Tag Archives: driving instructor

Driving Lessons Return!

We’re Back!

After over 3 months of lockdown, driving lessons have been given the green light to restart from the 4th July 2020. Our driving instructors are keen to get going again and I’m sure our learners are too. However, the world re emerge into is different than the one we left. With Coronavirus still an ongoing issue, the safety of our both our instructors and our learners alike is our biggest concern.

What to expect on your driving lesson

To try and create a safe environment in our cars we have put the following procedures into place:-

Your instructor will message/call you on the morning of your lesson to confirm you, your family, or anyone you’ve come into contact with does not have or had coronavirus or any symptoms (however mild) in the last 14 days. If you have, then your lesson will not go ahead.
When your instructor arrives for the lesson they will not come to the door. Please look out for them. On arrival the instructor will wipe down all contact areas in the car so please keep your distance to give them time to do this. Please wash your hands before you come out for your lesson.
Face masks must be worn for the duration of the lesson. You may bring your own, or we can provide one at the start of the lesson for £1.
The instructor will provide hand gel for you to use at the start and end of the lesson. – The windows will be kept open wherever possible to provide good ventilation throughout the car.
At this time we will not be accepting cash for lessons. You can either pay your instructor by bank transfer (this must be done before coming out for the lesson) or by card (this will be done outside the car).

These procedures will remain in place until the government or the DVSA issues alternative guidelines. If you have any queries then please contact your instructor directly, or email us – info@driveahead.co.uk

10 years as a driving instructor!

Today, 12th September 2015, marks 10 years to the day of me giving my first lesson as a driving instructor. I can’t remember the actual date that I qualified, I think it was about the 25th August 2005, but I remember both the preparation and trepidation of being ready for that first lesson. When I first started, I worked for a local school called Wheels Driver Training. Jim Rowley was the owner, and he helped me so much in those early days. From showing me local routes (my knowledge of the Stoke on Trent area was limited), to helping with questions I had about teaching, if it wasn’t for Jim I doubt I’d still be a driving instructor today. Jim was a very laid back character, much like myself, and a lot of what he did in his business has transferred to how I run mine today.

Typically car insurance gets cheaper on your 25th birthday, and I was not 25 for another 5 days, so Jim kindly let me teach in his Vauxhall Corsa for the first week so that I didn’t have to pay over the odds for my first years insurance. My first driving lesson was with a lad called Brett. The lesson went ok, I think I was as nervous as my pupil was, but we managed to get most of the things done you’d expect on a first lesson. Over the course of the week I gradually gained confidence in my teaching and started to settle in to being a driving instructor. On Saturday 17th September 2005, I was finally insured on my brand new Mini and started my lessons the following week with great excitement. The Mini was a great teaching car, and really good for business. Almost every learner that rang Wheels was asking for lessons in a Mini which helped me to have a really busy start to this new career.

After a couple of years of working 60 hour weeks, I wasn’t sure if being a driving instructor was something I wanted to do long term. So I studied from home to qualify as a mortgage advisor – just as the recession started – good timing eh! I left Wheels as I was now generating enough work to keep going on my own, alongside working part time with Butters John Bee as a mortgage and insurance advisor. Due to the recession, the time needed to make the transition into financial services a full time job after 18 months of trying, and with 2 young children, I had to make the decision to stick with being a driving instructor.

During that period my Dad had also qualified as a driving instructor and was working independently, so we decided to work together and ‘Learn with DAD’ was born. Not the greatest of names, it actually stood for ‘Learn with Dave and Dave’ (if you haven’t guessed, my Dad and I share the same name). After a couple of years we were both really busy. I made the decision that I wanted to grow the driving school and take on other instructors on a franchise basis. ‘Learn with DAD’ wasn’t going to be a name that would be attractive to the wider market so I embarked on finding a new name. I asked pupils, friends and family for suggestions and then picked a shortlist of 5 names which I asked my learners to vote on. The winner was ‘Drive Ahead School of Motoring’ which was the name my wife came up with (she still reminds me of this to this day). So in August 2010 Drive Ahead School of Motoring was born and we launched the website www.driveahead.co.uk. In the early days I wasn’t too sure as to what I was doing, I learned to code and created my initial websites from scratch which was very time consuming, but also very satisfying. I’d never run a business before so many things were guesswork. Things like advertising on Google was done by trial and error, and admittedly there was probably a lot of money wasted in those early days.

In the April of 2012 I took on my first paying franchisee, Martin Molyneux. Martin joined me from Red Driving School, and I’m pleased to say is still with Drive Ahead today. Over the next few years, the business slowly grew and I continued to learn more and more about how to run a successful business.

In February 2013 I attended the Fresh Start conference run by Marc Ford. I saw several great speakers that day, the most memorable being Dr Julia Malkin. If you ever get to meet Julia, or get the opportunity to listen to her as a speaker, then make sure you take it. The work she has done for the driving school industry is astounding, and her knowledge of learning difficulties is absolutely amazing.

