solutions: Consultation - Ministers reply: So, as usual I was on a mission to support the ADI, I don't believe in elitism and I do believe in fair play, so to find that the ...

Consultation - Ministers reply

So, as usual I was on a mission to support the ADI, I don't believe in elitism and I do believe in fair play, so to find that the consultation extension was refused, when twelve weeks would have been more reasonable, I wrote to the Transport Minister, my MP and a couple of other ministers for good measure.

The replies were in dribs and drabs, sadly the TM didn't reply until post consultation, however the writing was on the wall for that, we just pay their wages we don't actually have any say. It was a light weight response which carefully side stepped my concerns and was the best attempt at avoiding a straight answer yet, it also confirmed the fact that they don't actually read any correspondence, someone else skim reads it and jots down some notes because at the end it suggests I reply to the consultation - arrggghh!!!

They have had 400 replies, many being from Government staff and members of the public, they have spoken to the national organisations and accepted their views, which count as one! So less than 1% of instructors have actually taken part in this. I wish I was shocked but I'm not. I am however disappointed that our TM has little interest in making sure that all ADI's were made aware of the consultation by sending the good old fashioned letter.

The results of the green paper for new drivers is due to be released in October apparently, I guess we are going to see some rushing through of the preferred ConDem route before the general election, with the driving instructor community being such a small group compared to other professions, it is a poor show that we aren't better represented in Parliament but used as sacrificial lambs for the EU charter.

To say that they are listening to the ADI associations is not as accurate as we would like to believe, if they were the extension would have been granted, as with one hand they say the associations are a voice with the other they say the voice is wrong - confused? Yep, me too.