The Public and Commercial Services Union voted in favour of strike action and an overtime ban.

General secretary Mark Serwotka said: “These cuts, which will see loyal civil and public servants lose tens of thousands of pounds if they are forced out of a job, are more about crude politicking than making savings.

“We have suggested ways in which the Government can make these savings whilst protecting the rights of existing members, yet it seems intent on penalising the people who keep this country running.”

Changes to redundancy and compensation agreements will see staff lose entitlements and redundancy pay.  Further strike dates may be finalised when the union’s national executive committee meet next week.

Candidates with driving tests booked for either the 8th or 9th March should contact the DSA on 0300 200 1122 for further guidance.

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.

The Liverpool Daily Post reported that between April and September this year, police gave out tickets to more than 20,000 drivers for using handheld mobiles while in charge of their vehicles.

Even a driving instructor was among those hit with an £60 penalty and three points on their licence. The driving instructor was teaching a learner driver at the time!

Merseyside Police warned that the number of killed or seriously injured on the road could potentially increase unless they enforced the law. The cause of accidents while driving is not recorded, so there is no available data for how many people may have perished on UK roads because of mobile use.

Police authority members and city leaders said the number of offenders caught represented just “the tip of the iceberg” and suggested the true number of drivers putting lives at risk was much higher. In fact, the problem is so great, the force’s central ticket office is “operating at maximum capacity due to the high level of enforcement”.

Figures show that between April last year and March this year, 14,386 people were caught using a handheld while driving, that’s around one in every 100 people in Merseyside.

Merseyside Police Chief Inspector, Chris Markey said: “Using a mobile phone while driving makes you four times more likely to crash so I am sure the public will understand why we are so determined to stop people from doing so.

“The number of fixed-penalty notices issued last year to motorists committing this type of offence showed this is a top priority for the force and we will continue to crack down on this problem. They are not only risking their safety, but the safety of innocent motorists and pedestrians.

“However, like drink driving was years ago, using a mobile phone at the wheel – despite clearly being dangerous and illegal – is still viewed by some people as acceptable.”

A meeting was held at DSA’s Headquarters with ADI representative organisations on 24^th September 2009. At the meeting, the DSA responded to the objections raised by ADI’s and ADI organisations to the original proposal of making it mandatory for supervising drivers to accompany candidates on all driving tests.

DSA Chief Executive Rosemary Thew explained that the DSA had reflected on the points raised.  Chief Operating Manager Brian Gilhooley read out the following statement:

“The proposal that candidates should be required to take an observer with them on their practical car driving test from October 2010 has generated a great deal of debate. DSA has received comments from a variety of stakeholders and has met with the ADI Consultative Groups and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). We have listened carefully to all the views expressed. We remain convinced that an observer sitting in on test will enhance the learning process, which, in turn, will provide road safety benefits. We recognise, however, that there are valid reasons why an approach based on education and incentivisation might be preferable to mandating through regulation at this stage.

“So this is the approach we suggest: at the start of the test, driving examiners will ask all candidates if they would like their driving instructor (or another observer, such as a parent, guardian or friend who has taught the candidate to drive) to sit in on their test. The examiner will then ask the candidate if they would like their instructor be present for the test result and debrief. This will allow candidates to take advantage of the opportunities available to support their ongoing learning and development, but will leave the final decision with them.

“From the feedback received on this issue we also recognise that a full review of the minimum test vehicle (MTV) for Cat B tests should be carried out. However, a mandatory change to the MTV would be a long process and we want you to work with us on this. In the meantime, we will seek to develop a set of guidelines to help to deal with the health and safety issues raised by some of the vehicles now in use. This will ensure that we can continue to maintain the integrity of the test through quality assurance and check testing.

“We want to work in partnership with the driver training profession to help candidates get the most from their training and from their practical test experience. We want candidates to understand that driving instructors and driving examiners are professional experts working together to help them to be safe and responsible drivers with the overall aim of improving road safety.

“We hope that you will work with us to support and promote this approach by encouraging your members to always:

• observe their pupils’ tests

• listen to the examiner’s debrief, to help inform their pupils’ ongoing learning and development

• display their ADI badge on test.

“We would value your response to this proposal. The choice remains with the candidate and this will be explained to them in all correspondence relating to their driving test. We know that many ADIs already accompany candidates and make themselves available for the debrief. Displaying the ADI badge will still be voluntary.”

