REDUNDANT professionals retraining as driving instructors are falling prey to rogue operators who charge high fees with little guarantee of a job at the end.

In return for as much as £5,000, they promise to get hopefuls through the instructor test so they can set up in what is seen as a recession-proof career.

But the failure rate at the final stage of the test is high and even those who pass may find it hard to make a living, given the glut of instructors.

‘Ironically, there is a lot of money to be made teaching driving instructors, but there is not a lot in teaching learners,’ said Stephen Picton, spokesman for the Driving Instructors Association (DIA). ‘It is increasingly difficult to earn a living.’

He said two urgently needed measures were an end to the system whereby provisional driving instructors can take pupils in the six months before they take the final part of the test and much tighter regulation of the instructor-training business.

There are 3,139 provisional driving instructors and 44,448 fully qualified instructors.
Roger Ison, head of instructor resourcing and training at BSM, Britain’s biggest driving school, said he shared concerns about rogue operators, though he did not agree that there were too many instructors.

 ’We and other reputable organisations belong to the Official Register of Driving Instructor Trainers (Ordit). We would like membership to be compulsory,’ he said.

To get on the register involves extra training. At present any qualified driving instructor can start the process of becoming an instructor trainer themselves.

Ison added that 90 per cent of those who embarked on BSM’s £2,500 instructor course passed the final test and became fully qualified. The average pass rate, according to official figures, is 38.8 per cent.

One driving instructor in Warwickshire said: ‘When people are being taught by a provisional instructor they are not aware that they are paying as much as they would for a qualified instructor.’

The Driving Standards Agency, which regulates driving instruction, said it was reviewing the instructor qualification process, including whether provisional instructors should take pupils, and would look at making Ordit membership mandatory.

Source: Mail Online website, by Dan Atkinson

Anyone thinking of training as a driving instructor should read the article on the BADDIA website and choose a BADDIA member to train them. CLICK HERE

CHINA’S car market has leapt from almost nothing to the second largest in the world – and that has meant a lot of driving lessons.

And though Chinese car sales have recently faltered, in line with the global slowdown, China’s driving schools still have plenty of pupils. Only 20 in 1,000 Chinese own a car; China will provide learner drivers well into the next decade and beyond.

Sixty-two-year old Sheriff Wang is a member of “generation zero”: born and raised before China had a modern car industry (or for that matter, private property).

Mr Wang is one of them: this neat and dapper pensioner spends his mornings practising parallel parking and three point turns on the deserted roads of a disused airport outside Shanghai, at the Shenhao driving school. He sits hunched tensely over the wheel of one of the school’s bright yellow Volkswagen Santanas, grinding the gears and applying too much pressure to the brakes, just like learner drivers everywhere. In the back seat sits his 38-year-old son, who is also learning to drive for the first time.

Shi Zhibing, who manages the school, says students like Mr Wang are motivated by what he calls “dream fulfilment”: “Some old people just want to fulfil their youthful dreams of having driving lessons,” he says, adding “they don’t even have a car. Some don’t even want to drive.”

In fact, says Mr Shi, 90 per cent of the students who pay him Rmb5,000 (€520, $730, £497) to learn to drive do not own a vehicle. For that reason, he says there has been no drop in pupils ready to learn to drive, despite the global economic slowdown and its impact on car sales in China. He says 60 per cent of those who pass the stringent Shanghai driving test will eventually buy a car and some others will drive a company car at work.

But for others, such as Mr Wang, learning to drive is about recapturing a lost youth that was out of reach in the China he grew up in. He wants to learn to drive “so there will be more fun in life”, he says, explaining that Chinese people view those in their 50s and 60s as elderly, but he is convinced that he is “young enough to do this”. He took early retirement from his job as a sheriff at the age of 50, owing to back problems.

Now Mr Wang wants to pick up his grandchildren from school, help with errands and household chores, and take the kind of short road trips to local tourist attractions that Chinese people are only now beginning to embark on – something that, for generation zero in its youth would have been “simply unimaginable”. In classic Chinese fashion – where the young are meant to look after the old – he thinks it is up to his son to buy him the car he needs to fulfil his youthful ambitions.

