Cheap Deals or Quality Training?
This week we have taken on two learners, Nicola and James (names have been changed) that have decided to come to Xpert Driver Training, having previously had lessons elsewhere.
The reason they went elsewhere in the first place was because of the cheap deals they were doing!
Both companies were quite large driving schools. let’s call them School A and B
Nicola had about 20 hours with school A number of years ago, and then called school B earlier this year. She was told when over the phone that they would need 20 hours of lessons, this was prior to even speaking to the instructor, never mind being seen to drive by the instructor! After 20 hours Nicola went in for her test, she was not ready and failed. She has rebooked her test and contacted us for help. When we first saw her drive, it was evident that she was a long way from being ready to pass her test. However, we are trying our best to help her become a safe driver and pass her test. The issue she has though is the cheap lessons she has received has actually given her some bad habits, poor clutch knowledge and control. She has been told what she must do and must not do, to pass the test. This may sound good, however most it what she has been told is wrong or very restrictive. Making her drive very rigid and not flexible! We are working hard on giving her more freedom in her driving and she is slowly getting there, responding that it is so much easier this way!
The reason they went elsewhere in the first place was because of the cheap deals they were doing!
Both companies were quite large driving schools. let’s call them School A and B
Nicola had about 20 hours with school A number of years ago, and then called school B earlier this year. She was told when over the phone that they would need 20 hours of lessons, this was prior to even speaking to the instructor, never mind being seen to drive by the instructor! After 20 hours Nicola went in for her test, she was not ready and failed. She has rebooked her test and contacted us for help. When we first saw her drive, it was evident that she was a long way from being ready to pass her test. However, we are trying our best to help her become a safe driver and pass her test. The issue she has though is the cheap lessons she has received has actually given her some bad habits, poor clutch knowledge and control. She has been told what she must do and must not do, to pass the test. This may sound good, however most it what she has been told is wrong or very restrictive. Making her drive very rigid and not flexible! We are working hard on giving her more freedom in her driving and she is slowly getting there, responding that it is so much easier this way!
James, had about 14 hours with school A, but spent most of his time driving around country roads, and hardly any time on the basics around streets. When he came to us we took him to a quiet housing estate to assess his driving. His clutch control and general driving was very similar to Nicola’s. Very rigid, with very limited peripheral vision and observational skills being used. Again we are working hard to rectify his weaknesses.
Both learners thought that they were getting a good deal when they signed up for lessons, and have paid for lessons with their hard earned money, however they are now having to pay more money to cover the basics again, so that they become safe drivers.
This is not the fault of the learners for choosing a cheap school, it is the fault of the school and the instructor working for the school. Why? The schools that offer cheap lessons think they need to offer cheap lessons to fill the seats of their instructors. The instructors are at fault because they are having to do lessons so cheap, cut corners and spend a lot of time not training the learners correctly. Due to their low income from lessons they also don’t attend further training, training which would enhance their training techniques and therefore the training which you the learner will be receiving from them. Also, it is not compulsory within the driver training industry to attend CPD (Continuing Professional Development) training, the DVSA tried to bring it in, however the vast majority of instructors were against it, the reasons I see posted on various Facebook groups are, it’s too expensive, I’m already qualified why do I need further training, it’s too far away or I can’t be bothered! These excuses I find unbelievable, I have been driving for over 30 years and have been an instructor for over 6 years now, and I am still learning, we never stop learning!
I attend various conferences, seminars and training events up and down the country, I can count the number of local instructors that I have seen regularly at these events on one hand, and three of them are Xpert Driver Training instructors!
Due to Xpert Driver Training instructors attending these events, they are trained in upto date training techniques, using a client centred learning style, they also make the learning flexible not rigid and don’t make it about the test, but more about driving safely.
So what is the difference between flexible and rigid learning?
Rigid is when you are told by your instructor that you must do this or you will fail your test, you must do that or you fail your test, and you can’t do that because you wont pass your test! This form of learning makes it so unnatural and restrictive for learners putting them under extra pressure. This is often seen as instructor led training, where the instructor has the power and knowledge and force feeds it on to the learner, trying to make the learner a clone of them! Training them in the teaching style of the trainer.
A flexible learning approach is one that lets them discover what is good and not so good in a controlled environment, this doesn’t put them under pressure and ensures learning takes place much quicker. This is a more client centred approach (coaching), where the trainer and learner are on the same level, the trainer adjusts their training style to the learning style of the learner, therefore the learner will learn quicker, as they buy into the learning easier and quicker.
In a rigid learning approach, everything is black and white, however as a driver there is very little that is black and white, STOP LINES, RED LIGHTS, are black and white, however the clear majority of driving is in a grey area. Even the speed limit is slightly grey! Why you ask, because you may go over the speed limit momentarily to avoid a collision! I would say 99% of driving is in the grey area, and not black and white!
The saying “there is more than one way to skin a cat” is very true in driver training. An instructor led, rigid trainer will tell the learner they must hold the steering wheel at 10 to 2 and must feed or shuffle the wheel through their hands. This is not the case; a learner can hold the wheel however they want if it is safe to do so! You will pass your test whichever way you hold it if it is safe, but holding the wheel at 10 to 2 is archaic, stressful and not comfortable. When I passed my test 30+ years ago, we had to hold it at 10 to 2, but cars have developed, technology has developed, so has our driving methods and the driving standards set by the DVSA!
