Claire Wilmot, Author at Ged & Claire

posted by Claire Wilmot

Driving Instructor Franchise Tips – How to Expand Your Driving School

It’s great to hear that for many instructors, business is booming. I’ve certainly noticed a difference coming out of the recession over the last couple of years, and to be honest, it’s hard to fit new customers in when you’re so busy – what a fantastic problem to have!

An instructor recently asked for guidance on taking on another instructor and starting a driving instructor franchise. It’s a big decision. Here I’ll offer some advice and share what I’ve learnt and experienced as a franchisor over the last 13 years.

Is Starting a Driving Instructor Franchise Right For You?

The most difficult decision can be deciding to start a driving instructor franchise the first place. Yes, business is great and you may be turning people away. Is that enough reason to take on another instructor? It’s really hard to let go when you have such a great reputation, especially if your customers ring you from personal recommendations and want YOU to teach them. If this is the case, it’s going to be a challenge offering them lessons with another instructor rather than yourself.

If you do want to build a driving instructor franchise, how do you find the right instructor to join you? Can you offer them what they need and are they happy to agree to not only your terms but do they have a similar outlook and professionalism?

What Would a Driving Instructor Joining Your Driving School Need?

Everyone will have different needs but here are a few common denominators.

To cover a reasonable area without excessive travel
A minimum amount of hours
Some guarantee of the work you will provide
A reasonable price for driving lessons and ideally no silly offers
No lengthy contract periods
Help and guidance when needed on all aspects of the job

Of course there will be other needs on their wish list, and these will vary from instructor to instructor.

What Do YOU Want From a Driving Instructor?

checklist Finding the right instructor for your driving school isn’t always easy.. To find the right instructor, you need to know what you’re looking for. After all, they will be representing you and your company!

A likeable and friendly personality – your customers will want to learn with someone they like! How did they come across when you first spoke to them, do they smile, are they engaging? Did they use nicknames? – grrrrrrrr my pet hate!

Presentable – do they take care of themselves, present themselves well and do they keep their car clean and tidy? Do they smoke and is that an issue for you? Meet them at their car or walk them back when they turn up for your initial meeting so you can take a look at their vehicle.

What is their experience? Some instructors are brilliant but just poor at marketing themselves, they would prefer to let someone else do all that side of the business, and just be out teaching. Some newly qualified instructors will prefer to work for a school and be working straight away rather than setting up their own business. Find out their reasons for wanting to work for a driving school rather than setting up (or continuing with) their own driving school.

Good training – If they have been trained well, prior to qualifying, and they are committed to developing further, then great! If you’re not happy with the training they may have received, feel their teaching methods may be dated or they may have become lazy then it’s best to stay away. Observe them on a lesson, are you happy with their standard of teaching? If you feel there are weaknesses, are they happy to accept feedback and willing to improve?

How good an instructor are they? You must be a great instructor (and a great marketer too) to be in the position to take on another instructor. What is your pass rate and how many hours on average do your customers take before passing their test? Find out their pass rates and their average hours, watching body language and eye contact for any ‘exaggerations’. Use yourself as a blueprint and be wary of any figures that are much higher or lower than yours! Asking how many pupils they have had to test may explain a very high pass rate, 2 out of 2 passes since they qualified will give a 100% pass rate!

Phone use – Everyone will have different opinions on this. I personally do not tolerate phone use while driving and that includes hands free. I could quote many figures of how much more distracted a driver is when speaking on hands free, but for me it’s just common sense. I do not want any negative publicity, or liability claims, that could come with an instructor crashing while using hands free. If you have different opinions, then that’s fine, but if it is one of your no-no’s you need to make sure that the instructor has a similar outlook. Does the instructor take your call or ring you while driving? Or even worse, while they are teaching?!

What will you offer?

It helps me to see our instructors as our customers, they are paying for a service and we are there to provide what they need. Saying that, no one likes getting taken for a ride and it’s your company’s name at stake so you both need to know what you expect of each other.

Be realistic and honest – how much work can you provide, and how quickly? I always underestimate rather than over estimate. From about 2008 – 2011, I told instructors that it may take a month or two to get them to 35 hours a week. Lately, it’s taken just a couple of weeks to get instructors to the same amount of hours. If you’re taking on a newly qualified instructor with no customers, can you realistically get them the hours they want? Would an instructor with a half full diary, or one that only wants to work part time hours make it easier for you to meet their expectations?

A fair driving instructor franchise fee – If an instructor is paying you for a service, then you have to provide that service. It won’t do your reputation, or your ability to sleep at night, any good if you are accepting franchise fees and you are struggling to fulfil your end of the agreement. Look at offering a reduced franchise if you fail to meet your promises. We found early on that a lot of instructors left our driving school once they had a full diary, and they were getting recommendations themselves. For a number of years now, we have offered a variable franchise. If an instructor gets a lot of recommendations themselves and therefore takes less work from us, they pay a lower franchise fee, a bit like a top up service. It’s a win/win situation and now our instructor turnover is much lower. Benefits to instructors: Instructors do a great job = more recommendations = lower franchise fee!

Reasonable contract terms – We don’t agree with long contact periods, and yes this has backfired, but much less than it has been a benefit. We feel to get trust, you have to give it. If it’s abused, it’s better to find that out sooner rather than later. Do you really want someone you can’t trust representing your driving school? I personally lay my cards on the table from the outset. We have a 3 week notice period in the contract and I am clear that to fill a diary from scratch costs a lot. Providing 15 -30 customers in a short period is more costly than just keeping an instructor topped up. In return, I ask for their loyalty that this will not be abused by them leaving as soon as they have a full diary. We have a ‘per customer’ cost, worked out by calculating the total expenses of the driving school over the year divided by the amount of new customers in the same period. I use this to give them an idea of how long it takes to break-even with their franchise fees. I find once they understand this, they appreciate the need for loyalty.

To treat them fairly and expect the same in return – Offer help, guidance and advice whenever they feel they need it. Whether it may be with their teaching, marketing, problem pupils, car troubles or with anything else they need help with. In return you want them to be open with you, come to you with any troubles or concerns, and respect your ‘rules’ as an ambassador for your business. Some of our ‘rules’ include; being punctual for driving lessons, being reliable, giving quality lessons, always driving correctly – including family members using the car too (all our cars are sign written and people love reporting bad driving, especially when they think it’s a driving instructor!), always displaying appropriate behaviour (respecting the pupil’s personal space, no use of pet names, no discrimination of any sort) no smoking in the car, not using the phone while the car is in motion, no piggybacking, and absolutely NO personal relationships with pupils. Phew, I think I’m a bit of a control freak!

What if the Driving Instructor Leaves My Franchise?

Over the last 13 years as a multi-car driving school, we have had 67 instructors come and go, 27 of them are still with us. That’s 40 that have left! Don’t be disappointed if an instructor leaves, it’s all part of being a franchisor. Apart from ones that have been ‘asked’ to leave because of their conduct (rules are rules and they need to be respected), I am still friendly with most of them. 16 of them have their own driving school and are in fact my healthy competition, 21 have left the industry, many after setting up their own driving school or ‘franchise hopping’, and 3 are currently with another driving instructor franchise.

Out of the 27 remaining, 24 have been trained by myself or Ged, so relationships and trust have been built as they train. It also means we know how good our instructors are. We’re in the fortunate position of being able to take on instructors that we have trained personally, and we no longer take on anyone who hasn’t trained with us. If you’re thinking of expanding, this may not be possible for you and finding the right instructor can be a challenge.

Finding A Good Driving Instructor

I would suggest approaching the best ADI trainers in your area and nationally. Not all trainers offer driving instructor franchise options for their trainees. For example, we train people from all over the UK. Local ones are offered a place at our driving school. The ones that aren’t local who want to join a driving school are given help and guidance in choosing the right school. Asking trainers to let their trainees know that you’re looking for instructors could be a great way to find new instructors.

driving-school-franchise Put it out there. Let instructors know you would like someone to join your school. Have it displayed prominently on your car, on your website and utilise social media.

Talk to other instructors. In the test centre, let others know you are looking for an instructor. Hand out business cards in case they think of someone who may be interested (they won’t always admit they’re considering it in front of other ADIs!). Ask on forums and Facebook groups.

Finally I would add, trust your gut instinct. If there’s something niggling at you, politely let them know that they’re not what you’re looking for. It’s much better to struggle on until you find the right instructor than to just take the first one that comes along just for the sake of it and regret it later.

Good luck!

What do you have to add? Have you started a driving instructor franchise and has this worked well for you or not? Please comment below so others can benefit from your experiences.

