Newslink August

an examiner at Cardington many years
ago, I picked up marks for emerging too
early from side roads and driving a bit
too close to stationary vehicles
(shaving). Although neither fault was
deemed as serious, it was put down to
the fact that I was used to driving in
London and therefore felt I was leaving
sufficient room when carrying out both
manoeuvres.
I remember my instructor asking me
“What was the hurry? Was there anyone
behind the car approaching the
junction?” I recall thinking “I don’t
know!” I realised then that I had
probably been encouraging my own
learners to emerge into the types of gaps
I was emerging and probably not
noticing them ‘shaving’ other vehicles
unless they really did get too close.
In other words, we have blind spots
that we need pointing out by another
professional.
So, having taken this trip down
memory lane with my caller, he
admitted that he felt his driving could do
with a bit of tidying up and that he
wasn’t too confident driving on rural
roads.
I appreciate being a good driver
doesn’t necessarily make us better
instructors, but being aware of our own
faults means we are less likely to miss
similar faults when they displayed by
our students. Being able to give a
competent and confident demonstration
drive could be the difference between
being accepted for a fleet driver training
position, or not.
A friend of mine has just applied to
become a driving examiner and is
worried about her commentary driving,
so she has identified an area for her
development, but may find out more
once her driving is assessed.
The important thing to remember is
our driving is always on show, with or
without a student in the car. If the car is
‘‘
The reason we should take an
advanced test every couple
of years is because the test
preparation re-focuses our
minds as much, if not more,
than the test itself....
‘‘
sign written it would not look good if
certain aspects of our driving is not up
to standard. You could always claim, as
a former colleague mine used to, that it
is your day off and that you are driving
like everyone else, but I am sure that
you, like me, notice other drivers
approach bends too quickly,
subsequently braking when they should
be accelerating, or becoming boxed in
behind larger vehicles on motorways
instead of planning earlier for an
overtake.
So, my caller has agreed to have his
driving assessed with a view to taking a
test later this summer.
If you are thinking of affordable CPD it
might be worth looking at taking an
advanced test. Finding a trainer should
be straight forward but please ask them
when they last had their driving
assessed.
I’ll leave the final word this month to
a former pupil of mine. He was a trainee
pilot but hadn’t passed his driving test.
He told me the he felt safer in the air
because, “When you fly you know
everyone else in the air is a professional,
but when you drive you are surrounded
by amateurs”.
With that in mind it makes sense to
ensure we remain professional by having
our skills regularly checked and
encouraging others to do the same.
High VR pass
rates are reality
A pioneering virtual reality (VR)-based
driving instructor training course has
delivered exceptional results says BSM.
Recent results show that the pass
rate for BSM’s driving instructor
trainees is now more than 35 per cent
higher than the DVSA national average
on the Part 1 Theory, and this trend
continues on Part 2 and Part 3 exams,
with BSM trainees recording 15 per
cent higher pass rates than the national
average.
BSM’s virtual reality (VR) instructor
training course was launched in 2020
and offers safe, socially-distant learning
during the pandemic. The course
blends quality in-car training with VR
headset experience in a classroom
environment.
Mark Born, BSM’s Instructor Training
Manager said: “We are so happy with
our pass rates for trainees on the virtual
reality course.
“Our ability to support trainees with
online courses and VR when no in-car
practice could take place has boosted
what could have been a difficult period
with under-prepared trainees turning up
for tests.
“We hope this encourages more
instructors to train with us and take
advantage of our unique VR training.”
Many trainees have passed all three
qualifying tests the first time and others
have been supported in their further
attempts using the unique VR training
and online support.
Kim Gibson, former BSM VR pupil
who recently passed her Part 3 test
said: “I signed up with BSM in August,
passing my Part 2 in September and
attending a VR course in October.
“The staff were so supportive and
within a month of lockdown being
eased, I passed my Part 3 first time. I
definitely recommend the VR course to
anyone considering becoming an ADI.”
Her comments were echoed by Keith
Taylor, a BSM VR instructor training
pupil from Devon, who said he found
the Zoom training sessions “engaging
and supportive.
“The online instructors engage and
involve all participants and learning has
certainly occurred. This helped me stay
motivated and set me up for the return
to face-to-face contact and delivery of
driving lessons.”
NEWSLINK n AUGUST 2021 27