Diary Of An ADI

Archive for June, 2010

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Someone found the site using the above search term – they were asking how a driving instructor gives route instructions to a pupil.

The short answer is: do it how the examiners do it, and refer to the DT1 Internal Guidance Document (this link is to a PDF file on the DSA website). Look under Annex 7; Page 243.

However, real-life is a little different. The pupil you are giving lessons to is not the same as the candidate you are submitting for their driving test for at least 80-90% of the time they spend with you.

For example, DT1 says:

GENERAL DIRECTIONS

Throughout the drive continue ahead, unless traffic signs direct you otherwise, and when I want you to turn left or right I will tell you in plenty of time. Move off when you are ready, please.

Would you pull up on the left at a convenient place, please.

or

Pull up along here, just before………..please.

Drive on when you are ready, please.

Take the next road on the left/right, please.

Will you take the second road on the left/right, please. (If necessary add this is the first.)

At the end of the road turn left/right, please.

At the roundabout.. turn left please (it is the first exit)

follow the road ahead (it is the second exit)

turn right please (it is the third exit).

(Additional information should be given if necessary to assist the driver to plan their route through the hazard. Examples are in brackets above).

Similar explanations are given for the examiner’s wording for all other parts of the test.

Now, this is all well and good, but if you want to build a friendly rapport with your pupil, behaving like an examiner all the time is a good way of failing miserably. This is especially true with new pupils who maybe haven’t driven before, and who are very nervous (even if they don’t show it).

Since I am teaching them – not examining them – I tend to say things like:

Take this next turn on the left (or right).

Take the second turn on the right (or left).

At the end of this road – at the T-junction (or crossroads) - turn left (or right).

At the roundabout we’re going left, 1st exit.

At the roundabout take the second exit.

At the roundabout we’re taking the 4th exit, it’s a right turn.

These are just examples – I mix and match as necessary. You’ve got to remember that early on, particularly at roundabouts, you really are teaching/instructing them and you have to add a lot more information until you can pull it back to the bare minimum. As they get closer to test standard you can give examiner-like instructions and still have a chat or add information as required.

It is important that they are familiar with the terms and approach the examiner is going to adopt, but they should be comfortable overall – not just fine tuned for the test, and only the test.

Despatch Magazine

You can read the latest issue of Despatch here. Despatch is the official DSA magazine for road safety professionals.

In this edition they discuss the 75th anniversary of the driving test, independent driving, the ADI code of practice, CPD, observer on test etiquette, and driver CPC.

The brief article about being an observer on test makes interesting reading. This is bound to fuel some debate in certain quarters.

I haven’t said anything about England in the World Cup for the simple reason that I was certain they wouldn’t get anywhere. To be honest, I’m surprised they even got through the qualifying stages after the showing in their first two matches.

You have to face facts: if you play like England did in the first two – and very important – matches, then add a marginally better third, you have effectively demonstrated your ability in toto. But now the recriminations have started.

England was let down by the players, and only the players. Not the manager, who is one of the best in the world. We have a dilemma, though.

The press has decided that Fabio is to blame (largely because he is a foreigner – they disliked him from the start for that reason, made worse by the fact that he couldn’t speak English). This means that the public will, on the whole, agree (the public is too stupid to have a mind of its own, and has to have one implanted by the media). So on that count, Fabio Capello is history.

Fabio is a hardliner. He stopped the orange hags – sorry, WAGs – going out to steal the limelight. Originally seen as a good decision, it is being questioned now as a bad one (after the Algeria match, pundits on BBC radio were arguing that the WAGs would have taken the focus – and pressure – off the players).

Fabio still cannot speak English fluently, and still has an interpreter handy. The press has repeatedly picked up on that – mainly because they can’t speak English fluently either – for entirelydifferent reasons, though - and so find it hard to understand what he is saying. This was especially evident in the post match interview yesterday, where they were asking him if he would resign.

Britain is inherently racist in spite of being multicultural. The media pundits have been demanding a Harry Redknapp or other good ol’ Brit to take the helm. The press and media forced Sven out – and he was easily the best England manager of all time. Now they’re trying it with Fabio.

If Fabio resigns, he will be getting himself out of a sorry non-football mess that he will probably never be able to resolve, and which will give him ulcers! But in all honesty, the England football team needs him. He is the best – the players just aren’t.

I read on the Rush website that they are getting a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame!

BILLY CORGAN TO SPEAK AT RUSH WALK OF FAME CEREMONY JUNE 25 IN LA

Billy Corgan, vocalist, lead guitarist and songwriter for The Smashing Pumpkins, will pay tribute to the band as they accept their Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Billy joins Donna Halper, former radio personality at WMMS Cleveland where Rush received their first radio airplay with Working Man participate as well.

The ceremony will take place in front of the Musician’s Institute at 6752 Hollywood Boulevard at 11:30 AM in Los Angeles this Friday, June 25th.

