MSA Newslink November 2021

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Q&A with ... As you will have read on pages 20-21, MSA GB member Fiona McMeekin is working to help disabled pupils, particularly from the deaf community, overcome obstacles to gain their coveted driving licence. We thought it would be interesting to learn a little more about her in this issue’s Q & A with... feature Have a little patience, DVSA When did you become an ADI, and what made you enter the profession? I qualified as an ADI on Friday 13th May 2005. I had completed university while my son was a baby and decided I didn’t actually enjoy my course. I love driving, spent most of my time in the car and thought could I become a driving instructor. So I did. Haven’t looked back What’s the best bit about the job? Many will assume it’s seeing your pupil pass their theory and practical tests. For me it’s actually more than getting them to test standard. Hard to explain but many have other issues that need to be dealt with first, be it anxiety, overcoming constant negativity in their lives and helping to build self esteem/belief. Watching pupils who have been accompanied to meet me gradually make their own way to me independently is a great feeling. Sometimes it’s not only about teaching someone to drive, it’s about building their confidence. Can do attitude instead of can’t do! The worst? Watching my deaf pupils struggle with the theory test. Written English is often a struggle for the deaf, mostly the understanding and meaning of words, for example ‘Gradient’. It’s not in BSL (British Sign Language) so how do you explain steep hills? There are no Apps for the theory in BSL.Yes, there is a Highway Code DVD in BSL but that doesn’t help in the same way a hearing person has access. What is the best piece of advice you were even given? Grow eyes in the back of your head, you’ll need them What one piece of kit, other than your car or phone, could you not do without? My glasses and a Costa What needs fixing most urgently in driving generally? Road rage and aggression on the road. The standard of driving has got worse since coming out of lockdown. Everyone is in a rush, no patience. It’s a very intimidating atmosphere for learners. What should the DVSA focus on? Better understanding of dealing with SEN, deaf and disabled candidates (hidden and visible). Empathy is missing sometimes. Those pupils are perfectly capable of passing a practical test just the same as anyone else, however, how the examiner presents themselves is very important. Patience is key, asking what the candidate needs or responds to is vital. Examiners don’t always get this right. Speak to the instructor, listen to the instructor and try as best as they can to implement what’s been discussed. If still unsure, contact the instructor to seek further clarification. It’s vital to give ALL candidates an equal chance. They are the customer, DVSA in my opinion occasionally forgets this. They have paid for a service and should not be left feeling discriminated against. Fiona’s tuition car... powered not by petrol or diesel, but Costa... 38 NEWSLINK n NOVEMBER 2021
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com ‘‘ Madison’s DVSA needs better understanding of dealing with SEN, deaf and disabled candidates (hidden and visible). Empathy is missing sometimes... ‘‘ What’s the next big thing that’s going to transform driver training/ testing. Hmmm, quite a few things come to mind. Looking at all the changes that we have had in recent years, independent drive, SatNav, Show me questions on the move, manoeuvres changing. It’s been a lot and now with governmental changes in 2030 with the move heading to EVs and hybrids, there will be more. The training of pupils will change and I presume the driving test may need to be altered to accommodate those changes. Look at the tell me questions for example. 10/15 years time pupils will say “Dipstick? Oil? What?...” It’s all changing. Now there is talk of digital licences … everything is going online. That’s actually a scary thought. Electric cars, yes or no and why? Electric cars I’m in full agreement with, however, they do have their own issues. The next generation is committed to tackling climate change. They’re far more clued up than we are or have ever been. We (and last generations) created it, they’ll be left to fix it and big changes are coming. Glasgow is hosting COP26 this month, history will hopefully be made if all agree to revise their NDCs (nationally determined contributions) keeping in line with a 1.5C target (Global temperature levels). Emissions must be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030, hence the Governments push for EVs and Hybrids. In saying this, though, EVs and Hybrids do have their own pollution issues. They don’t emit exhaust fumes but they do use batteries which can emit toxic fumes. Most electricity used to power electric vehicles is generated from non-renewable energy resources which can have a negative impact on both our health and the environment. It can take up to 12 hours to charge depending on battery size so while savings are made on petrol and diesel costs, we’ll see significant increases in our electricity bills. Think of our current predicament regarding gas and electricity and you have to wonder, how will all this play out? How can we improve driver testing and training in one go? Only allow ADIs to book tests with minimum hours training set by DVSA , allow pupils to ask one question to the examiner at the end of their test. Who/what inspires you, drives you on? My deaf pupils are one. They are just amazing. So many barriers yet they carry on. In addition, my ADI friends. As one of my friends said recently, ‘teamwork all the way’. Everyone has been affected by this pandemic, but in our industry we were told this and that was happening and we need to adapt, we don’t get training for the changes, we don’t get support. We have to “figure” things out. No other industry works that way. What keeps you awake at night? Watson snoring. Just in case you were wondering, that’s my dog No one is the finished article. What do you do to keep on top of the game? Constant CPD. SC courses, BSL courses, reading/ researching, talking to people that have had years of experience dealing with physical disabilities. What’s the daftest/ most dangerous thing that’s ever happened to you while teaching. Most scariest moment? Being driven at a brick wall six months into the job. Funniest? Signing ‘Risk’ to my pupil on my Standards Check and she kept giggling. The sign also means ‘Fetish’ with a different facial expression, so had to hastily explain to my SE she wasn’t laughing at ‘risk’, rather at it’s double meaning. When or where are you happiest? Bar Vali, in Lanzarote, Mojito in hand. If you had to pick one book/film/album that inspires, entertains or moves you, what would it be? Oh now, that’s difficult. Probably a book. Larry Hagman’s autobiography, Hello Darlin’ had me laughing from start to finish. Michelle Obama’s autobiography Becoming was very interesting. first solo drive in the dark You never stop learning, says ROD CAME, as my granddaughter, Madison, who I taught to drive, found out when she made her first solo night-time drive... I started to learn to drive before I was 17 by driving around my grandad’s fields, then I went out on the road. It was scary at first but after a few lessons I started to get the hang of it. After more than a year I passed my driving test, in October 2021. I go to school in Ashford and have part-time job there but live in Brede, about 25 miles away. I have often driven from Ashford to Brede and the other way by various different routes which I have got to know quite well, and in all different weather conditions. Apparently, we have covered about 2,000 miles on lessons. A week after passing my test I had to drive home from work in the dark – on my own. I’ve done it before, but not by myself. Not to worry, it will be OK. I chose the easiest route, across Romney Marsh to Rye and then to Brede, a road I know well. Going across the Marsh was all good, the traffic was light but it was very dark and raining hard. When I got to Rye the road I wanted was closed, as it often is, so I took a diversion into Deadman’s Lane, which we have done before. Deadman’s Lane is one-way and very narrow, with only enough room to pass pedestrians, there was a car in front of me and two behind. A car came in the wrong direction and wouldn’t reverse, so we all had to reverse up into the main road. It has never happened to me before. I went from Rye along the country road to Broad Oak. Brede. It’s about six miles long and roughly halfway I came round a bend to find a deer standing in the road. It was just standing there and wouldn’t move. I’ve never seen one before although my Nan has warned me about them, and wild boar. Eventually it sauntered off and I drove home. You just couldn’t make it up. I was glad to get home that night. Grandad says you never stop learning, I learned a lot on that drive I can tell you. NEWSLINK n NOVEMBER 2021 39
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Page 23 and 24: Deaf pupils on test: the rules News
Page 26 and 27: Technical briefing ESC: The driver
Page 28 and 29: Technical briefing The driver’s
Page 30 and 31: News L-test changes: it was ever th
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