Coaching is not just a case of asking questions (which instructors do already as part of their everyday teaching).  It is about asking questions which raise the awareness and responsibility from within the coachee.  There are many tools that instructors can use from within the coaching toolbox and the effects of using coaching with learners can be quite profound.

Sir John Whitmore & Ged Wilmot

To date, there has been little information available about coaching specifically for driving instructors. Last year, the University of East London ran its pilot course – a Postgraduate qualification in ‘Coaching for Driver Development’ in which a handful of the best professional driver trainers and coaches from all aspects of the driving world were invited to attend.  I was fortunate enough to be one of the delegates invited to attend that course, along with my good friend and colleague Kathy Higgins of Insight2Drive. We have recognised that courses and workshops for driving instructors are few and far between and so we have developed a one day coaching course specifically designed for Approved Driving Instructors.

The one day ‘Practical Coaching Techniques for Driving Instructors’ interactive workshop offers driving instructors essential information which can be incorporated into the everyday work of an ADI.  The content will include basic principles and benefits of using coaching in driver training, what makes a good coach, and lots of practical coaching techniques.  There are two workshop dates currently available, Monday 22nd February 2010 in Oldham and Thursday 18th March 2010 in Liverpool.

Both courses will be run by me (Ged Wilmot), Claire Wilmot and Kathy Higgins. Having a wealth of driver coaching experience, we are excited to be able to offer such a course to ADI’s throughout the North West of England.

The course fee is £139, which includes lunch and refreshments. Spaces are limited and going fast, so you’ll need to act quickly!

If you would like further information about the course, please contact Claire Wilmot on 07956 104160 or complete the contact form on the Active Driving Solutions website.

We are officially 8 years old today!  Latics Driver Training was launched on 5^th November 2001 by business partners Claire Wilmot and Glyn Crossley who have more than 25 years experience in driver training between them.  The company has expanded steadily over the years to become Oldham’s biggest and best driving school and has helped thousands of happy customers pass their test.  Our team of dedicated instructors and our happy customers have been paramount to the success of Latics Driver Training.

Over the last 12 months, we have been busy expanding and offering new products.  Director Claire Wilmot has visited local schools to give presentations and deliver road safety messages, our new ‘Pass in a Week Crash Course’ has been launched, and all the vehicles have been signwritten with the fantastic new Latics Driver Training branding.

Over the next 12 months, we aim to deliver the same high standard of driving instruction and customer service.  We will also be launching our new and improved pupil progress system and updating our instructors with some of the new breed of extremely successful coaching methods being introduced to the driver training industry.

The driving school provides driving lessons in Middleton, Ashton, Rochdale, Oldham, Saddleworth, Hyde, Manchester and most surrounding areas.  See our website for more information.

BBC Radio 1’s newsbeat reports the story of Adam, an 18-year-old who works for his father’s waste company.  Until now he’s been helping out, knowing that it would probably be a while before he got to drive the lorries himself. But today, he took his first lesson in an LGV.

Adam said: “I was over the moon that I could do it. It’s just better money, it’s just better everything. It means more responsibility.”

He says the lessons are hard: “They make you reverse into really tight gaps, it’s quite nerve-wracking.  You’ve got to drive around narrow streets, you feel a bit worried about what you’re doing. But it’s all good.”

An extra qualification has also been brought in – the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), and all professional lorry drivers will need to have one.  For more information on Driver CPC, click here.

But even with all the extra training, is 18 still too young to drive a vehicle of this size?  Adam doesn’t think so: “I should be alright because I’ve got more driving experience anyway.  Driving this means I should be a better driver for later on in the future.”

Jo Tanner from the Freight Transport Association (FTA) also thinks 18 is a suitable age: “You don’t get many people trying to do a hand-brake turn in an HGV.  There are no boy racers behind the wheel of an HGV truck but there may well be behind the wheel of a souped-up hatchback.”

However, concerns have been expressed about just how many driving jobs are out there for teenagers who do get their licence.

Jo said this should improve once the recession’s over: “Sadly there have been an awful lot of redundancies in the industry, so when the recession is over we’re concerned there’ll be a severe skills shortage because the older drivers will have gone into retirement.

“So having these younger drivers come in now and get trained up, so they’ll be ready and raring to go when the jobs are there, is great news.”

Claire Wilmot, Managing Director of Latics Driver Training believes otherwise: “Statistically, the 17 to 24-year-old age group is of the highest risk, mainly due to poor decsion-making by the driver.  Allowing 18-year-olds an LGV licence could potentially have disasterous consequences if the wrong decision is made behind the wheel.  There’s a big difference between the outcome of crashing a small car and crashing an LGV.”

What do you think?

Source:  BBC Website

Directors Claire Wilmot & Glyn Crossley started the driving school in association with Oldham Athletic Football Club back in 2001, and have seen the company grow over the years to become the biggest and best driving school in the Oldham area.

In 2001, Latics School of Motoring (as it was then known) simply consisted of 3 instructors – Claire Wilmot, Glyn Crossley, and Judy Moores (Claire’s mum), who covered the Oldham area. Now in 2008, Latics Driver Training has 26 instructors throughout the borough, and Latics is now able to provide driving lessons to pupils over a much larger area, including Rochdale, Ashton under Lyne, Middleton, Failsworth and Saddleworth.

Sophie Holland, Latics Driver Training’s Office Manager, who joined the team in 2007, has played a pivotal role in the growth of the business over the last 12 months, and our success has been down to a lot of hard work, a fantastic team of driving instructors, and of course to all of our students.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LATICS DRIVER TRAINING!