I am a full time driver trainer and specialise in custom packages which are geared around 17-19 year olds who have concerns and worries about driving and therefore wish to ensure that they learn to be safe drivers for LIFE, before they attempt the driving test. This will ensure the customers and their family obtain the same level of confidence and peace of mind that I had after teaching my own dau
ghter to drive a few years ago. Put simply, I will teach you to drive in the same way as I taught my own daughter, with the emphasis on safety. It’s not all about the car
“My training methods are therefore based to a great extent around thought processes which will enable the learners to think for themselves once allowed to drive alone. Yes, they will also need driving skills - be able to move, stop and manoeuvre the car. Those are the basic requirements and are often mistaken for being the requirements to drive safely and therefore pass the driving test. In actual fact passing the driving test is, unfortunately, not a sure sign of a safe driver. It's only a snapshot of what can be achieved in about 40 minutes - some poor drivers are lucky and pass and some good drivers are unlucky and fail. It is a poor measure of how safe a driver the candidate is likely to be in the future.”
Myths
Before qualifying as a trainer in 2002, I also, like many others, believed the old adage that "you pass your test and then you learn to drive!" However, when you think about it, this means that you learn by your mistakes, which in motoring terms is very dangerous, and sometimes fatal. As already mentioned, I taught my own daughter, and although I knew that she might just be lucky and pass the driving test after a short period of training if I showed her all the tricks, I wasn't prepared to take that gamble knowing that she may then be unable to cope on her own and be confident and safe on our hectic roads. I realised that the driving test was not a test of one’s ability to be safe as a driver but more to do with how you played the game in front of the examiner. I naturally made sure therefore that she was a competent and safe driver before she was put forward for test. As a driving instructor, I was able spend a great deal of time with my daughter in the car for just the price of fuel and wear and tear. It was no sacrifice of my time because she was my responsibility, and I had an obligation to provide as much help as I could to ensure her safety. I did however realise that if I'd had to pay for someone else’s time, and if I were not a driver trainer, I would probably have been shocked at the cost. Most learners who pass, have on average driven under the guidance of a qualified trainer for over 40 hours as well as having had around 20-25 hours of private practise with friends or family. (DVSA figures)
What you need to be aware of
With this in mind I ask you to consider the following before committing to a course of driving lessons with me:
• Do you want to learn to drive because you have reached that decision yourself? (not because of peer-pressure or parents’ demands)
• Do you want to become a safe driver?
• Will you or your sponsors (usually parents!) be able to afford the cost of a course of lessons if “it takes what it takes” for you to become a safe driver?
• Will you be able to keep to a weekly routine and share the responsibility of learning?
• Do you have the time to study the highway code, theory training materials and other information needed to pass the tests? If you can answer yes to all of these questions then I may be able to help you! I put customers first. I listen to you and help you find the course of lessons to suit YOU, the paying client! As qualified driving instructors our standards are assessed and verified periodically by the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) - an executive agency, sponsored by the Government's Department for Transport. If the standard achieved is below the accepted level, then measures are in place to remove us from being allowed to teach for financial gain. I have maintained my standard throughout without any need to be re-evaluated in order to keep my professional status. I put this down to my keen sense of self-appraisal as a consequence of many continuing personal training I have undertaken to develop and keep up to date with industry changes. A bit of background............
As a 10 year old I used to drive Dad's old car around on Granddad's farm and when my friends came round I'd teach them to drive!! After a while I found that I was getting quite good at it but as I grew up I fell into the rat-race-conveyor belt of doing whatever you're good at in school as a career. Later on in life, after been working in finance for many, many years and wasn't really enjoying it any more I wanted a change and to do something I enjoyed. I thought back to the days on the farm and decided to train as a professional driving instructor. Since 2002 I've been a fully qualified driving instructor, initially as a part-time job but knew that I'd be full-time one day. It takes time to build a good business and I have been full time since 2013. It may not pay as well as I'd like, but if I get you to be a safe driver and pass on skills to keep you alive, then that's sufficient compensation and reward for me. My motto is the name of my business, learn to "drive for LIFE!" and not just to pass the test.