But it is not only generation zero that has caught the car bug in China: generation Y (the 1980s and 1990s birth generation) is wild about motoring too. Tao Han and Du Zi Juan are two ladies in their late 20s who learned to drive at the same school as Mr Wang.

They bought a car on the same day, and applied for a driving licence on the same day – and since then they have belonged to the Kitten Car Club, an enthusiasts’ club for women drivers. They embark on a weekly karaoke outing, and learn how to change their tyres and refuel on the Kitten Club website. Their ambition is to “eat fish head soup in Zhejiang province”, not too far from Shanghai (to go further, they need an experienced driver who can read a map, they say). So far, their longest excursion has been to Wu Xi, 400km away. Ms Tao boasts that she drove 180kph on that trip. She aspires to buy an Audi R8, despite its Rmb1.8bn price tag: “I can’t buy it now, but one day, if I grow my business enough, I’ll buy it”.

For the moment, both generation zero and generation Y may have to pause to reflect on the global economic crisis: but in the longer term, the demographic pressure is undeniable. In China, 20 in 1000 people own a car; in Europe and the US, at least 500 in 1,000. The simple maths will drive Chinese car enthusiasm well into the future.

Source: FT.com, By Patti Waldmeir and John Reed in Shanghai, copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

MIDDLE-CLASS professionals fearing redundancy, or already out of work, are putting on their ‘L’ plates to retrain in what many believe to be a recession-proof line of work – driving tuition.

Learner teacher: Colin Undy saw this as a clever move

The Driving Standards Agency, the Government body that oversees instructors, received 9,834 applications from people wishing to become teachers in the six months to the end of November, a 16% rise on the same period last year.

And the surge looks set to continue, according to BSM, Britain’s largest driving school, which has seen a 68% rise in the number of would-be instructors accepted by its training scheme during the past 12 weeks compared with the previous 12.

With driving now considered an essential skill rather than a luxury, many think this is one business that will ride out the recession better than some others.

‘Historically, about three-quarters of our instructors have been either early-retired police and forces people, or people such as bus and lorry drivers to whom driving instruction is an upward career move,’ said Roger Ison, BSM’s head of instructor resourcing and training.

‘Now we are getting more professional people such as estate agents, who have been affected by the economic climate.’

One is Colin Undy of Sevenoaks, Kent, a chartered surveyor and domestic energy assessor. ‘There had been redundancies where I worked and I wanted to do something different,’ he said.

‘I am 51 and married with two sons, aged 22 and 18. At this age, the number of employers who would consider hiring me starts to diminish. Driving instruction is a flexible way of life and is something entirely different.’

He is now coming to the end of his three-stage training period and will get three chances to pass the final test.

About half the market is still accounted for by self-employed instructors.

Source: thisismoney website, by Dan Atkinson

 

EURO NCAP moves closer to its vision ‘for safer cars’ with the release of details about the scoring behind the organisation’s new car safety rating.

With the implementation of the new rating scheduled for 2009, vehicles tested by Euro NCAP from this date will undergo a much tougher and more comprehensive assessment. Euro NCAP also reveals its high ambitions for manufacturers: without ESC, the achievement of five stars will no longer be possible.

Euro NCAP’s new scheme will see the introduction of a new 5-star single overall vehicle safety rating replacing the current star ratings in use since 1997. This new star rating, Euro NCAP believes, will provide the simplest and clearest advice to the consumer about the overall safety performance of his chosen vehicle. The overall rating will be composed from scores achieved in four areas of assessment Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Pedestrian Protection and a new area: Safety Assist. Safety Assist will allow Euro NCAP to consider driver assistance systems and active safety technologies, which play an increasingly important role in accident avoidance and injury mitigation. The new scheme provides Euro NCAP with the means to actively drive safety forwards in critical areas, maximizing the potential impact on road casualty reduction on European roads.

