Craig Preedy - PDI / ADI Trainer - Instruct IQ

22/10/2026

Another great evening of discussion at The PDI School!

Tonight's Zoom session brought together PDIs and ADIs to share experiences, challenge thinking and explore some of the practical skills that make a difference to both driving and teaching.

We covered plenty of ground!

COAST – More than just an acronym

Concentration, Observation, Anticipation, Space and Time.

We explored how these five elements work together to support safer driving and why SPACE is arguably the most important of them all. Without sufficient space, we lose the time and opportunity to make good decisions.

Mirrors – It's not just about looking!

One of our members, fresh from passing Part 1, is now preparing for Part 2 and exploring the difference between unconscious and conscious competence.

We discussed why we check mirrors, what information we're looking for and how that information influences our decisions.

An interesting point emerged: the interior mirror isn't simply about knowing what's behind us. It's also about understanding and managing the expectations of following drivers.

And when teaching beginners? Priorities matter. Steering, braking and maintaining safety may need to come before introducing more complex mirror routines.

Part 3 – Stop trying to demonstrate everything!

A particularly valuable discussion centred on preparing for the Part 3 instructional ability test.

Rather than trying to demonstrate 90 minutes of learning in a 40-minute assessment, concentrate on delivering a genuinely effective 40-minute lesson.

We also explored breaking lessons into manageable 10-minute sections, reflecting on what happened and focusing development on just one or two competencies at a time.

Confidence comes from evidence, not wishful thinking.

And that was perhaps the biggest message of the evening.

Whether you're preparing for Part 2, approaching Part 3 or developing as an experienced ADI, improvement comes from understanding what you do, why you do it and what you might do differently.

No lectures. No pretending to have all the answers. Just instructors supporting instructors through thoughtful, practical conversation.

The PDI School is open to both PDIs and ADIs. If you enjoy exploring the WHY behind what we do, we'd love you to join us.

A home for PDIs and ADIs who want more than just passing tests. Weekly live sessions, the KEEP Principle, and a community for every stage of your career.

19/10/2026

22 years as a driving instructor. Four books. And quite a journey along the way!

When I became a driving instructor back in 2004, I never imagined where this career would take me.

It’s certainly not all been plain sailing!

I failed my first attempt at the Part 3 test. I failed a Check Test too. But I’ve also experienced the other side, achieving Grade 6 and subsequently Grade A, a standard I’ve maintained for the past 18 years.

Along the way, I’ve built a driving school, taught hundreds of learner and fleet drivers, been involved in training close protection teams, achieved seven RoSPA Gold awards and spent countless hours developing my knowledge and skills.

I don’t mention any of that to blow my own trumpet.

I mention it because this profession has given me opportunities I could never have imagined when I first started.

And one of those opportunities has been writing.

I’ve always loved a good story. I’ve always enjoyed sharing ideas and, as anyone who knows me will probably confirm, I’m rarely short of a few words!

Back in 2015, I started putting together a simple guide for my learners. Nothing particularly ambitious, just something they could take away and read between lessons.

But it kept growing.

Eventually, that little document became my first book.

📘 How to Pass Your Driving Test

A straightforward guide to help learners understand the process, build confidence and prepare for their driving test.

Then came lockdown.

Like many people, I suddenly had a little more time on my hands, so I started writing again.

📗 From B to A

This time, a book for trainee and qualified driving instructors, exploring the 17 competencies used in the Part 3 test and Standards Check.

It was shaped by my own experiences, including the mistakes I’d made and what I’d learned from them.

Then, after a break from writing, during which Josh Holleran and I have been busy developing Instruct IQ, I felt the urge to put pen to paper again.

But this time, I wanted to do something different.

For more than 20 years, I’ve been fascinated by how people learn, develop and change. I’ve been inspired by some remarkable thinkers, including Stephen Covey, whose work planted an idea in my head all those years ago.

I wanted to create something practical that could genuinely change the way we approach teaching and learning.

And so, last year, The KEEP Principle was born.

📙 The KEEP Principle: From Winging It to Working It

Knowledge. Enable. Examine. Progress or Pivot.

A simple but powerful approach to helping instructors think about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it and whether it’s working.

I’ve always believed that great teaching isn’t about following a script. It’s about developing the knowledge, judgement and confidence to do the right thing at the right time.

A principle is something you live. A framework is something you follow.

