Civil Servants, including Driving Test Examiners are planning a 48 hour strike on 8th and 9th March 2010 following a long-running row over changes to the civil service compensation scheme.
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.
On Tuesday, Lansdowne Venture Group (LVG) incorporating Red Driving School, Red Instructor Training and Red Fleet Training was placed into Administration whilst a sale of the company as a going concern is pursued.
The company which was founded in 1992 has 22 instructor training colleges throughout the UK. LVG also offers accountancy services to driving instructors under the FBTC brand and publishes the driving instruction industry magazine ‘ADI News’.
Red Driving School recently featured on ITV’s Tonight Programme, ‘How to Blow Your Redundancy’, during which it was alleged that they were making false claims about earning potential as a Red driving instructor.
LVG’s instructor training division (formerly known as ‘The Instructor College’), has been responsible for training thousands of potential driving instructors, but with the Part 3 pass rate at only 28%, many will not have qualified.
The number of Approved Driving Instructors on the Driving Standards Agency Register has increased dramatically from 29,000 in 1999 to over 43,000 in 2008. The number of ADI’s currently on the Register is unknown.
For further information on the Administration of LVG Ltd, click here.
Following vehicle recall notices issued by Toyota and Peugeot Citroen, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has announced conditions for allowing affected vehicles on the driving test.
Recall notices affect the following vehicles with the specified build dates:
Toyota
AYGO (Feb 2005 – Aug 2009)
iQ (Nov 2008 – Nov 2009) – already considered unsuitable for test.
Yaris (Nov 2005 – Sep 2009)
Auris (Oct 2006 – 5 Jan 2010)
Corolla (Oct 2006 – Dec 2009)
Verso (Feb 2009 – 5 Jan 2010)
Avensis (Nov 2008 – Dec 2009)
RAV4 (Nov 2005 – Nov 2009)
Peugeot 107 (Feb 2005 – Aug 2009)
Citroen C1 (Feb 2005 – Aug 2009)
In total, Toyota and Peugeot Citroen are recalling around 320,000 UK-basedvehicles. As yet, VIN number ranges have not been released.
Using these cars on the driving test
If one of the vehicles affected is presented for test, it will only be conducted if either:
the vehicle has a manual transmission gearbox and is fitted with dual controls to help the examiner control the car in the unlikely event of a failure
documentation is supplied to show that the remedial work has been carried out – this will usually be in the form of the Toyota or Peugeot Citroen recall letter stamped by the respective dealer and containing written confirmation
Candidates who cannot proceed with their test should contact DSA customer services to arrange for their test to be rebooked once the remedial work has been done.
As there has been no prior warning of this action, if the test is not conducted the fee will be refunded or a free retest given on the first occasion that a specific vehicle is presented for test. Customers can ring DSA customer service on 0300 200 1122.
Many driving instructors will already be aware of coaching and indeed, some are already incorporating it into their lessons. ‘Coaching’ is the big buzz word at the moment in the industry with the DSA attempting to incorporate new and improved techniques into teaching and testing with a view to creating much more responsible drivers than are created using traditional ‘instructional’ methods. Indeed, ‘coaching of driving skills and methods’ is listed in the competency framework for CPD for driving instructors and with the EU Hermes project focusing on ‘coaching and optimal communication skills’, you can expect to see a lot of development in this area over the coming months and years.
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.
Latics has been alerted to a temporary software compatibility problem between the administrators of the driving theory test, Pearson Vue, and the DSA.
This is resulting in the need for all provisional test candidates to take their theory test pass certificate information with them to the driving test centre for the examiner’s inspection before conducting the practical test.
Driving tests have been refused and cancelled as a result of a candidate not having these documents for inspection, despite the request to do so in the practical test application literature. For full details on what you need to take with you to the test centre, click here. This video gives you full information on the practical driving test:
Please ensure you take the correct documentation with you!
The controversial plan for all learner drivers to be accompanied on driving test by their driving instructor from October 2010 has been partially scrapped.
