Newslink August

Towards your CPD
Looking to advance?
Don’t forget to check
out your own driving
When you look to boost your
CPD, don’t overlook the need
to keep your own driving up
to scratch, says Steve Garrod
A fellow ADI recently rang to ask my
advice about which courses he could
study as part of his CPD. He suggested a
number of ideas, some of which would
involve dedicating significant time for
study at considerable expense.
My response, as it generally is when
asked such questions, was to ask what
interests him and what does he hope to
achieve by gaining an additional
qualification (for example, another area
of teaching or business). He said he
wanted to know more about teaching
advanced driving and asked what I
thought about teaching a qualified driver
advanced driving for his Standards
Check, and what subjects to teach. I
asked when did he last have his driving
checked and he admitted it was when he
passed his Part 2 about seven years ago.
I have heard it said that ‘it is the
obvious we forget’, but as ADIs, it is easy
to fall into the trap of looking for
something new to learn but often miss
the opportunity to improve an existing
skill.
I suggested that if he took an advanced
test, he may be in a better position to
identify some key areas for development
and some ideas for future lessons, eg,
how to read bends, plan overtakes in
good time or join and leave motorways.
Unless you are fortunate to live in an
area blessed with these types of roads,
those of us living in urban areas could
find our own driving becomes stale,
which could affect our ability to teach
certain subjects.
Many ADIs’ driving consists of
commuting to and from lessons with
little or no time to reflect on their own
performance. This is the same for many
drivers too; they generally stick to the
same types of roads and routes and
become complacent, subsequently
picking up speeding tickets or parking
fines. In addition, having regular checks
helps us understand the way our pupils
are feeling when they are learning and
preparing for their own test. Most ADIs
feel that all drivers should have their
driving regularly checked, but few take
the lead and have theirs checked.
The reason I feel we, as industry
professionals, should take an advanced
test every couple of years, is because it is
the test preparation that re-focuses our
minds as much, if not more than, the
test itself. I also think it is difficult to
identify faults in our students’
performance if they display similar faults
that we have while we are driving.
For example, when I was training to be
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NEWSLINK n AUGUST 2021