KEEP is my attempt to bring those ideas together, developed from real experience within our own profession.

And finally, my latest book. One I’ve wanted to write for years.

📕 KEEP Your Hands Off the Dashboard

This one is for parents.

Over the years, I’ve met hundreds of mums and dads who desperately want to help their children learn to drive.

And why wouldn’t they?

They’ve been there for their first steps, their first day at school and countless other milestones.

Now their son or daughter is learning to drive, and naturally they want to be involved.

But sometimes what happens during a driving lesson and what happens when practising with Mum or Dad can be two very different things!

Different advice. Different expectations. Occasionally, a little frustration on both sides.

I wanted to help bridge that gap.

To give parents a better understanding of how we teach, how young people learn and how they can support that process with confidence.

Not to replace the driving instructor, but to work alongside them.

And hopefully make those practice sessions a little less stressful for everyone!

So there we have it.

Four books, each written for a different person on the learning journey.

🚗 The learner finding their feet.

🚗 The trainee instructor finding their way.

🚗 The qualified instructor continuing to develop.

🚗 And the parent helping their child towards independence.

All four books are available on Amazon, and with Christmas approaching, perhaps one might make a useful present for someone starting their own journey.

Looking back, I started this career because I wanted to teach people to drive.

What I’ve discovered over the years is that my real passion is helping people learn, think, develop and become more confident in themselves.

And perhaps the nicest thing about it all?

After 22 years, I’m still learning too.

Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the journey so far. Pupils, colleagues, fellow instructors, friends and family. You’ve all contributed to it in one way or another.

And I’m not finished yet!

18/10/2026

Ever wondered why traffic suddenly stops on motorways for no reason? Hannah Fry explains.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4511063812515565/?fs=e&fs=e

17/10/2026

What do hazard perception, a failed Part 3 test, learner-centred teaching and knowing when to shut up have in common?

They were all part of this week's conversation inside The PDI School!

And that's the beauty of bringing trainee and experienced driving instructors together. Real questions, real experiences and some genuinely valuable learning.

Here's a flavour of what we discussed.

🚗 Hazard perception – are you clicking too early?

One member was struggling with the timing of hazard perception clips. Rather than simply suggesting more practice, we explored how recognising a developing hazard relates to the decisions we make when actually driving.

🎯 Part 3 – when too much teaching becomes the problem

One member openly shared their experience of an unsuccessful Part 3 attempt.

The problem wasn't a lack of preparation. Quite the opposite!

Over-planning, over-instructing and becoming so focused on the lesson plan that opportunities to respond to what was happening in front of them were missed.

A valuable reminder that good instruction isn't about delivering a perfect lesson plan. It's about responding effectively to the learner.

⚠️ Risk management – what happens when things go wrong?

We explored the importance of recognising safety-critical incidents, stopping when appropriate and having meaningful conversations about what happened, why it happened and what needs to change.

Sometimes the instructor needs to acknowledge their own mistakes too.

💡 Client-centred learning in action

One member shared a lovely example of a learner recognising a gap in their own skills and asking to return to basic steering practice.

No persuasion. No instructor-imposed agenda.

Just a learner taking ownership of their development.

That's something worth celebrating.

🧭 New tools and fresh thinking

We also explored our developing Keeper and WayFinder coaching tool, designed to encourage meaningful lesson focus and reflection.

And throughout the evening, members shared their experiences, challenged assumptions, asked questions and supported one another.

Here's the important bit.

Nobody was expected to have all the answers.

Nobody was judged for getting something wrong.

And nobody was told that there's only one way to teach.

Because The PDI School isn't about telling you what to think. It's about helping you become a better thinker, a more confident instructor and a more reflective professional.

Every week we get together on Zoom to explore the challenges that actually matter to trainee driving instructors.

Alongside those conversations, members have access to learning resources, courses, practical guidance and a growing community of people who genuinely want to help each other succeed.

If you're training to become a driving instructor, why do it alone?

Come and join the conversation.

👉 www.thepdischool.co.uk

The PDI School | By Instruct IQ

*Real conversations. Real learning. Real development.*

A home for PDIs and ADIs who want more than just passing tests. Weekly live sessions, the KEEP Principle, and a community for every stage of your career.

12/10/2026

Client-centred learning or responding to faults? Why not both.