At Latics, we already encourage our instructors accompany their pupils on test if the pupil wishes them to.  The assessment nature of the driving test at the moment means that candidates normally only get feedback on what went wrong on their test from the examiner whether they pass or fail .  Hearing from the instructor what they did well on the test goes a long way to restoring confidence for when they drive for the first time on the road alone.

Following a change in the law regarding the display of car tax discs, there is now a 5 day period of grace given to vehicle owners to allow them to buy their tax discs online, providing they have applied for a new disc before the old one expires.

Colin Maddock, Head of DSA Chief Executive’s Private Office confirms that “examiners have been given an instruction to take a driving test on any vehicle if the tax disc is up to five days out of date.  They will not ask to see proof that a tax disc has been ordered online”.

The new pack contains cards, leaflets and booklets full of information about their new career.  It has among other things, useful information about check tests, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and a DVD for L test candidates – Are you ready?

Charles Morton, Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors for DSA, said: “We have listened to feedback from ADIs, which indicated that when they first qualified, they would have found a pack like this useful, as it contains information about how to make the most of their new career and help their pupils.

“The pack is designed to be glove box-sized so that ADIs can have it readily to hand. They will also be able to add any ‘pull-out-and-keep’ brochures we publish in Despatch magazine, and there is room for them to insert their own useful information.”

Although all new ADI’s will be sent the pack, those who registered within the last six months will have to request a pack to be sent to them.  At the moment, ADI’s who qualified longer than 6 months ago will not be able to request the pack.  ADI’s will have to wait and see if the DSA makes the pack readily available to those already qualified.

If you are eligible, you may obtain a pack by emailing adireg@dsa.gsi.gov.uk or writing to: DSA, The Axis Building, 112 Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham, NG1 6LP.

For information or advice on becoming a driving instructor, visit www.laticsdrivertraining.com or our sister company which provides ADI Training & Development www.activedrivingsolutions.com

Well, the DSA have now offered these helpful instructions on the best way for ADIs to contact them.

When you call the DSA’s contact centre, make sure you use the fast track and callback assist.  It’s easy and will save you time (and money)!

1. Call 0300 200 1122 and dial one of these options:

• All theory tests – dial 11.
• Practical test enquiry and booking (including ADIs) – dial 25.

2. If they don’t answer your call after 60 seconds you will be offered callback assist.  This will save your place in the queue so you can hang up and get on with your day.

3. You will need to confirm the number you want them to call you back on. It can be a landline or mobile, and it doesn’t have to be the number you’re calling from at the time.

4. Speak your name and hang up when you’re told to.

As soon as you reach the front of the queue they will call you back. And don’t worry if you’re on the phone, as they will try three times.

If your number’s been engaged and you haven’t heard back from them within 30 minutes from the moment you hung up, you will need to go back to step one.

The changes in legislation were prompted by the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002.

Under new legislation from July 2010, the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) have powers to bar unsuitable people from undertaking paid or volunteer work with children (up to age 18) and vulnerable adults.

ISA registration uses data collected by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to decide if a person is unsuitable.  Any person who has to apply for an enhanced CRB for work purposes will automatically have to gain ISA registration which means that all driving instructors will have to comply with the scheme.  It also means that to comply with the ‘fit and proper person’ requirement for Driving Standards Agency (DSA) registration, anyone starting the qualification process to become a driving instructor from July 2010 will have to have an enhanced CRB check and gain ISA registration, even before they intend to teach either on a trainee licence or a full licence.

Existing driving instructors will have until 2015 to register.

Registration costs £64 and is for life.

But pass rates mean nothing when young drivers pass their tests and go on to have crashes.  The facts:

• An 18-year-old driver is more than three times as likely to be involved in a crash as a 48 year-old.
• One in five new drivers has a crash within six months of passing their test.

So at long last, it appears that the DSA are supporting the approaches that many driver trainers like myself have been pushing for for years – progressing from short-term instructional methods which tend to help learners pass the driving test, towards more active-learning methods which prepare learners for solo driving and to foster ongoing learning after passing their driving test.

The HERMES project began in March 2007 and will finish in March 2010.  Its main aim is to create a short 3-5 day training course for driving instructors to allow them to develop their ‘coaching” skills.  Click here to read the full state of the art report on “Coaching and optimal communication skills” for driving instructors – I would strongly recommend that all driver trainers read it, because this is the future of our industry.

I will be going down to the London next week for an exclusive Driver Coaching event with Sir John Whitmore and Dr Jonathan Passmore, along with 15 other leading industry specialists.  I will keep you up-to-date with what I find out, so keep checking the blog for more information