So, next time you are looking for a driving instructor, you may want to think twice about whether you want to pay for cheap lessons for your loved ones or pay for quality lessons, after all it is their lives that are on the line! You could ask your driving instructor when was the last time they did any further training and what was it? Ask them how they train learners, do they use CCL techniques, have they been trained in CCL? Are they a qualified coach? Remember I can count them on one hand, that go to these training events, so most should say no!
Please don’t ask them their pass rates though, as they will all have high pass rates, even though the pass rate for York is below 50%! Pass rates can be manipulated or lied about, however and not many instructors realize this, but the pass rate is not theirs! They are not the ones taking the test, the pass rate is that of the pupil and the examiner!
Just a little food for thought as I hate to see learner drivers wasting money on poor quality training, I will now probably get abuse from those same instructors who offer cheap deals and refuse to do further training, because it’s too far away!
© Xpert Driver Training Ltd 2017
Both learners thought that they were getting a good deal when they signed up for lessons, and have paid for lessons with their hard earned money, however they are now having to pay more money to cover the basics again, so that they become safe drivers.
This is not the fault of the learners for choosing a cheap school, it is the fault of the school and the instructor working for the school. Why? The schools that offer cheap lessons think they need to offer cheap lessons to fill the seats of their instructors. The instructors are at fault because they are having to do lessons so cheap, cut corners and spend a lot of time not training the learners correctly. Due to their low income from lessons they also don’t attend further training, training which would enhance their training techniques and therefore the training which you the learner will be receiving from them. Also, it is not compulsory within the driver training industry to attend CPD (Continuing Professional Development) training, the DVSA tried to bring it in, however the vast majority of instructors were against it, the reasons I see posted on various Facebook groups are, it’s too expensive, I’m already qualified why do I need further training, it’s too far away or I can’t be bothered! These excuses I find unbelievable, I have been driving for over 30 years and have been an instructor for over 6 years now, and I am still learning, we never stop learning!
I attend various conferences, seminars and training events up and down the country, I can count the number of local instructors that I have seen regularly at these events on one hand, and three of them are Xpert Driver Training instructors!
Due to Xpert Driver Training instructors attending these events, they are trained in upto date training techniques, using a client centred learning style, they also make the learning flexible not rigid and don’t make it about the test, but more about driving safely.
So what is the difference between flexible and rigid learning?
Rigid is when you are told by your instructor that you must do this or you will fail your test, you must do that or you fail your test, and you can’t do that because you wont pass your test! This form of learning makes it so unnatural and restrictive for learners putting them under extra pressure. This is often seen as instructor led training, where the instructor has the power and knowledge and force feeds it on to the learner, trying to make the learner a clone of them! Training them in the teaching style of the trainer.
A flexible learning approach is one that lets them discover what is good and not so good in a controlled environment, this doesn’t put them under pressure and ensures learning takes place much quicker. This is a more client centred approach (coaching), where the trainer and learner are on the same level, the trainer adjusts their training style to the learning style of the learner, therefore the learner will learn quicker, as they buy into the learning easier and quicker.
In a rigid learning approach, everything is black and white, however as a driver there is very little that is black and white, STOP LINES, RED LIGHTS, are black and white, however the clear majority of driving is in a grey area. Even the speed limit is slightly grey! Why you ask, because you may go over the speed limit momentarily to avoid a collision! I would say 99% of driving is in the grey area, and not black and white!
The saying “there is more than one way to skin a cat” is very true in driver training. An instructor led, rigid trainer will tell the learner they must hold the steering wheel at 10 to 2 and must feed or shuffle the wheel through their hands. This is not the case; a learner can hold the wheel however they want if it is safe to do so! You will pass your test whichever way you hold it if it is safe, but holding the wheel at 10 to 2 is archaic, stressful and not comfortable. When I passed my test 30+ years ago, we had to hold it at 10 to 2, but cars have developed, technology has developed, so has our driving methods and the driving standards set by the DVSA!
So, next time you are looking for a driving instructor, you may want to think twice about whether you want to pay for cheap lessons for your loved ones or pay for quality lessons, after all it is their lives that are on the line! You could ask your driving instructor when was the last time they did any further training and what was it? Ask them how they train learners, do they use CCL techniques, have they been trained in CCL? Are they a qualified coach? Remember I can count them on one hand, that go to these training events, so most should say no!
Please don’t ask them their pass rates though, as they will all have high pass rates, even though the pass rate for York is below 50%! Pass rates can be manipulated or lied about, however and not many instructors realize this, but the pass rate is not theirs! They are not the ones taking the test, the pass rate is that of the pupil and the examiner!
Just a little food for thought as I hate to see learner drivers wasting money on poor quality training, I will now probably get abuse from those same instructors who offer cheap deals and refuse to do further training, because it’s too far away!
© Xpert Driver Training Ltd 2017
RSS Feed