Are you looking for an instructor to join your school or are you an instructor looking to join a driving school? We will help you if we can!

If you are a trainer and want to help your trainees find a driving school to work for, or would like a local driving school to recommend your training services, get in touch. It would be great to build up a list of regional trainers and driving schools to help everyone establish collaborations!

Finally, if you liked this article, please share it with your colleagues by hitting one of the social media buttons below.

posted by Claire Wilmot

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“Just check your b****y mirrors!!!” (Part 2 of 2)

In the first part of this article, we explored how to effectively develop our learner drivers’ mirror use. If you missed it, we’d strongly advise you read that part first – click here to read Part 1.

In the second part of this article, we will be looking further into the cyclic nature of the Look – See – Respond routine. Also, we’ll check out some higher level techniques to ensure your pupils not only continue to use their mirrors with better levels of understanding, but will learn to develop their own effective strategies to deal with situations arising behind them.

The ‘Silent Conversation’

In Part 1, we took some time to explore some examples of questions to use at the RESPOND phase of the routine. Although many instructors encourage their learners to look for cars, cycles or other vehicles behind or to the sides, it’s not these objects that cause crashes – it’s the driver of that vehicle that is responsible for their course of actions.

It can be helpful to consider the cyclic nature of the mirror routine as a ‘silent conversation’ between you and the other driver or rider. Not only do we need to respond appropriately to what we see in the mirrors, we also need to take into account how the driver/cyclist behind responds to our response. And having LOOKED and SEEN how they respond to our actions, we will then need to again RESPOND accordingly… and so it goes on!

So, assuming it’s daytime and you have a decent view of the driver behind, try asking your learner questions such as:

What’s the driver behind doing?
Is the driver behind paying attention?
What do you notice about the driver behind?”

It may be that they are arguing with a passenger, distracted by their children, bopping away to a really good tune, lighting a cigarette, picking their nose (ewww!), texting/chatting on the phone, putting on makeup (okay, some women are distracted sometimes, too!). I’m sure we’ve all seen what other drivers do while at the wheel.

Once you’ve identified what the driver is doing, explore how this will affect your pupil’s decisions – in effect, how they will ‘communicate’ with that driver. You could ask:

How can we make allowances for him?
What can we do differently with our speed on the approach to these lights?
How early should we start signalling for our turn?”

Once the learner has replied to your question and/or taken action, encourage them to LOOK and SEE how the other driver has RESPONDED to our ‘communication’:

What’s happening behind now?
Have they recognised what we’re doing?
How is he responding / What is he doing now?
Do we need to do anything else now?”

A painful experience

A few years ago, one of my former franchised instructors was giving a lesson to one of his pupils. During this lesson, they had a crash which could potentially have resulted in very serious injury or even a fatality.

The learner driver was just a few weeks away from taking his driving test. During this particular lesson, he was approaching a zebra crossing with a pedestrian walking towards it. The instructor was watching the learner driver to see if he had checked the mirrors. On noticing the learner’s lack of mirror use, the instructor failed to intervene, because (in his words after the crash) “he had his driving test booked and should have known what to do!” There was no mirror check or any early positive indication that the learner had seen the crossing or the approaching pedestrian.

Only at the last moment did the learner driver see the pedestrian. He then slammed on the brakes… hard.

Meanwhile, the learner and instructor had both failed to realise was that there was an enormous quarry lorry close up behind them. Needless to say, when the learner driver slammed on the brakes the lorry couldn’t stop in time. The lorry crashed heavily into the back of the instructor’s car pushing it through the zebra crossing. Fortunately the pedestrian hadn’t started crossing – imagine the outcome if they had 🙁

This whole situation could have easily been averted. Regardless of the standard of the learner driver, it is always the instructor’s responsibility to keep everyone safe. On identifying the pedestrian crossing early and failing to see any response from the learner driver, the instructor could (and should) have asked something along the lines of:

What hazards do we have up ahead?
How close is the truck behind?
What will you do with your speed?
How is the driver behind responding?”

Developing Coping Strategies:

I’m sure most of us have experienced how learner drivers can get flustered with drivers following closely behind. We explored this more fully in our ‘Dealing with aggressive tailgaters’ article. As covered in that article, you may want to explore how to get out of the way if the driver behind seems totally distracted. By doing so, they are no longer a concern, especially if your pupil seems on edge about having them behind. In both of the examples below, the ‘silent conversation’ between me and the driver behind helped avoid potential crashes…

Example 1: Looking for a POSITIVE RESPONSE

Whilst driving home from work recently, the driver of a supermarket delivery van was following about an inch from my bumper (OK, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but he was still really really close!) I could see that he was occasionally glancing at the road but that most of his attention was directed at something on the passenger seat – maybe his delivery schedule.

My first thought was, “I don’t want this guy behind me; I’ll pull up and let him pass”. I didn’t pull up as normal though – I signalled left and kept my speed at 30 mph. I continued to drive until I got a positive response. I saw that he had seen my signal because he began looking in his right mirror to look for an opportunity to pass me. Only then did I slow down to pull up – he ‘spoke’ to me before I responded. Had I not waited for the positive response and reduced my speed before he recognised my signal and intention to pull over, I would undoubtedly have ended up with an embarrassed van driver and a ton of groceries in my boot!

Example 2: Using observation links

A couple of years ago, whilst waiting to turn right into a side road, I saw a car approach a T-junction further up the road. It shot straight over the give way lines and only stopped when almost at the centre line on the major road! I made my turn and watched in my mirrors to see if the car would turn into the road behind me. It did. Before reaching the end of the road where there was a mini roundabout with just a left or right exit to choose from, I instinctively decided to turn into an empty car park without losing much speed, as I didn’t want the car behind to get too close to me.

The driver behind may have not have stopped at the previous junction for a number of reasons – perhaps he didn’t realise it was a give way junction? Maybe he was distracted, drunk or under the influence of drugs? Regardless of his reasons for doing so, I wasn’t feeling comfortable being in front of him so I turned off as soon as I could.

So what happened next? He continued to the roundabout, failed to stop and drove straight into the lamp post on the other side of the roundabout!

These are just 2 examples of when crashes may have been averted (away from me anyway!) by using the LOOK – SEE – RESPOND – LOOK – SEE – RESPOND cycle. These examples also illustrate the importance of using ‘observation links’ within this cycle (clues as to what other road users are likely to do next). This is what our pupils need to be able to do as well. They need to interpret the other driver’s response in our ‘silent conversation’ – does the driver behind recognise what you’re doing? Is he responding appropriately or is he ignoring you?

ATTITUDE WARNING!

Sometimes, thought-provoking questions relating to the behaviours of drivers behind can highlight your learner drivers’ poor attitudes towards other road users. Your learner may scold the driver behind for using his mobile phone or for driving too closely, or for whatever other bad habit the driver behind is displaying. Instead of displaying similar levels of aggression by rebuking the other drive, think how you could use the other driver’s behaviours as a valuable learning opportunity.

What effect could that have on him? What about us? What could be the possible consequences?

You could then ask your pupil to identify what possible ‘bad habits’ they may develop once they’ve passed the driving test? Just how attached are they to their phone? What if it rang whilst they were driving? In what situations might they be tempted to answer it? How are they for time-keeping? What if they were running late for work, an interview, appointment or party? How rowdy are the friends that they will be offering lifts to? How might that impact their driving? What strategies will they have in place to deal with it?

Are you up for the challenge?

Let’s look back at the example questions we provided in Part 1 of this article when encouraging your pupils to LOOK and SEE what’s there…

What’s going on behind?
How close is the car behind?
How fast is the car behind going?
Are there any bikes coming down on our left?
Is there anything overtaking us?”

What’s missing from all these questions? That’s right – the word ‘mirror’ isn’t mentioned at all. Our challenge to you would be to try and eliminate repetitive reference to the ‘mirrors’ from your everyday teaching and instead to use awareness questions. You can start doing this from the very first lesson!

‘Bottom-up’ instruction

Try to avoid the ‘bottom-up’ approach to teaching. This is a typical trait of some PDIs and ADIs (especially those training for Part 3 or who have recently qualified). For example, when teaching their pupils how to move off, they will often instruct in the following way:

Have a quick check in your centre mirror, then check your left blind spot, left door mirror, centre mirror again, the road ahead, right door mirror, and your right blind spot”

This simply gets the pupil to LOOK, but no further parts of the routine are explored. Some lessons later, the instructor goes on to help their learners understand what they’re looking for (SEE) and then some will get around to exploring how the learner driver should RESPOND to what they see in the mirrors.