Under the new scoring system, vehicles will need to do well in each area of assessment to achieve a good overall result. In particular, it will be impossible for a carmaker to achieve five stars in the tested vehicle without the standard fitment of electronic stability control (ESC) in the majority of variants sold. Statistics reveal that ESC plays such a major role in reducing deaths on our roads, Euro NCAP believes no car should be able to achieve five stars without it.

First results for vehicles tested under the new rating system will be released in February 2009. From this date, consumers should look out for the new overall Euro NCAP star rating for their vehicle. This shows the car has been subject to a tougher assessment in the achievement of its final award.

Source: Euro NCAP website

a²om BTEC in Driving Science

Accredited by EdExcel and equivalent to a GCSE this is the world’s first academic qualification in novice driver training and your chance to be a pioneer in revolutionising young driver training: as an instructor or as a learner.

The BTec was developed by Surrey-based company, alpha to omega motoring Ltd (a2om), with the aim of teaching people to be safe drivers and saving young lives.

Research has found the training improved the participants’ attitudes towards risk-taking, such as speeding, close following and overtaking.

It was also proven to improve young drivers’ eye movement patterns and hazard perception skills.

Young drivers who receive the vocational qualification, which has been commended by Prince Michael of Kent, are being offered discounts of up to 50% off their insurance.

Speaking about receiving the BTec, James said: “Becoming the world’s first person to receive this is a fantastic bonus but I must admit the main reason for wanting to do the course is safety.

“Being first has made me extremely happy and proud to show most young drivers are not as bad as people say they are.”

He continued: “It is vital that most young drivers undertake this course. I do hope that, in the near future, the BTec is offered as an option at school or, even better, if it was made compulsory.”

DRIVING instructors across Calderdale are taking part-time jobs to survive as the credit crunch bites.

 

Battling to keep afloat: Gary Wyatt, chairman of Halifax Driving Instructors Association, left, and secretary Keith Donkersley

But it’s not minor things like this that rattle me.

It’s more when I’m driving along, minding my own business, when I’ll come across a car sat in my path, where they’re trying to get across to the other side of the road.

This is the most irritating thing a driver can do to me, because not only do I have to stop suddenly, but I also have to be aware of who is behind me, in case they haven’t seen me brake so quickly.

What is so wrong with sitting behind the line at a junction, waiting patiently for a gap, instead of nearly creating a build-up of more than one car?

I swear some drivers have lost their common sense as they’ve got older.
What amazes me is the driver’s inability to look me in the face and own up to the fact they’ve done something wrong.

It’s not only annoying for me and my driving instructor, it’s also particularly annoying to the people driving along behind me.

Imagine what they think when the car in front stops suddenly, without warning.

Another pet hate is when I drive up to a roundabout and drivers fail to use their indicators.

People have had their cars for a very long time, and indicators come as part of this package, so what is so hard about pushing a stick up and down?

It’s not complicated, and it makes life a lot easier for learner drivers as well.

Think next time you come up to one. You could just make a learner’s lesson, and nerves, a little bit easier.

Yes, learner drivers can be slow, but isn’t that what the learning process is all about?

To gain confidence as you get better at driving and to learn new things, not get panicky and confused by other drivers’ mistakes?

I’m not blaming this on every driver out there, but I think it’s about time some drivers give us learners a bit of leeway.

A message to every experienced driver out there: you were a learner once, just remember that next time.

By the way, I’ve just passed my driving test…

DOES a good night’s sleep mean it’s safe to get behind the wheel? Simon Usborne mixes a real hangover with a virtual car to find out.

According to the online alcohol consumption calculator, www.rup!ssed.com I am, indeed, p!ssed. It’s been more than eight hours since I drank the last of six (or was it seven?) pints of strong lager (and a shot of sambuca), yet the website tells me almost half the alcohol I consumed will still be in my system. Since then, I’ve slept and downed litres of water, but at eight o’clock the morning after the night before, I’m unsteady on my feet and feel rougher than hell.

