Newslink February

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The wheel of change can be used
to challenge those who
persistently speed and are happy
to justify their actions
places them on this part of the wheel.
Contemplation: This is where the person
becomes aware that there is a problem, but
has made no commitment to change. This
could be when they receive a speeding fine or
following a near miss.
In the first chapter of Roadcraft, it explains
the importance of reflecting on any near
misses and taking responsibility for our own
actions and admitting we could do something
to reduce the risk of such an incident being
repeated.
Following a training session the driver may
be aware of the problems that cause them to
drive too fast, such as not being able to
recognise changing speed limits, so they now
have the knowledge to put what they have
learnt into practice when driving alone. It is
the time when someone thinks about
additional training.
Preparation: The person is intent on taking
action to correct the problem.
This usually requires buy-in from the client
(ie, the client is convinced that the change is
good) and increased self-efficacy (ie, the
client believes they can make change). This
can follow a training session, for instance,
someone can identify ways to drive within
the speed limit.
This is where a driver-trainer can play an
essential role with careful coaching
techniques. When we think of training
qualified drivers we have to sell road safety to
them, because it is unlikely they will be taking
another driving test, therefore they need to
see the benefits of driving in a way that
saves them fuel, stress and points on their
licence.
Action: The person is in active modification of
behaviour. This means they can drive in the
same way when they are not on a training
session. Something I often hear is when I
train someone for the Part two test of driving
ability is that they don’t get enough time to
practice their driving in between training
sessions, even though they drive to and from
work each day, or they actually drive for
work.
The Action stage means that they are
willing and understand the need to drive in
“A person may be unaware that there’s a problem and sees no
intention to change behaviour, for example a driver who
consistently breaks the speed limit and sees no reason to change
their ways, because ‘everyone speeds’. This is known as ‘downward
comparison’. It is when someone looks for an easy way out in an
attempt to justify why they break the law...”
the new way at all times so that it becomes
natural and not that they can ‘pull-it-out-ofthe-hat’
on their Part 2 Driving test.
Maintenance: Sustained change occurs and
new behaviour replaces old ones. This can
take more time than expected, but the
person is now driving in the new way most, if
not all of the time. This can be likened to a
golfer learning how to restructure their
swing, the new swing has become natural,
even under pressure. This is the challenging
phase and it means there has been no relapse
into old ways.
Relapse: The person falls back into old
patterns of behaviour. This is quite common
and many people find excuses for their
relapse rather than accepting that things take
time to change.
An example could be that a company driver
has attended a course following them gaining
speeding points and has been doing well until
he is under pressure and feels the need to
resort to his old habits of speeding to make
an appointment on time. The important thing
is to get back onto the wheel before getting
stuck at this stage.
When we coach qualified drivers we need
to explain that it is only natural to feel that
they may be holding up other drivers, if they
have been used to driving too fast in the past,
and that the feeling will go away with enough
practice.
It’s important that whatever new skill is
being learnt, we should not be too hard on
ourselves for a relapse.
If you have a few minutes, perhaps reflect
on something you would like to change and
see how this Wheel of Change could help you.
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