Other bottom-up approaches include encouraging the pupil to routinely apply the right signal when moving off for the first time (“just for practise”), rather than to LOOK, SEE and RESPOND appropriately to what is around us at the time. Read our article on signalling for more guidance 😉

Unfortunately, such short cuts make life MUCH harder for the ADI and the learner in the long run – the bad habit of just looking blankly in the mirrors will have already formed from those early lessons and may be very hard to break at a later stage. This is why we may often see the pupil quickly glance at the mirrors (and apply the right signal), but we know full well that they cannot possibly have had the opportunity to fully assess what they can SEE (and therefore signal accordingly).

‘Top-down’ instruction

Top-down teaching, on the other hand, is where we would start with the reasons for effective all-round observation, followed by directions on what specifically we need to be looking out for, and how to respond to (or ‘communicate’ with) what we see. A top-down approach is more likely to create a natural response and natural awareness within your learners, which naturally becomes much harder for them to forget! An example might be:

So now we have the car prepared, it’s important for us to look for a safe opportunity to move away, so we need to be aware of what’s happening all around us… so let’s first look to see if there’s a safe gap behind… then have a sweeping check all around… Anything coming out of the driveway over our left shoulder? Any cyclists coming down our left side? Still clear behind? Is it safe ahead? What about our right side – any vehicles coming up to overtake? And is there anyone emerging from the junction over your right shoulder? What would be our best course of action? Would it be safe to go now, do you think? Would a signal benefit anyone?” etc…

Although this is an example of an instructional approach, a coaching conversation would work really well, too. Yes, top-down approaches will take a little longer in the short-term, but the long-term benefits definitely outweigh this.
So, ask yourself if there is there any more you could be doing to encourage your pupils to have a better awareness of other drivers’ behaviour. How could you work on helping them to communicate better with others on the road? How can we help them be aware of their choices once they’re out there on the road themselves?

*Disclaimer: Throughout these articles, I have referred to drivers who exhibit poor driving behaviour as ‘he’. This is just for ease of writing – it isn’t because I think men are impatient and generally daft drivers at all… honest! 😉

Have you any further advice for Paul (who originally asked the question about mirrors) that you would like to share? What techniques or strategies have you used with your learners that has been successful? How do you incorporate the skills that kill (using phones, speeding, driving under the influence, showing off, etc) into your everyday teaching?

Please let us know in the comments below – I’m sure it will be appreciated by many.

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posted by Claire Wilmot

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“Just check your b****y mirrors!!!” (Part 1 of 2)

“Hi Ged and Claire, I’m getting really frustrated with my pupils not checking their mirrors, they do it sometimes when I ask or tell them to, but then go right back to forgetting again when I stop helping them. What can I do?”

This is probably a very common frustration for a lot of ADIs, so rest assured you are not alone! I know I’ve had the same issues in the past, too and you can feel like a bit of a nag or a broken record repeating yourself every 2 minutes!

The problem with some pupils is that no matter how many times we tell or ask them which mirrors to check, unless we keep at it, some will keep forgetting. So what can we do differently so they are less likely to ‘forget’?

I like to think there are 3 elements to effective mirror use:

LOOK

Many instructors stop after teaching this first part. So invariably the pupils LOOK but don’t SEE. This is more likely to happen when the instructor says things like:

Check your centre and right mirror before signalling
Which mirrors should we check?
New road, new mirrors
Remember – Mirror… Mirror… Signal
Come on, check this left mirror, you keep forgetting!

Any of these sound familiar to you?

Although these questions or commands may well instigate a mirror check, the check in itself has very little value. The pupil is simply learning by rote, or ‘parrot fashion’. They know they need to check them – after all, you’re there to keep reminding them! But this is not an effective approach for long-term learning. They are checking the mirrors because they think they have to check them to pass the driving test (and to stop your constant nagging!). You’ll get a similar effect with chants or ‘easy reminders’ like “One Two Three” relating to centre mirror (one), door mirror (two), signal (three). Another one we hear being used a lot on lessons is “Mirror, mirror, signal”.

Learners who are taught in this way can pass the driving test. And afterwards, they’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief and think, “Yes! I passed! Don’t need to check my mirrors all the time now!”

SEE

Many instructors get to this part easily, although not always often enough. This is where we start getting to the WHY. In the ‘look’ part of the sequence, they learner looks in the mirrors but they won’t always ‘see’ what’s there.

For the most part, the reason for this is that the learner has no idea what they are specifically looking for. They’ve simply been told or asked to check the mirrors (as in the examples above).

So how can we direct their attention a little further? Here are some examples of better questions to ask:

What’s going on behind?
How close is the car behind?
How fast is the car behind going?
Are there any bikes coming down on our left?
Is there anything overtaking us?”

These are much more efficient questions than some of those I used to ask in my early days as an ADI, such as, “What colour is the car behind?” [‘Red…. so what?!’]. And then there were also times when I would cover the interior mirror with my right hand and ask, “What’s behind?” These tactics don’t necessarily encourage the pupil to do much more other than check the mirrors more frequently to avoid getting caught out! There’s still no guarantee they’re considering the proximity or speed of vehicles behind.

And this brings us to a secondary issue that we need to be aware of – and that is ‘inattentional blindness’. This is a psychological phenomenon which relates to our failure to notice unexpected visual stimuli when we are focussing on another task. Driving demands a great deal of attention and focus for the novice driver, and their focus is largely on the control of the vehicle and the things going on in front of them.

Many of you will have seen this video (or ones similar to it) before, but if not, here’s a great illustration of inattentional blindness in action:

We could write a whole article on the perils of inattentional blindness when driving, but let’s focus back on the topic of effective mirror use for now…

In essence, we tend to notice what we are looking for – what we are expecting to see. By asking poorly-phrased or poorly-directed questions, the learner driver does not notice the things which they should be noticing – those things which are of a high priority and could have an effect on our driving plan. As experienced drivers and instructors, we may notice that the driver of the bus behind is glancing down at a newspaper, or that the driver of the car behind is more pre-occupied with their screaming children in the back seats than they are focussed on the fact we are braking to a stop.

Appropriately phrased questions will help bring these higher priority things to the learner’s attention – things which they may not have even considered paying attention to, or were ‘blind’ to due to overwhelm.

So ‘seeing’ isn’t about knowing if your pupil has checked the mirrors or even seen what’s there. Instead, it’s about creating a connection between using the mirrors and knowing what to look out for. It doesn’t really matter if they’ve seen the car behind, or if it’s red, blue or polka dot, what matters is that they realise they need to recognise what the car (or driver) behind is doing, e.g. distracted, driving close, approaching too quickly, overtaking, etc.

Now the pupil is looking and seeing what’s there, they’ve started to understand WHY there’s a need to check the mirrors… or have they?

RESPOND

If the pupil knows what they’re looking for, it might mean they understand what to check for, but not necessarily why that’s important and how to interpret and respond to it.

Let me share a short story…

I once asked a pupil of mine to turn right at the next traffic light controlled junction. We were travelling along a dual carriageway and we needed to change lanes. She looked in her centre and right mirror. “Great,” I thought to myself, “she knows which mirrors to check and so she’s seen the red car travelling at high speed who’s about to overtake us”. She then went to signal and steer. I pulled the wheel back and cancelled the signal and said “there’s a red car there!” She replied “Yea I know!” I was gobsmacked. If she saw the car, why on earth did she try to change lanes as it was about to overtake us?!

Her actions and words told me that she had looked in the correct mirrors and had seen the red car, but she simply didn’t know how to respond to what she had seen. She had actually thought the driver would let her go once she started signalling so we worked through what could have happened and what to do next time.

Fortunately this happened on a driving lesson and not after she had passed her test. Imagine that scenario on a crowded motorway! :O

The point is that until then, I didn’t realise how important it is to make sure (and not just assume) that the pupil knows how to respond to what they see in the mirrors. It meant that I hadn’t been doing my job properly and it was a valuable lesson for me to make sure every pupil knew how to respond correctly to what they had seen.

Because this golden opportunity doesn’t present itself all that often, and because there never seems to be a cyclist coming down the left hand side when your learner is turning left, sometimes we as instructors can forget this important step in developing our learners’ effective use of mirrors. The ‘what if’ question can be the most important question to ask.

How close is the car behind? What would you do if it was really close?
Are there any cyclists coming up on our left? What would you do if there were?
Is there anything overtaking us? What would you need to do if there was?

If you get a blank expression or “erm… I don’t know” as a response, then brilliant – you can save this driver from making a costly mistake once they pass their driving test! You know that they don’t really understand the significance of using the mirrors effectively, and this can be a big enough reason for them to ‘forget’ to check and for you to keep having to remind them over and over again.
You can also explore different options and how they may need to respond:

If the driver behind was really close, what would we do differently with our speed/signal before our next turn?
What would be the benefits of doing that?

