Newslink November
Motor Schools Association of Great Britain members magazine; driver training and testing; road safety; general motoring
Motor Schools Association of Great Britain members magazine; driver training and testing; road safety; general motoring
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Q & A with...<br />
A life on the road led to ... a life on the road!<br />
After a break for a few issues, we’re delighted to bring back our<br />
popular ‘Q&A with an ADI’ feature. This issue, we chat to<br />
South East-based ADI Bob Page about his life as an ADI,<br />
and his thoughts on the profession<br />
When did you become an ADI, and what<br />
made you enter the profession?<br />
I became an ADI in the 1990s after a life on<br />
the road, hitch-hiking across Europe, Asia and<br />
Africa then driving an HGV as far afield as<br />
Russia and the Middle East. When I became<br />
disaffected with living in a lorry, it made<br />
sense to teach others how to drive.<br />
What’s the best bit about the job?<br />
Best thing about the job is I like people and<br />
I like the flexibility that being an ADI brings<br />
you.<br />
And the worst?<br />
Three things come to mind: potholes<br />
– which are as bad as they’ve ever been –<br />
L-test waiting times and the perennial<br />
problem of being let down at the last minute.<br />
What’s the best piece of training advice you<br />
were ever given?<br />
My old instructor told me not to focus on<br />
when to start to get ready but rather to work<br />
on when to be ready. He was also the first<br />
person who recommended that I sit in on lots<br />
of L-tests.<br />
What one piece of kit, other than your car<br />
and phone, could you not do without?<br />
A bottle of frozen water at the start of the<br />
day. Stays nice and cool all day.<br />
What needs fixing most urgently<br />
in driving generally?<br />
What needs fixing? Driver attitudes – but<br />
how to approach that? Perhaps the<br />
Government could do more media<br />
presentations to get over safe and<br />
responsible driving messages; that might<br />
help.<br />
What should the DVSA focus on?<br />
Obviously DVSA needs to work on waiting<br />
times but I think they know that.<br />
What’s the next big thing that’s going to<br />
transform driver training/testing?<br />
Next big thing should probably be 10-year<br />
driver assessments, and tests if necessary,<br />
plus there needs to be a growing awareness<br />
of the quietness of electric cars.<br />
It’s very apparent how many pedestrians<br />
rely on their hearing to tell them a car is<br />
coming; if the car is silent they are denying<br />
themselves a crucial sense that keeps them<br />
safe.<br />
Who/what inspires you, drives you on?<br />
Most inspiring thing in the industry is the<br />
people and organisations (MSA GB, DIA, etc)<br />
who spread knowledge and information to<br />
the ADI community. I also like the many<br />
random acts of courtesy I see every day.<br />
Electric cars – yes or no? And why?<br />
Electric cars are inevitable and all we can<br />
do is prepare for their arrival.<br />
As for their technological big brother, the<br />
driverless car... well, I think I prefer to remain a<br />
Luddite!<br />
“Obviously DVSA need<br />
to work on waiting<br />
times, but I think they<br />
know that...”<br />
Favourite film: Forrest Gump,<br />
starring Tom Hanks. Pictured<br />
waiting...<br />
36 NEWSLINK n NOVEMBER 2023
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