Just say it!!

Me again!

Another tough driving lesson!

Ok, so, had a session booked tonight from 5-7pm with S. Yesterday we went through what I call a prompted test route…in order to give her a proper idea of what to expect on the day of her driving test. This is where I give her directions, stay quieter than usual (so not to distract her), but for her to ask me if she needed my guidance, and me to offer advice if I felt she needed it.

Tonight the plan was to go through a “proper” mock test…with me playing the examiner…and not being “me” at all. I have always found the use of mock tests a really useful learning tool, as it helps both the learner and I to assess exactly where we’re at, and to see what else needs to be worked on.

So, back to tonight. I picked her up from home and this gave her a chance to relax on the drive to the test centre. On route, she emerged right out of a T-junction…and I commented that it would have been better if she had waited as the car behind the one that turned left was picking up speed. Once we got to the test centre she reversed into one of the bays and then I went into role as an examiner. The test centre exit is not particularly easy…uphill, and a real “creep and peep” junction, with very restricted views. Immediately it highlighted her reluctance to use the handbrake, and we rolled back a little. We sat at the light controlled crossroads for a while before turning left into a tight junction, and she went over the other side of the road…not too much of a problem as there was no oncoming traffic. I could tell she was really nervous. At the end of the road I asked her to turn left…a very tight turn and very easy to mount the kerb if you don’t position your car just right…which is exactly what she did!

She turned left at a mini roundabout, and then at the next one I had to dual brake her as she was going to pull out at the wrong time. Immediately she said, “That’s a fail isn’t it?”

I asked her to pull up for some “time out”. We discussed what had happened. She said that she was still thinking about why she mounted the kerb at the T-junction and she admitted that she had let the driver behind affect her, and she knew the car was inching forward, which made her press the brake, which meant that she couldn’t then pull away confidently with gas…At this time I could tell she was near to tears, so I didn’t look directly at her for too long…this seemed to help her regain her composure. She decided that she’d like to continue with the rest of the test route. I thought this would be a good idea as it would give her a chance to re-focus and see if she could rise above what had happened.

Unfortunately, things just got worse. She went to signal right at a roundabout to go ahead, then she missed two opportunities to go, and she didn’t notice that her left indicator was still on for about 300 yards – resulting in 3 serious faults in a very short space of time!

I asked her to park up and she had a problem with this too. I could FEEL how stressed she was, so I just suggested that it was a good time for her to have a cigarette…which she did!

I have to admit that I felt SO bad for this poor girl at this time. I knew how much she wanted/needed to pass her driving test, and she was such a hard worker, (worked as a health care assistant) and had been let down by her last instructor….however, in my heart I just knew she wasn’t ready to demonstrate the standard of driving required to pass the test. I vocalised this to her and immediately I could tell that she was holding back the tears…

To cut a very long story short, it ended up with us booking in more sessions with me, and her agreeing that if I didn’t feel she was ready to be alone out on the road, then I would withhold the use of my car…

I found myself saying that I would only charge her for an hour (even though it was at least an hour and a half) and drove her to the hospital, ready for work.

The MOST interesting part about all of this (for me!) is that on the drive to the hospital the conversation came round to us discussing her previous instructor, and then me asking her what she felt about me as an instructor – was she happy with me? And if not, what would she change? Yes, she was much happier with me than her last instructor, BUT she felt that I should not be afraid to point out if she was doing something that was wrong and needed correction! In effect what she was saying was that she felt I was a bit of a “soft touch”, and that when I pointed out any driving errors, she felt that I said it in such a way that she didn’t take it too seriously! 

What a revelation for me!! I always felt that I got the balance just right when dealing with driver errors…but S wanted me to be firmer! I just LOVE this job SO much…I am always learning…and it’s great to have this sort of feedback from pupils. In actual fact, I don’t particularly find it easy to criticise pupils; usually because I know they are doing their best. However, this has been such a valuable driving lesson, and has made me realise that sometimes, as instructors, we have to dish out “tough love”…it is simply part of our job!

Or, in other words don’t be afraid to see it, say it, and then sort it!!

Thanks for reading…Helen Adams ADI