If there was a cyclist coming up quickly on our left, how might it affect the timing of our signal?
What would be the problem of signalling to turn left if he was very close to our car?”
“What if he was a lot further away? Would you do anything differently?

What would you do with your speed/signal if you were being overtaken and you wanted to turn right?
How do you think that would benefit us and the driver overtaking?

Once we turn, if the new road is clear and the car behind is following really closely, what could we do with our speed?
If the driver behind looked like he was about to overtake us, what would we do with our speed then?

Finally, it’s important to notice that the diagram at the start of this article is cyclic. The process is continuous – after responding, we need to once again LOOK and SEE how the driver or cyclist behind/on our left/passing is in turn responding to our action.
Now what you should achieve is lots more value attached to mirror use.

The pupil has a deeper understanding of their importance, will want to become more aware of what’s going on around them and more importantly, will be able to make decisions on how to respond to what they see.

In the second part of this article, we will be looking further into how being aware of the actions of other road users around us affect our learners and how they can develop strategies to deal with these situations. Click here to read Part 2!

For now, please share your experiences! Please let us know how you develop your learners’ effective use of the mirrors – what questions do you find get the best results? Your comments in the box below could really help other instructors improve their skills 🙂

posted by Claire Wilmot

h34 Comments

7 Top Tips for Easy ADI Diary Management

ADI Diary Management and Diary planning is an art form in itself. Learning to plan your diary efficiently can help maximise your time, boost your profits and reduce your fuel costs. It also enables you to ‘work to live’ rather than ‘live to work’. Many new instructors struggle with diary management, so here are 7 tips on how to manage your diary more effectively, based on our own experiences. We hope you find the ADI diary management tips useful!

ADI Diary Management – Top 7 Tips

TIP 1 – Decide on your hours of work… and STICK TO THEM!

OK, this sounds pretty obvious I know. When you have a ‘normal’ job (i.e. in employment), you have a specific start time and finish time. You also know the days you have to work and the days you have off. Why make an exception now that you’re your own boss? For many of us, it’s the main thing that attracted us to becoming a driving instructor in the first place – working when we want to!

So what day(s) off do you want? What time do you want to start and finish work? Ok, so you may have to make the odd exception to fit in that new pupil on their birthday but having strict parameters will help you keep work contained within the times and days YOU want.

TIP 2 – Pre-plan your diary

Organising your diary into set time slots will avoid pupils requesting awkward lesson times which prevent you from fitting in other people… leading to more dead time! So for example, if you do 2 hour lessons, your regular slots might be something along the lines of 9.00am-11.00am, 11.20am-1.20pm, 2.00pm – 3.00pm, 3.20pm – 5.20pm and 6.30pm – 8.30pm (granted, you may occasionally have to deviate from these times for test bookings). Let pupils choose the best time for them in the slots available rather than allowing them to book when THEY want. A pupil deciding they want a 10.00am lesson can effectively cost you the first working hour of the day if you would normally start at 9.00am.

Pupils will fit in with YOU if you choose to run a structured system.

TIP 3 – Encourage pupils to take longer lessons

Many instructors offer lessons lasting 1 hour. Others have a minimum duration of an hour and a half or even 2 hours. Encouraging your pupils to take longer lessons will increase their rate of learning, decrease ‘dead time’ or travelling time between hourly lessons – thus maximising your work time and profits. A profitable ADI Diary Management tip.

TIP 4 – Book pupils in for several weeks in advance

If a pupil usually has the same time each week, it’s a good idea to forward book the same lesson time in the upcoming weeks. Booking pupils in only one week in advance can be a real headache and prevents you from planning further ahead and can result in regular pupils losing their normal slot. Also, changing a pupil’s lesson time each week will often lead to them forgetting their lesson or cancelling at the last moment. Just pencilling in the pupils first name, or highlighting the reserved lesson in a different colour on electronic diaries will keep it reserved until the pupil confirms their regular booking. This will make it harder for you to double-book or give a regular slot away by accident and can be done for many weeks in advance. It’ll also help you identify what spaces you have left for your shift workers and new pupils.

TIP 5 – Subtly manipulate your diary

It’s can be a real pain when a pupil wants their driving lesson smack bang in the middle of the day when the rest of your day is free, especially if your other pupils are already booked in! Or perhaps you have a couple of lessons in the afternoon and another pupil books the first lesson of the day leaving you with a gap in the middle of the day. There’s an easy solution to this…

If the pupil can’t see your diary (if you’re using your phone, for example) then just offer the times you want to fill first, “I have either 10.15am or 1.45pm available on that day”.

If you use a tablet or paper diary and your pupil can see it, this becomes a bit trickier and they may point to the middle of an empty day asking if they can have that time. To help you make sure pupils book the lesson slots you want to fill first, and to make your diary appear busy (great if you’re starting up), add ‘fake’ names or shaded areas to areas of your diary that you’d like to fill last. This will mean pupils wanting to book in only have the opportunity to take the available time slots you want to fill first. For example, if the last lesson of the day is empty and you still have availability earlier in the day, use a fake pupil name and the pupil will have to choose one of the other available times. If it ever backfires and the pupil can only do the later lesson, you could always say you will ask if the other (fake) pupil will swap, (which they always will of course!) and it looks like you’re going the extra mile to accommodate your pupil.

On another note, putting any “serial cancellers” as the last lesson of the day will occasionally net you an early finish! You can work on replacing any of these pupils with more reliable ones as you get busier.

TIP 6 – Manage your coverage area

Try to narrow down your coverage area, where possible. Yes, that’s easier said than done for some people. If you’re a new ADI, you’ll probably have to start with a wide geographical area and narrow it down as you get busier. Or it may be that you live in an area that’s not densely populated.

Either way, if you cover lots of areas, is it possible to give lessons in one area on one day and another area on another day to avoid longer travelling times and higher fuel costs?

TIP 7 – Learn to say ‘NO’

I know what you’re thinking… “Say NO? You’re kidding right?!”

If you’re building up a new business, this isn’t normally an option. But if you’re working your socks off and you get yet another customer wanting to book lessons with you, you have a choice. Start work earlier, finish later, work your day off OR simply choose to not take on the work at that time. You could start a waiting list – if the pupil definitely wants to learn with you, they will wait. Even if they don’t wait, the supply of new pupils won’t come to a complete stop because you said no, there will always be more! Finally, saying ‘no’ is proof of your popularity – any pupils that you turn away because your waiting list is full will still be more than impressed by how great you must be!

Let us know what works for you. Do you manage to get the time off you want? Do you find yourself hanging around in between lessons? We love hearing from you, so please add your thoughts and other ADI Diary Management tips in the comments below.

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posted by Claire Wilmot

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Dealing with aggressive tailgaters!

Another great question was sent in to us this week – this time about dealing with aggressive drivers. Find more information about what to do and how to deal with aggressive tailgaters and angry drivers during a driving lesson.

“Hi Ged & Claire, I love reading all of your articles and love the long detailed answers you give. Any advice on dealing with other crazy people on the road?

I had a few moments recently when I thought I was going to get my head kicked in! For doing the speed limit! Doing 30 mph in a 30 zone, this person comes flying up behind, driving an inch from my bumper. We are doing the speed limit, so what can I do? I asked my learner to pull up on the left, but then the other driver pulls up alongside us and gives a mouthful about nothing! People turn into ‘gangsters’ when they get behind the wheel.

I had another incident the other day. My learner was giving way to oncoming traffic at a meeting point in the road where a sign indicates oncoming traffic has priority. Then this woman comes up behind staring into my mirror screaming the words “F***ING GO THEN!” several times! I pointed to the sign, but then she overtakes, bouncing up the island and nearly smashing into the car that we were giving way to!

And they say it’s young drivers that causes crashes. No. It’s other peoples stinking attitude. The ‘always in a hurry’ kind of attitude.

I know the best thing to do is just try to ignore it, but it really gets my adrenaline going. It’s that kind of feeling when somebody starts on you – fight or flight.

I’m sure I’m not the only ADI getting stick for not breaking the law?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance”

When people find out you’re a driving instructor, do you often hear them say, “Wow, you must have lots of patience”? It’s true. We do. And we probably all have a lot of patience when teaching our learners – after all, they’re not getting things wrong on purpose!

Our patience really gets tested, however, when dealing with impatience and aggression from other road users, and I totally understand your frustration. I think most driving instructors have the same frustrations too. Here are some ideas on how to minimise and deal with aggressive actions from others on the road.