I've seen a few posts lately suggesting that our industry's focus on faults is at odds with client-centred learning. I understand the frustration. Nobody wants instructors working through a checklist: once, remind them; twice, pull over; serious, change the lesson.

But throwing out fault response altogether is just as unhelpful.

A few things worth remembering:

• A fault is often the most useful moment in a lesson. It shows us something real about where the learner is.
• Learners often believe they understand risk when they don't. Exploring consequences with them, not at them, is how that gets uncovered.
• If the issue is ability rather than understanding, repeating the consequences won't help. That needs practice and support.
• Some situations need the instructor to act first and reflect afterwards. Being client-centred never removes our duty of care.

At Instruct IQ, this is exactly why we built the KEEP Principle: Knowledge, Enable, Examine, Progress or Pivot. It doesn't treat faults and progress as separate things. Every moment in a lesson, good or bad, is something to examine. Then the learner either progresses, or we pivot our approach.

The skill isn't avoiding faults or chasing them. It's working out what each one is telling you and responding in a way that builds the learner's ability and ownership.

Faults and progress aren't competing priorities. They're part of the same cycle.

How do you decide what a fault is really telling you?

If you'd like to see how KEEP works in practice, have a look at Instruct IQ or drop me a message.

09/10/2026

Are we getting better at using AI, or just better at getting AI to answer us?

There’s some very good advice circulating about how to get more from ChatGPT.

Ask it to interview you first.

Ask it to critique its answer.

Ask it to improve its recommendations.

Then ask it to challenge those recommendations.

All useful techniques.

But I think we’re overlooking something rather important.

Who’s actually doing the thinking?

If AI gives you an answer, critiques that answer, improves it and then challenges itself, you might end up with a better response.

But have you developed?

Do you understand the subject any better?

Could you recognise an incorrect recommendation?

Could you explain why one approach is more appropriate than another?

And, crucially for driving instructors, could you apply that understanding when sitting alongside a real pupil in a real car?

Asking ChatGPT to act like an expert doesn’t make it an expert. And it certainly doesn’t make you one.

This is one of the reasons Josh and I are building the IQ Ecosystem through Instruct IQ.

We’re interested in more than helping instructors generate better answers.

We’re interested in helping them become better at questioning, examining, reflecting, making decisions and evaluating the outcomes.

That’s why we’re connecting the things we’ve been developing.

KEEP provides a framework for thinking and reflection.

IQ Pathway is being designed to support professional development over time.

Our specialist applications provide practical support.

And our wider educational resources help people understand and apply professional knowledge, standards and frameworks.

AI has an important role in all of this.

But AI isn’t the ecosystem.

The person is at the centre of the ecosystem.

The technology should support their development, not simply do their thinking for them.

Because there’s a world of difference between receiving an intelligent answer and developing professional intelligence.

Better prompts might improve the answer.

Better thinking develops the professional.

That’s the future we’re working towards.

The IQ Ecosystem — by Instruct IQ.

Your development. Your evidence. Your thinking.

Connected.

06/10/2026

I've written a book.

After 22 years in the passenger seat, I keep hearing the same thing from parents: "I want to help with practice, but I'm terrified of teaching them bad habits."

Right now that worry matters more than ever. Lessons are hard to find, prices have gone up, and test waits are stretching for months. Families are being asked to fill the gap, often with no guidance at all.

KEEP Your Hands Off the Dashboard is written for them.

It explains what a professional instructor actually does on a lesson, where the supervising driver fits in, and how the two can work together rather than pulling in different directions. Practice at home stops being guesswork and starts backing up what's happening in the car with the instructor.

For parents, it's reassurance and a clear plan.
For instructors, it's something you can hand to families so private practice supports your lessons instead of undoing them.

Available now: https://amzn.eu/d/03OL1Abr

If you know a parent about to take on supervising duties, please share this with them.

01/10/2026

Darker mornings, darker nights, and that dip in enthusiasm that comes with them.

I've written about the quieter kind of instructor fatigue. Not tiredness, but the job going a bit stale. Clock watching. Finding a reason to finish two or three minutes early. Letting the odd thing slide.

I've been there, and I've written about what's helped me get the spark back, including something I didn't expect when I switched to automatic.

If you're feeling it this autumn, you're not alone.

https://craigpreedy.substack.com/p/when-the-clock-starts-watching-you?r=8h6gjj&utm_medium=ios