A meeting was held at DSA’s Headquarters with ADI representative organisations on 24th 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.
Wannabe motorist Cara Griffiths, 28, from Romford, has been driven to despair after passing her driving test, only to be told hours later that she hadn’t because the examiner didn’t conduct her test properly.
According to the Romford & Havering Post, Cara cruised through her driving test first time with only five minor driving faults, observed by two examiners from the Hornchurch Test Centre.
She was presented with her driving test pass certificate and was so pleased that she immediately phoned family and friends to tell them her fantastic news. But Cara’s celebrations were short-lived when examiners contacted her four hours later to tell her that the pass certificate was invalid because the examiner had made a mistake during the test.
“I got home chuffed to bits as I’ve wanted to do this for years, only to be told I had failed,” said Cara, who has spent more than £600 on lessons and tests. “I drove exactly how I was instructed, but the examiner had only done one manoeuvre and forgotten to do a second one. Now I’m being penalised and have failed the test.”
Customers of two of Britain’s biggest mobile networks can now get the latest news from the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) straight to their mobile phone – free of charge.
The DSA is already using the popular microblogging site Twitter to keep almost 700 subscribers – or ‘followers’ – updated via the internet.
Now O2 and Vodafone are allowing customers to receive Twitter messages, known as ‘tweets’, as free text messages to their mobiles.
It means you can get latest DSA news wherever you are and at the times which suit you.
The DSA have so far used Twitter to highlight upcoming changes to the Theory Test, the introduction of Driver CPC, the new Enhanced Rider Scheme campaign, to give advice on test bookings and to advertise their attendance at various shows and events.
Set up your mobile phone
To receive this service, you’ll need to subscribe to Twitter at twitter.com. Then when you’ve created your account, head to your account settings on the Twitter website, and activate your mobile phone. All you need to do then is:
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has launched its own video sharing channel on YouTube.
YouTube is the world’s largest video sharing service with over 100 million videos viewed every day. The DSA will be using the site to publish official road safety videos.
DSA’s Director of Strategy & Performance, Nick Carter said: “Using YouTube will let DSA reach a wider audience than ever before – we want to talk to our audiences on the platforms we know they use.
“By putting our videos on YouTube, we’re catering for the growing number of people whose first choice to find information is to go online.”
Video content from the DSA channel can be embedded directly into visitors own websites or blogs, used in forums, shared by email, and linked through social networking sites such as Facebook.
The channel can be viewed at youtube.com/dsagov and is being used to post videos which offer advice to road users as well as test candidates.
An ECOlogical driving test was launched on 1st September 2009. The test is designed to assess the driver’s fuel economy and accident avoidance skills.
This new test is set to become a vocational test and is being closely watched by Whitehall.
The voluntary 90-minute test provides a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). Drivers will pass if they demonstrate a high level of safe, defensive and environmentally friendly driving. The Eco-Advanced Driving Test costs £160 and will test drivers on most types of road situation.
Drivers who are successful could benefit from:
fuel consumption savings up to 15% below the vehicle’s official average
reduced risk of incidents and reduced vehicle wear and tear by up to 60%
Civil Servants, including Driving Test Examiners are planning a 48 hour strike on 8th and 9th March 2010 following a long-running row over changes to the civil service compensation scheme.
On Tuesday, Lansdowne Venture Group (LVG) incorporating Red Driving School, Red Instructor Training and Red Fleet Training was placed into Administration whilst a sale of the company as a going concern is pursued.
Following vehicle recall notices issued by Toyota and Peugeot Citroen, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has announced conditions for allowing affected vehicles on the driving test.
A meeting was held at DSA’s Headquarters with ADI representative organisations on 24th 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.
Wannabe motorist Cara Griffiths, 28, from Romford, has been driven to despair after passing her driving test, only to be told hours later that she hadn’t because the examiner didn’t conduct her test properly.
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has launched its own video sharing channel on YouTube.
An ECOlogical driving test was launched on 1st September 2009. The test is designed to assess the driver’s fuel economy and accident avoidance skills.
