Hello World!

How we got here.

Do you remember when you first learnt to drive people would say to you ‘You only really start to learn how to drive when you have passed your test” ? Well to be honest there is quite a lot of truth in this, and the same applies to driving instructors.

Driving is a ‘skill for life’ and you don’t stop learning just because you do not have an instructor next you. All good driving instructors will tell you that they are not training you to pass your test , they are training you to drive. But we still follow a syllabus of some form. After you pass your test, unless you take some form of additional training you are left to your own devices. ‘The school of hard knocks’ or bumps and scrapes if we are talking about driving.

For this blog I am talking about my personal journey to get to this point.

When I look back at deciding to become a driving instructor my main thought centred around me not having the patience to help people. I think back to ‘The Driving School” a BBC reality series and the exploits of Maureen, one of their more colourful pupils and I really wasn’t certain I would be able to cope.

As I started my training I genuinely worried that not only would I not be able to maintain patience with pupils but also keeping control of the lesson and achieving learning outcomes.

What I found in particular, is the more I worked the more I found out about myself, not just the job, and guess what? I did have the patience and I actually enjoyed working with people that may find it difficult. Whether from ability or from emotional issues. As such I became particular interested in these areas and took additional courses to help me provide the best support I could to get people driving.

Over the years I have worked with many people from different backgrounds, nationalities. Some with disabilities or with anxiety issues. I have found that getting people on the road is rewarding, but getting someone on the road who has difficulty, for what ever reason, is the most rewarding of all.

I have done many jobs over the years but the 18 years I have spent teaching people how to drive and overcome their issues has been an excellent experience.

So bring on the ‘Maureens’ or anyone else who feels they may need a little more help or support.

My idea for the blogs was to share my thoughts and experiences with helping people to drive, whether learning to drive or already driving. I also have an exciting new project starting shortly which I will share.