Tips for Dealing with Aggressive Tailgaters and Angry Drivers!

Fit some in-car cameras

Photo courtesy of Mark Oliver’s Driving School

An increasing number of driving instructors are choosing to install forward- and rear-facing cameras in their training vehicle. These serve their purpose if you’re ever involved in a crash, as video footage can be invaluable for proving who was at fault. However, having a sign in the rear of your car stating that you have CCTV fitted can act as a great deterrent to aggressive tailgaters and angry drivers. A local instructor has the above “You’re on CCTV” sign on the rear of his car and we think it’s a great way of letting others know that their actions are being caught on camera. He says he has definitely noticed a reduction in the number of drivers being aggressive or displaying impatience and that fewer drivers follow too closely. In-car cameras range from inexpensive £15 models to all-singing-and-dancing High Definition, GPS & WiFi models costing around £350 – £400.

Not interested in getting an in-car camera? Well, even if you don’t have CCTV, a sticker stating that you do may be just as effective! 🙂

Add a sign or message to the rear of your car

A well thought-out sign or written message on the back of your car can help encourage good behaviour. The level of effectiveness may depend on the language used, and of course the temperament of the driver behind! More tips about prevention and dealing with aggressive tailgaters.

If I stop, can you? Some following drivers may see this as more of a challenge to their ability, “Of course I can!”

Keep your distance – This should encourage people to keep back, but with it being phrased as an order, some drivers may rebel against you telling them how to drive.

You were a learner once – Most drivers can empathise with this, but this message alone may be a little too subliminal. “Yes I was” they may think while they drive 10cm from your bumper!

DANGER! Sudden braking! – Whilst it might keep people off your bumper, this message may not be not as encouraging for potential pupils or your current learners who see it every time they come out to the car for their lesson.

Please be patient – This is better for encouraging drivers behind to be courteous and patient if it is read as a question rather than an order. However, some people reading it might just think, “No, I won’t be b***dy patient!” 😉

Thanks for being patient 🙂 – This is our personal favourite. We all like thanks and there is a presupposition here that the following driver has been patient, meaning that they are more likely to be. A smiley face confirms the tone in which it is meant.
Black Dragon Kick Boxing – I always wonder if drivers who advertise their local martial art club experience less aggression on the roads?! Some drivers become intimidating once they get behind the wheel, I wonder if they would do the same if they realise the driver in front could be a black belt! I always remember one of my instructors telling me of one of his experiences… During a lesson, he asked the pupil to pull over to have a polite word with the driver behind who was being aggressively impatient and quite verbal in the safety of his own car. The other driver couldn’t say “sorry” enough when he saw the massive body builder physique of the instructor that climbed out of the little Vauxhall Corsa!

Ditch the roof sign and try just L-plates

For some reason, many instructors report that using a roof sign can attract a greater number of other drivers ‘making poor decisions’ than when just displaying L plates alone. We’re not entirely sure if this is actually true or just a false perception. If it is true, it may be that others may:

a) Perceive that a learner driver will almost certainly be behind the wheel of the driving school car. In the case of a car with L-plates on, it could be being driven by a full licence holder who normally accompanies their son or daughter for private practice;

b) Consider that a driving school car is under more control due to a driving instructor being present. Parents with their son or daughter at the wheel have less ability to stop or control the car is something goes wrong. Therefore the risky or aggressive driver takes more chances around the driving school car;

c) Have been conditioned by parents, friends and peers to HATE learner drivers – the bright decals and roof sign are like a red rag to a bull for some people, and they will do ANYTHING to get past ‘that damn learner’.

Whatever the reason, we’d be interested to hear your views on this. Have you tried removing your roof sign and just using L-plates instead? Did it make any noticeable difference to the way other drivers behaved around you? Let us know your thoughts and experiences!

Route planning

If your learners feel they are being pushed into situations that they find difficult to deal with (or are not yet confident with), they are more likely to be hesitant and slow on the road. This will inevitably lead to following drivers trying their hardest to get past. The more your learner gets overtaken, or experiences aggression from other road users, the more it can affect their confidence and ability. This is a vicious circle. I had a few rear-end shunts in my first few years as an instructor and looking back, I know I was too tough pushing learners into situations they weren’t ready for. It’s an easy trap to fall into!

A polite gesture

A clear (and polite!) gesture to the driver behind may encourage a bit more patience. A raise of the hand to apologise or thank a driver after making a mistake (e.g. stalling) will often be appreciated and can very quickly eradicate any frustration or aggression on the part of the other driver(s). Be warned though, if the following driver is a bit further away, the exact meaning of the gesture may be misinterpreted!

Pull over

When driving myself, I will often pull over if I think a driver behind is becoming excessively agitated by my adherence to the speed limit. As professional drivers and instructors, we have to accept that other drivers don’t always like keeping to the speed limit. It’s not our job to police, and by stopping the following driver from overtaking, we could actually encourage a much more dangerous situation to develop.

So, if someone is following dangerously close behind on a driving lesson, there’s always the option to pull over to allow let them pass. If the learner comes to accept this as a perfectly normal thing to do under certain circumstances, they will feel more in control and have a good coping strategy. Better that than to have them constantly looking in the rear view mirror and worrying about the thoughts and feelings of the driver behind.

Reason it out

Putting yourself or your learner ‘in the shoes’ of the driver behind may help you and your learner empathise with the other driver’s thoughts and feelings. Could it be that the driver behind is late for work and has already been threatened with the sack if they turn up late one more time? Maybe he’s just got a call to say that his wife has been rushed into hospital? Maybe her child has had a nasty accident at school? Maybe they’re just desperate for the loo? The fact is, we’re not mind-readers, so we don’t know what is going on in the world of the other driver.

One day it may be us in a desperate rush to get somewhere and we might just drive a bit too close or take a risk we wouldn’t normally take. We’re not perfect, and neither is everyone else. Recognise and accept it.

Make a choice

You can’t necessarily control aggressive tailgaters and the other driver’s behaviour, but you can control your own. If you choose to retaliate and show anger or aggression in return, you’ll suffer from palpitations and increased blood pressure. You’ll be demonstrating exactly the type of behaviour that upset you in the first place. And worse still, frowning encourages wrinkles! 😉

Or, you can choose to be calm, not rise to it, remain neutral and enjoy the rest of your day… and suffer no extra wrinkles! The choice is yours.

Remember, if you have a pupil driving, you are a role model. You have an invaluable opportunity to lead by example. By remonstrating with other drivers and calling them ‘idiots’, ‘crap drivers’ (or worse), you are teaching them how to behave negatively behind the wheel. That’s certainly not going to do them any favours once they pass their driving test and are driving independently.

Angry Drivers and Aggressive Tailgaters – So how do you cope when other drivers follow too closely, display aggression or do daft things? How do you encourage your pupil to deal with it? What are you going to try to minimise aggression from other drivers? Please share your experiences and strategies in the comments box below so we can all learn from each other. We LOVE hearing from you!
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posted by Claire Wilmot

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Overtaking – Are your learners fully equipped?

Back when Ged and I were training to become ADIs, the steps for overtaking in ‘The Driving Manual’ were stated as MPSLMSM. This remained the case in seven editions of the updated version of the book (retitled, ‘The Official DSA Guide to Driving: The Essential Skills’). But in the 6th impression (released in 2013), this guidance mysteriously (and without explanation) changed to simply MSPSL

So which method is best, and which routine should we be teaching?

The ‘Old’ Guidance

The following extract is taken from the 6th edition of The Official DSA Guide to Driving: The Essential Skills, released in 2007):

Mirrors – Always check in your mirrors to assess the speed and position of traffic behind.

Position – Be near enough to the vehicle ahead to overtake smoothly when you’re ready, but not so close that you can’t get a good view of the road ahead.

Speed – Be fast enough to keep up with the vehicle in front and with enough reserve power to pass it briskly. You might need to change down to get extra acceleration when you’re ready to start overtaking.

Look – Assess the whole situation

• the state of the road

• what the driver ahead is doing or might be about to do

• any hazards

• the speed and position of oncoming vehicles

• speed difference between you and oncoming vehicles.

Mirrors – Check your mirrors again to reassess the situation. Check especially for motorcyclists as they approach very quickly and may have been hidden from view previously. Be aware of, and check, any blind spots by taking a quick sideways glance if necessary, before deciding to pull out to overtake. Never begin to overtake is another vehicle is overtaking you or is about to do so. Overtake only when you are sure it’s safe to do so.

Signal – Always give a signal. This helps

• drivers behind

• the driver you are overtaking

• drivers coming towards you.