 

The website tells me I must have have a blood alcohol content of about 60 milligrams. The legal maximum in the UK is 80mg, so I suppose that means it’s safe for me to drive. But is it?

The first few miles seem OK. I steer a Jaguar S-Type through city streets without incident, stopping at the lights and weaving only slightly as I negotiate a bend. It’s a clear, sunny morning and the roads are quiet. As memories of the last night’s drinks binge begin to surface somewhere behind the headache pounding my skull, I feel like I’m driving pretty well. And whatever – I’m legal.

And then it happens. I spot the people carrier stationary in the slow lane of a dual carriageway but, as I overtake it, I don’t slow down. And when the car pulls out as I pass, I do not brake soon enough. Hitting the car at about 30mph, I screw up my face and instinctively duck my head as my windscreen shatters.

This time, thank God, I’m not driving a real car. I’m sitting in a simulator at Brunel University in Middlesex. A team of scientists, in partnership with the insurance firm RSA, have just carried out a study into how well (or badly) we drive the day after a party. A virtual city is projected on to screens in front of the Jaguar and the car’s controls are hooked up to a computer that records every inch of a seven-minute drive.

The results are disturbing. On average, the student participants, all of whom were under the legal limit, drove almost 10 per cent faster and committed twice as many traffic violations after a night out than they did with no drink in their system. After my turn, during which I had to pull over in the virtual world to throw up in the real one, Dr Stewart Birrell gives me my results. They’re not good. For almost 20 per cent of my journey I’ve been driving over the speed limit and I’ve committed seven driving violations.

David, the photographer who’s with me, has been watching my drive. Afterwards, he tells me a Dalmatian had walked out from behind a car on the other side of the road. “What Dalmation?” I ask. “If anything, I think you accelerated,” he replies.

Back at the office, struggling to gear my addled brain towards writing this piece, I call an expert to find out why I drove so badly when, technically, it was legal for me to get behind the wheel. Professor Vivienne Nathanson is head of science and ethics at the British Medical Association (BMA), which recently published the report Alcohol Misuse: Tackling the UK Epidemic.

She’s horrified that I consumed more than 18 units last night – some way above the Government’s daily guideline of three to four units for men (don’t tut like that; it was a party!).

“Did anyone tell you that that’s a toxic level of alcohol?,” she asks. My stomach did, I feel like saying.

“It fills me with dread to think that people are getting into cars in that condition,” she continues. “I think we overestimate the speed at which we get rid of alcohol. Because you’re less drunk than you were, it’s very easy to make the mistake of thinking you’re fit to drive.”

Nathanson says it’s no wonder I was a risk on the road. “If you’re dehydrated and your brain’s short on fluid, then it will slow down. Even with 20mg of alcohol in your system [that's one quarter of the legal limit], your ability to concentrate, make choices and react is impaired. Combined with the toxicity of the alcohol and tiredness, it makes driving unsafe.”

The BMA’s research suggests drivers with a blood alcohol content between 50mg and the legal limit of 80mg are a hidden cause of crashes. Some estimates suggest “legal drink driving” causes 80 road deaths a year in England. That would be on top of the official 460 deaths (16 per cent of all road deaths) caused by drivers over the legal limit last year in the UK.

A cultural shift in recent years has brought drink-driving deaths down – there was an 18 per cent decrease last year – but, as the party season gathers pace, awareness of the effects of a bad hangover appears to be lagging behind. The BMA is campaigning for a cut in the legal limit from 80mg to 50mg, which would bring the UK in line with Europe (only Ireland, Malta and Cyprus have limits as high as ours). “[The Government] claims to have an open mind and that it wants to see the evidence,” Nathanson says. “The evidence is there and it’s clear.”

I’ve learnt two things by doing the test: that I can’t hold my drink, and that drink-driving in this country needs to be redefined. Chastened, I’m left wondering what would have happened had that people carrier been a real one with a real family inside.

Source: The Independent website

BADDIA and its members cannot vouch for the accuracy of any external websites, especially those giving advice about drinking and driving.

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