Mann Chinese 6 in Hollywood is going to have special screenings of ‘Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage’ at their theatre this Friday in honor of Rush getting their Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame just blocks away.  They’re giving special screenings at 2pm, 5pm and 8pm in their biggest auditorium.

Rush In Hollywood

Well, it may have taken nearly 40 years, but at least they are getting the recognition they deserve.

You can read more here, and here, and here, and here. And many other places online. There’s also a video on some of those sites.

The first of those stories confirms that the new album, Clockwork Angels, is due for release next year. My prediction is that that will coincide with the announcement of a World Tour. Note that there is also a new CD single (Caravan/BU2B) which is on release ahead of the album.

Remember – that comment about the World Tour is just a prediction, not a fact!

This story – and other posts relating to Rush - is still getting a lot of hits from people asking “will Rush tour the UK?” or “are rush touring the UK?”.

Someone found the site using the above search term, and seemed to spend a bit of time looking at driving-related posts.

Don’t give up!

If you are having serious problems with nerves such that it is really messing you up when you have your test, go and see your GP. Obviously, it is your GP who must decide – not me – but in cases where my pupils have had really debilitating nerves, their GP has sometimes prescribed beta blockers.

These are usually used for various heart conditions, but actors sometimes use them for stage fright (performance anxiety).

A few months ago one of my pupils had been having major issues, and she kept failing her test (well, a couple of times, anyway). I told her about beta blockers – a few pupils had had them prescribed before, and they worked - and she was going to take some off her friend, who was using them for a heart condition. I warned her against that, as it could be very dangerous taking someone else’s medication. DO NOT TRY THAT.

On her tests, she was stoney-faced and serious, but she was normally bubbly and chatty. It really affected her. But her doctor prescribed a course of beta blockers and the difference was astounding. She was her usual self on her next test, and she passed easily.

I can’t guarantee they will make you pass, but from what I have seen they certainly drop the nerves down a good few notches.

Let me stress again: I am not a doctor, so this is just advice to go and speak to your GP and explain the situation to him. He may be able to help you.

Well done DL, for passing today with 1 driver fault at Colwick Test Centre.

There are two ways of looking at this:

• well done - great result, or
• you dipstick - you nearly got a clean sheet

Obviously, I used the first option to begin with, then ribbed him mercilessly all the way home with the second.

The fault was for not noticing a traffic light had gone to green quickly enough. Plea in mitigation that the sun was in your eyes isn’t going to make me feel any better

Seriously, though: well done!

Every now and then I get a craving for some Chinese-style ribs. Here’s a recipe for a suitable barbecue sauce when you’re making them.

Put the oil in a large pan, add the onions (finely chopped), and fry gently until just beginning to colour at the edges. Add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring all the time. Then add the chillies (chopped), Fennel seeds, sugar, Five-spice, soy sauce, and ketchup. Stir until everything comes together, then add the chopped tomatoes. Season to taste with black pepper. Simmer gently for about an hour, stirring regularly to make sure it doesn’t catch, then take off the heat. Once cool, it will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for quite a while.

When cooking ribs, although you can use proper ribs if you want to, it is far better to use belly pork. Make sure you cook the belly pork (or ribs) before you start coating them with the sauce, otherwise it will burn and taste bitter.

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 5. Rub the belly pork with a little Olive Oil, then season well with salt – especially the rind to make it go crispy. Ideally, place it on a rack in a roasting tray and cook for about 30-60 minutes, then turn over and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Coat the pork ribs with the sauce on one side and cook for another 30 minutes, then flip them over and repeat for the other side.

Obviously, timings are approximate and will be hugely different if you try this on a barbecue.

I may have had a pupil fail today, which is always a downer, but well done to AK who passed with 8 driver faults yesterday, at Chalfont Drive.

That 17 mile journey to work will be a lot easier now!

I was driving back after dropping off a pupil (who’d just failed her test, so I wasn’t in the best of humour). I stopped at a set of traffic lights at the junction of Bentinck Road and Radford Road in Hyson Green, going straight ahead. Opposite me was a silver Mercedes driven by what appeared to be someone from a geriatric ward (reg. no. S573 BVO). To be honest, I don’t think he was indicating, but he was in the right turn lane.

Now, I just knew he was going to do it – his fossilised brain was unable to comprehend the change of circumstances separating “learner car” from “learner car driven by instructor” – but as the lights changed and we both moved off, he cut the corner by as far as it was possible to cut it (virtually hitting cars waiting up his road) just so he could go ahead of me. He had no right of way by any stretch of the imagination.

A new Rush DVD is due for release – it’s a documentary about Rush, from their beginnings all the way to the present day. Mine’s on pre-order from Amazon. Here’s the official trailer for it:

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

It apparently has a lot of unseen material, so definitely one for the fans and collectors.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a World Tour next year, once they release the new album “Clockwork Angels”.