Manoeuvre – Make a final check in front and behind. If it’s safe, pull out on a smooth easy line.

• overtake as quickly as you can

• Check your mirrors to see that you’re clear of the vehicle you’ve overtaken

• Move back to the left again on a smooth easy line, but avoid cutting in.

This is all sound advice, especially when overtaking on a two lane, two way road and to overtake would require the driver to cross onto the opposite side of the road.

The ‘New’ Guidance

The latest version (6th impression, 2013) of The Official DSA Guide to Driving: The Essential Skills recommends the MSPSL routine:

Mirrors – Check your mirrors to assess the situation behind and look well ahead.

Signal – Give a signal if it will help:

• drivers behind

• the driver you’re overtaking

• drivers coming towards you

Position – Be near enough to the vehicle ahead to overtake smoothly when you’re ready, but not so close that you can’t get a good view of the road ahead.

Speed – Be fast enough to keep up with the vehicle in front and with enough reserve power to pass it briskly. You might need to change down to get extra acceleration when you’re ready to start overtaking.

Look – Assess the whole situation

• the state of the road

• what the driver ahead is doing or might be about to do

• any hazards

• the speed and position of oncoming vehicles

• speed difference between you and oncoming vehicles.

Make a final check in front and behind. Check especially for motorcyclists as they can approach very quickly and may have been hidden from view previously. Be aware of, and check, any blind spots by taking a quick sideways glance if necessary, before deciding to pull out to overtake. Never begin to overtake is another vehicle is overtaking you or is about to do so. Overtake only when you are sure it’s safe to do so.

So why the change of guidelines for Overtaking?

We believe that each method has its place. Most overtaking opportunities arise on multi-lane roads. Because there are extra lanes to use, it’s not necessary to have to cross onto the opposite side of the road. For these types of road, the MSPSL routine is perfectly adequate. However, on two lane two-way roads, the MPSLMSM becomes more relevant and effective. It is imperative that the driver plans more thoroughly with the possibility of meeting oncoming traffic, and that they overtake quickly so they can return to their own side of the road safely and in good time.

It’s worth recognising how an overtaking manoeuvre can be different, depending on the type of road and layout, and discussing this with your pupils. Bear in mind that if you are working towards your ADI Part 3 test, or you have a Check Test and are including overtaking as part of the lesson plan (e.g. a Pass Plus module on Motorways, rural roads or dual carriageways), you must know the correct recommended sequence. We have met several DSA examiners who are not aware of the changes, so it’s a good idea to refer to both the old method and the updated method as recommended in The Official DSA Guide to Driving: The Essential Skills, and considering the distinction between them.

Something much more important!

Regardless of which routine is used, what doesn’t change is the importance of selecting a suitable place to overtake and judging a safe gap in approaching traffic, especially on a two lane, two way road.

The DECISION to overtake can be the killer, rather than the routine itself.

I always remember reading a local news story about a young driver who overtook another vehicle on one of the rural roads near to where we live. He had four of his friends in the car and he hit a single-decker bus coming the other way. The driver and two of his friends were killed instantly, another two were left in a critical condition. It was a shocking (yet all too common) story. I couldn’t help asking myself if we as driving instructors are doing all we can in order to reduce the chances of this happening to those we have taught to drive.

How can ADIs help?

When we discuss overtaking with ADIs coming to use for development coaching, many will say that they talk about overtaking with most of their learner drivers, but don’t cover it in much detail because practical opportunities to do so rarely arise.

It might be worthwhile for us all to consider how much depth we go into with regards to overtaking. After all, it’s a far more dangerous manoeuvre than all the reversing ones we spend so much time and focus on!

As an ADI, do you explore safe and unsafe places to overtake while out on the roads and the reasons that would make it unsafe or safe? For example:

“Would you consider it safe to overtake on this road? Why not?”

“Where might be suitable to overtake on this road?” “What makes that a good place to overtake?”

Also, do you explore how much time and distance would be needed to overtake safely?

“If we did need to overtake, which gap in the oncoming traffic do you think would be suitable?”

Once a gap is identified, a hypothetical overtake commentary can establish if it is a safe gap. For example:

“So we’d check our centre mirror and right mirror to look for anything overtaking us, maybe gear down for acceleration, signal right, check for anything overtaking us again, move out….. we’d be overtaking the car about now… oh look that car has reached us now!”

This would help the driver see how quickly the gap would close. You could then go on to explore possible consequences of overtaking without a sufficient gap. Do this often enough and the ‘calibration’ process of what constitutes a safe gap (or preferably a gap with NOTHING approaching!) will be better understood and judged by the driver in any future possible overtake scenarios. What’s really important is that they qualify as drivers with all the information and skills needed to make a safe decision… EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Returning to the tragic local story I mentioned earlier, we can only speculate whether or not the young driver’s instructor fully explored safe overtaking during their lessons together. If the instructor did cover this area sufficiently, then lack of knowledge and understanding may not have been a factor in the crash. Perhaps the driver just made the DECISION to overtake, regardless of the risks. Maybe he was showing off to his mates, was distracted or thought he was invincible, a lot of young people have the ‘it will never happen to me’ attitude. Perhaps his brain development was a factor – the brain’s pre-frontal cortex, which governs emotion, risk-taking and decision-making, does not fully mature until the age of 25.

However, if the instructor didn’t sufficiently cover safe overtaking, then this could be considered one of the contributory factors. As ADIs, we are all responsible for ensuring our learners pass their driving test equipped with the knowledge, understanding and skills to tackle a multitude of real life situations, beyond that which is required to pass the driving test. This includes safe overtaking.

I know it’s hard to cover all aspects of driving in the limited time available, and yes – it can sometimes be challenging to change the pre-formed attitudes and beliefs of the people we are working with. I am sure Ged and I have not always explored overtaking as much as I have mentioned here with our own pupils, particularly in the early years of our career – nobody’s perfect!

But we like to think that all the ADIs we have trained realise the importance of teaching safe overtaking and go out there making sure that all the novice drivers they work with know and understand how to overtake other vehicles.

If you don’t already explore overtaking in depth with your pupils, please start now – you might just save some lives.

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK! Do you teach your pupils how to overtake safely? What if no practical opportunities arise? How does your geographical location affect your ability to teach overtaking effectively? Please share your advice and experiences – we’d love to hear from you.

Finally, if you liked this article and know someone else that could benefit from it, please hit one of the social sharing buttons below!

posted by Claire Wilmot

h34 Comments

20 Top Test Tips for Driving Instructors!

A newly-qualified instructor recently asked me what they need to do on test day, so I decided to put down some helpful test tips for driving instructors so others can benefit from them too. If you’ve been teaching a while and have any other tips to share, please add them in the comments box at the bottom of this post!

Getting ready for driving test day starts well before the day itself. As an instructor, you want to make sure that everything is in place ready for your pupil’s practical test. Here are some tips so that test day goes as smoothly as can be for both of you.

Helpful Test Tips for Driving Instructors

As soon as the test booking has been made…

TOP TIP 1: If your pupil has booked the test themselves, ask them to print off and bring confirmation of booking (email or letter) to their next lesson. Double-check that the date, time and test centre they have booked are correct.

2-3 weeks before test day…

TOP TIP 2: Ask the pupil to bring along both parts of their driving licence to a lesson for you to check. This will make sure they know exactly where they are and won’t be rushing around trying to find them on test day! You might even want to ask them where they will put them and make a note of their ‘safe place’. It’s amazing how many say ‘I put them in safe place… I just can’t remember where!’

TOP TIP 3: Check the pupil’s eyesight – it may have deteriorated since the initial check you did with them on their first lesson. If in doubt, refer them to an optician.

TOP TIP 4: Run through the safety check questions, making sure they can open and close the bonnet without your assistance.

TOP TIP 5: Let the pupil know that you can sit in on their test. You can be there to see exactly what happens on their test and give extra feedback at the end as they probably won’t listen to the examiner properly after hearing they’ve passed! Letting them know about this before test day will allow them to decide if they would like you there or not rather than being put on the spot in the test centre on the day. Also let them know that a supervising examiner will need to sit in on tests from time to time. Reassure them that the supervising examiner will be there to assess the examiner conducting the test only, and they won’t actually be ‘tested’ by two examiners! It may be an idea to practice carrying a passenger on a lesson or two so they get used to having an extra person in the car.

The day before test day…

More test tips for driving instructors.

TOP TIP 6: Advise the pupil to get an early night, have something to eat on the day of the test, and make sure they’re drinking enough (non-alcoholic!) fluids to keep properly hydrated.

TOP TIP 7: Check your car over. I know most of this goes without saying, but check all the lights are working, check the tyres have sufficient tread depth, are correctly inflated and free from cuts/bulges, check fluid levels, washers and wipers and make sure you have a valid tax disc displayed. Make sure your car is clean and tidy. Finally, make sure the L-plates are on! Obvious I know, but if you take off your roof sign whilst cleaning the car, it’s easy to forget to put it back on, especially if it’s out of sight! Carry a spare set of L-plates in case one goes AWOL and a spare set of bulbs in case you need to make a last-minute bulb change (assuming your car doesn’t need almost complete dismantling to do so, like some do!).

The big day!

TOP TIP 8: Make sure your pupil has:

Either both parts of their driving licence (check the issue numbers match), or their old-style paper licence and valid passport;
Any recent change of address filled in at the bottom of the counterpart;
Theory test pass letter;
Booking confirmation (again check test centre, date and time);
Glasses or contact lenses, if required;
Drink/food (bananas are a great natural energy booster). Dehydration leads to poor levels of focus and concentration, so it’s worthwhile you having a fresh bottle of water to hand in case they’ve not had much to drink that day;
Anything that may help them keep calm, e.g. music, childhood teddy, herbal calming remedies, bottle of vodka (only joking!)

TOP TIP 9: Aside from the necessary paperwork, put all valuables, handbags/man bags/rucksacks in the boot out of sight. You don’t want to be doing this at the test centre in full view of any ‘rogues’! It’s a good idea to encourage pupils to leave their valuables in the boot throughout the test rather than leave them on view on the back seat. Thieves are great opportunists and the car will be stationary several times on test.

TOP TIP 10: Use the pre-test time wisely. This will depend on the needs and desires of your pupil. Some won’t want a full 1 hour lesson before test as they may get tired. Others may like the full hour as a warm-up and to go over any last-minute concerns. Some may benefit from you giving a demo-drive with commentary, others will benefit from a tea or coffee. Make the decision between you as to what will work best for them.

TOP TIP 11: If you do opt for a regular pre-test lesson, keep it simple – mistakes may occur due to pre-test nerves and lacking 100% focus on the driving task. This is absolutely normal, so let your pupil know beforehand that it’s normal too. It can be a good idea to avoid doing any manoeuvres at this point – if one (or more) goes wrong, the pupil may go into meltdown! Stay close to the test centre area prior to the test, particularly if it’s not your regular test centre and aren’t familiar with the area or there are lots of road works.

TOP TIP 12: Be positive with your language. Prepare your pupil’s mindset for success rather than failure. Encourage the pupil to be positive, focussing on WHEN they pass rather than IF they pass. Reassure them that if they make a mistake it doesn’t mean they have failed, so they should forget the mistake and carry on so they can minimise any further errors. Let the pupil know that the examiner will write on the test sheet throughout the test – this doesn’t necessarily mean the pupil is making mistakes – the examiner just needs to mark off what has been covered throughout the test to make sure he has assessed everything required.

TOP TIP 13: If your test centre doesn’t have toilet facilities, ask the pupil in plenty of time if they need a toilet break so you have time to call at a supermarket or fast-food restaurant. Let the pupil know that the test centre doesn’t have toilet facilities so that they realise the importance of letting you know in advance. Nervousness can cause all sorts of ‘toilet trouble’, so be sensitive to the fact your pupil may need more than one visit! Another one of the important test tips for driving instructors.

TOP TIP 14: Arrive at the test centre 5-10 minutes before the test appointment to make sure you can find somewhere to park in plenty of time, allowing time for other learners’ to bay park if your test centre has a car park. Many test centres request that test candidates arrive no earlier than 10 minutes prior to test to avoid congestion in the car park, so do take note of any notices in the waiting room to such effect.

TOP TIP 15: Check if your pupil wants you present on test, if not, ask if you can be present at the end to listen to the examiner’s debrief.

TOP TIP 16: In the test centre, make sure your pupil has both parts of their driving licence ready for the examiner to inspect (remove it from any plastic wallet or envelope).

TOP TIP 17: If you are sitting in on test, sit behind the driver or behind the examiner – whichever you prefer (each have their benefits). You must make no attempt to communicate or signal to your pupil and keep movements to a minimum. If the examiner suspects you are trying to help the pupil, the test will be terminated. So no coughing every time a mirror check is needed!

TOP TIP 18: If you have not sat in on the test, be nearby when your pupil returns. Make sure you’re in view of the examiner. Wait until the examiner signals to you to come over to listen to the debrief – due to data protection laws, they need to first check with your pupil that they would like you present for the debrief.

TOP TIP 19: The majority of the time, an instructor will drive their pupil home after the test to allow them time to relax after passing (or sob after being unsuccessful). This can also be a time for them to phone friends and relatives to let them know of the result. Bear in mind that it’s a good idea for you to remove your roof sign and/or L-plates if your pupil will be on the phone – it’s amazing how many members of the public will incorrectly assume that “the instructor in that car gives lessons whilst on the phone”.

TOP TIP 20: Some instructors allow their pupil to drive home after test – this is a great opportunity for newly-qualified drivers to experience driving with extreme emotion, whether that be elation, giddiness, happiness, frustration, anger or sadness. In a safe environment, you can help the pupil become aware of how their emotions affect their driving, what the consequences might be and discuss what they can do to keep safe on the roads when feeling emotional. It might just help them make the right decision about getting behind the wheel when emotionally-charged at some point in the future when you’re not there with them. There should be no insurance issues if the drive home after test is used for driver development – many driving school insurance policies will prohibit under 25’s from driving for social, domestic or pleasure purposes, so make sure the time is used for the correct purpose.

Our test day faux pas!

Read this and use the test tips for driving instructors to avoid costly problems like these below on testing day.

Turning up a day late for a test after trusting the date and time my pupil had told me. Lesson learned: always ask to see their written confirmation!

Unbeknown to me and my PDI, whilst checking her driving licence on the walk over to my car, the card part fell out of the plastic wallet and it was left in the car park. Lesson learned: always ask them to show you their licence and let them keep hold of it. An expensive £111 lesson for me!

Finding out that a brake light on the PDI’s car is not working 10 minutes before a Part 2 test. Lesson learned: Regardless of how new or old a car is, or who owns it, ALWAYS carry out a thorough vehicle check. Also know where the nearest garage is!

Driving off from the car wash without my L-plates! Lesson learned: always carry a spare pair!

Booking a test at a test centre I have never used before and then wandering too far away from the test centre and getting lost! Lesson learned: stay close to the test centre area and/or have the address already programmed into the sat nav.

CONFESSIONS OF A DRIVING INSTRUCTOR! What driving test day blunders have you made or witnessed? Please share so others can learn from them (and perhaps have a chuckle at the same time!)

Finally, if you liked this article and know someone else that could benefit from it, please hit one of the social media sharing buttons!

posted by Claire Wilmot

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What makes SUCCESS?

Things have changed a lot in the 16 years I’ve been part of the driving instruction industry, and the way in which I have run my driving school has had to change keep up. One thing that hasn’t changed though is my definition of success.

From starting as an independent driving instructor as soon as I qualified, to starting a multi-car school 4 years later, I’ve learnt to adapt along the way. So what are those changes I’ve had to make? I’d like to share them with you, as I’m hoping you may find some of the following information useful.

The Road to Success

Back in 1997, I set up as “Claire Moores’ School of Motoring”. Right from the start I was incredibly busy. I think I had the low number of ADIs and the large number of 17 year olds partially to thank. Other things that I think contributed were:

Being female – there were less female driving instructors to choose from.
Using my name – gives a more personal touch and learners looking for a female instructor knew from looking at my car (and looking at me hopefully!) that I was a female driving instructor.
Doing a good job – Recommendations contributed to probably 99% of my work.
My desire to better myself – Launching myself headlong into a journey of CPD, this made me a better ADI and my confidence grew with everything I learnt.

4 years later in 2001, I set up a driving school with a business partner, Glyn. We looked to build a multi-car school. This went from strength to strength, with 26 instructors at the height. So what did we do to ensure that outcome?

I was responsible for training most of the instructors we had working at the school
We had a great team of instructors
I used to nag our instructors to do CPD, and not always with a positive outcome!
We spent heavily on advertising – a whopping £9000 a year on our Yellow Pages advert alone!
My business partner and I were excellent at converting calls into customers
We later had to go online and our first website was launched in 2005
Shopping centre promotions proved a big hit

Things were going good until the recession hit in 2008/2009. Business got harder and supporting the amount of instructors we had was going to get tough. We had to adapt.

Changes we made:

Now all the cars were to be sign written and about 6 instructors didn’t want their cars done (they were their own cars), so we had to part ways
Prices were reduced from an earlier price rise a year or two before
We introduced a first lesson half price offer
A second and better website was launched
Directory advertising continued
We had stands at trade shows
We encouraged the instructors to promote themselves and get more recommendations and introduced a franchise review where the franchise was reduced the less work they took directly from us.

At the lowest point during the recession, we had 13 instructors and from that point onwards it was about growing organically. We built up again steadily and today we have 20 instructors. So what has worked and what hasn’t? We have always monitored where new learners found out about us and this helps target the right kind of marketing. Here are our findings:

What doesn’t work well?

Newspaper advertising: I did this once when I was independent and got one new learner – I didn’t bother with it again after that! As a multi-car school, we tried it several times without much success. My guess is that not many 17 year olds read the newspaper! Is it where parents may look? Possibly in days gone by, but probably not now in this age of technology.
Directory advertising: This worked well for a number of years pre-internet. Almost everyone used the books to find what they needed. Again, in this age of technology, the books have become a poor investment for new customer leads. We haven’t used them for about 4 years.
Leaflet drops: These are notorious for their low conversion rate. Does anyone who lives at that house want to learn to drive? And if so, will they see your leaflet before it goes in the bin? Is it likely to be filed ready for when someone in that house is ready to learn to drive? The probable place it will be filed is in the recycling bin!

What can work:

Directory web sites: In my opinion, not a good way to invest. Most people searching for a driving school want to see a driving school website in as little clicks as possible, and going through a directory only lengthens the process. However, sites that allow reviews can work well and, if linked to your website, can boost your search rankings.
Trade shows: If targeted properly these can get leads, especially if you are willing to give away lessons as a prize draw; it’s a great way of getting email addresses from potential future customers.
‘Staff discounts’ for people working at a particular place. For example, offering discounts for anyone working at your local McDonalds (most people working there will be in your target age range).
Printed butty bags: At carefully located butty shops near colleges, your name will be seen literally every college day by all the students buying their lunch (or dinner depending on where you’re from!).
Shopping centre promotions: Our local shopping centre was within walking distance of the two main colleges in Oldham and our stand always used to be outside Greggs, which was very handy when the students were queuing to get their lunch!

What does work (for us anyway!):

Recommendations! This continues to be one of our main sources of work. An excellent reputation virtually guarantees referral after referral.
Sign-written cars: Especially if Mum or Dad are responsible for finding a driving instructor for their son or daughter, it can create a more ‘professional’ image. I would guess that the majority of Mums and Dads booking with BSM and AA do so because they ‘appear’ to be the more professional and more established driving schools. It also makes cars stand out and people notice them more. I’ve lost count of how many times people say to me ‘I see your cars EVERYWHERE!’
A top ranking website: This is a MUST for us. A website will only work if it features highly on search engines when potential customers look for ‘driving lessons Oldham’ and such like. I think it’s also important to have good content and make it customer focused rather than instructor led (where have we heard that before?!).
Facebook and other social media – Love it or loathe it, it’s where our potential 17 year old customers interact. I’m still learning how to use it (and always will be!), but using Facebook has been the one big most recent change that has found its way into our marketing strategies.
Under 17 Driver Training – We have run our ‘Head Start Programme’ for 15 and 16 year olds since 2003. It really helps younger drivers get to grips with the basics of car control in a safe, off-road environment before they start driving on the road at 17. When they do turn 17, the majority of them book their driving lessons with us.

None of these strategies would work for long though without an excellent team of instructors to back us up. Who you choose to represent your driving school is one of the most important business decisions you can make. Anyone who doesn’t measure up has to go; you can’t afford for the reputation of your instructors to be tarnished by one that isn’t doing anything less than a great job!

I know there are many other things that you can do to market a driving school, either as a sole trader or a multi-car school, but really think about where to spend your time and money. Find a few things that make a big difference and work on them rather than doing lots of little things that make a small difference.

In future posts we will look at what works well in more detail.

So what’s my interpretation of ‘success’ in business? If you’re still interested and you’ve read this all the way to the end……

‘Success is finding something you love to do, doing it well and always striving to do it better. Success for me isn’t about financial reward, it’s about achieving excellence and being the best!’

ACTION STEP: Write down YOUR definition of ‘success’ in business. List the strategies that are working for you at bringing in new business. What strategies aren’t working so well? What new strategies will you start to implement? When will you start?

We’d love to hear your stories of what strategies are working well for you and your driving school, so please add your comments below. And remember, if you liked this article and know someone else that could benefit from it, please hit one of the social sharing buttons below!

posted by Claire Wilmot

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Bay Parking Manoeuvre – Room for Error?

The Bay Parking Manoeuvre (bay park exercise) can be one of the most frustrating to teach and to learn. Getting the car in between the two white lines first time isn’t always easy, especially from a 90 degree angle to the bay, and when there are no other parked cars in the adjacent bays to help guide you.

But does it have to be done this way? Not at all!

Two common myths about the bay parking manoeuvre among learner drivers (and even some instructors) seem to be that on driving test day:

1. You have to park from a 90 degree angle, and
2. You will fail your driving test if you don’t get the car into the bay in one movement.

Bay Parking Manoeuvre Techniques

A recent trainee driving instructor I was training believed the above to be true because she was told this by her previous ADI trainer. Many other instructors will have been told the same by their trainers. Inevitably, this gets passed on to the learner driver. They too believe they have to carry out the bay park from a 90 degree angle and complete it first time.

The ‘90 degree’ method

Reproduced with permission of DriverActive

The ‘90 degree’ method is often the preferred option by instructors for the following reasons:

It can be easier to develop a ‘method’
It helps them relate to the reverse around a corner exercise
It can encourage the learners to not rely on their mirrors as much.

It can be easier to use reference points from a right angle to the bay, but this relies on the driver starting the manoeuvre from the same distance from the bays, and the width of the bays being the same in each car park. If these conditions are met, this method regularly results in success.

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posted by Claire Wilmot

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‘The Split Second’ – Can You Help Make a Difference?

Chris Dale Wouldn’t it be great if we could help reduce or even eliminate the crash rates for young drivers?

Road crashes are the biggest killer of young people. In 2009, 11 young people were killedand 125 more were seriously injured every week in Great Britain.

Chris Dale was one of those killed. He was hit as he crossed a road in Oldham by a young speeding driver, showing off to his 2 female passengers. Read a news article about the incident here.

Becca, Chantel & Charlotte

Charlotte Kilroy & Chantel Birtwistle of Oldham Youth Council decided something needed to be done. They, along with Chris’ sister, Becca Dale created ‘Every Life Matters – The Chris Dale Campaign’ (ELM).

They have campaigned tirelessly with fantastic results. After 8 deaths on the same stretch of road, ELM succeeded in their campaign for not one but two speed cameras to be erected close to where Chris and others were killed.

[Read more…]

Is Starting a Driving Instructor Franchise Right For You?

What Would a Driving Instructor Joining Your Driving School Need?

What Do YOU Want From a Driving Instructor?

What will you offer?

What if the Driving Instructor Leaves My Franchise?

Finding A Good Driving Instructor

The ‘Silent Conversation’

A painful experience

Developing Coping Strategies:

Example 1: Looking for a POSITIVE RESPONSE

Example 2: Using observation links

ATTITUDE WARNING!

Are you up for the challenge?

‘Bottom-up’ instruction

‘Top-down’ instruction

LOOK

SEE

RESPOND

ADI Diary Management – Top 7 Tips

TIP 1 – Decide on your hours of work… and STICK TO THEM!

TIP 2 – Pre-plan your diary

TIP 3 – Encourage pupils to take longer lessons

TIP 4 – Book pupils in for several weeks in advance

TIP 5 – Subtly manipulate your diary

TIP 6 – Manage your coverage area

TIP 7 – Learn to say ‘NO’

Tips for Dealing with Aggressive Tailgaters and Angry Drivers!

Fit some in-car cameras

Add a sign or message to the rear of your car

Ditch the roof sign and try just L-plates

Route planning

A polite gesture

Pull over

Reason it out

Make a choice

The ‘Old’ Guidance

The ‘New’ Guidance

So why the change of guidelines for Overtaking?

Something much more important!

How can ADIs help?

Helpful Test Tips for Driving Instructors

As soon as the test booking has been made…

2-3 weeks before test day…

The day before test day…

The big day!

Our test day faux pas!

The Road to Success

Bay Parking Manoeuvre Techniques

The ‘90 degree’ method

Helpful Blog Posts