Later that year, I decided I wanted to take my business to the next level so I contacted David Holland from www.resultsrulesok.com. For those that don’t know David, he’s a very successful business coach who works with multi national companies and is much too expensive for me – his words not mine. He gave me some great advice and some recommended reading to get me started, and advised that I get in touch with Marc Ford. At this point Marc had just started to hold quarterly business meetings called Fresh Plans which I began to attend. I’ve been attending these meetings ever since, and I also work with Marc on a 1 to 1 basis on all aspects of my business.

So here we are on September 12th 2015, working with Marc has made my business more profitable and I don’t work weekends anymore, so I’m not sharing my 10th anniversary with my learners. Instead I’m spending quality time with my family, which I’ve been able to do much more of lately. Drive Ahead has now grown to 6 instructors, with another currently in training, and I’m still looking for more instructors. There’s so much more to tell, so many more details in between, but I haven’t got all day to write it (and I’m sure you don’t want to spend all day reading it). I want to thank everyone who has been part of my journey so far, and I’m looking forward to the next 10 years with the exciting challenges it may bring…

What’s the difference between a pint of Peroni and a driving instructor?

It’s been said many times that if you were to line up 5 driving instructors and ask a learner to choose, how would they know the difference between them? In the end, we all do the same job. We take a nervous 17 year old who has limited driving knowledge and experience, and we train/instruct/coach them to be a competent driver who we hope will be safe on our roads. How the heck are they supposed to choose and know the difference between us?

What’s normally the first question you get when you answer the phone with an enquiry about driving lessons? – How much are the lessons? – If you’re charging above the average rate, I can hear your sighs now. For those who are charging the industry bottom prices (I heard of someone recently charging £14 for a driving lesson!) you’ll be rubbing your hands together when the price question rears its head – yeah well done, you got them. You won them over by being cheaper than everybody else – well done you – how many hundred hours a week do you work?

For those of us that charge a higher rate, you know the phone call is generally only going one way.

So how do you go about justifying charging more for driving lessons?

Now, this might sound like an odd analogy, but it came to me one night whilst in a hotel, the night before going on holiday. A driving instructor is like a pint of beer – told you it was an odd analogy! I enjoy a beer, a lager to be more precise, and I’m quite picky, I like a nice quality lager. At my local pub I often enjoy a nice cold pint of Peroni, it’s pricey at £4.20 a pint, but I enjoy it, and I enjoy the atmosphere of the pub. I’m sure I could get it cheaper at the local Weatherspoons, but it doesn’t have the ambience I’m looking for, and certainly isn’t a place I’d go to for a nice drink with my family. Last night, in the hotel bar, I was pleased to see they served Peroni, so I went ahead and ordered one. The Peroni there cost £5.10, roughly 20% more than I’d pay in my local pub.

So why does it cost more?

It’s still the same amber liquid I could purchase from many establishments across the UK. The difference is the package. At my local, my Peroni would sometimes come in the custom glass the brewery made for the drink. Sometimes, if all the good ones had been stolen, I’d get it served in a generic glass, which although it still tastes the same, it’s just nicer in a proper glass. Sometimes I’d be served by the landlord who’s quite chatty, other times it might be the new girl who couldn’t care less. At the hotel, the barmaid was professional and courteous, the hotel bar was spotless, there were free nuts poured fresh if you wanted them (not the same pot everyone’s had their dirty hands in), and the furnishing was comfortable and modern as you’d expect from a nice hotel.

So what’s my point? If you put a pint of Peroni from Weatherspoons, my local, and a nice hotel all side by side, they’d all look and taste the same. The reason the prices are different is because of the service that is offered around the pint. As a driving instructor you are the pint of beer, to the untrained eye you’re no different from the rest of us. The potential learner generally doesn’t know about the ADI grading system. Your driving school is the establishment – your package – and this is the key to unlocking your earning potential. Do you want to be Weatherspoon’s School of Motoring charging £14 an hour, or do you want to be the Nice Hotel School of Motoring charging £30+ an hour?

I know which one I’d prefer to be, and I’m working hard to achieve it so that I, and the other instructors that are with my franchise can earn a decent living. How you go about becoming the top class school is entirely up to you, but think outside the box, think about how you can add value to your lessons, and about how you can exceed your learners expectations – give them an experience they can’t forget!

I wish you all the best with your business, but I challenge you to be the best!

Dave Shannon

Driving Test Passes – January 2014

Congratulations to everyone who passed their driving test with Drive Ahead throughout January 2014! If you’d like to take driving lessons with one of our driving instructors then give us a call today on 01782 906010 or why not book online. We cover Stoke on Trent, Newcastle under Lyme, and we’ll soon be covering Stafford as well.

2nd January 2014 – Jordan Broadhead – The new year kicked off to a great start when Jordan passed his driving test at Newcastle driving test centre with our instructor Mark Lawton.

3rd January 2014 – Sam – Well done to Sam who passed after taking driving lessons with our instructor Sarah Alcock at the Newcastle test centre

6th January 2014 – Lee Colclough – Lee passed after taking driving lessons with our instructor Mark Lawton, and passed at the Cobridge (Stoke on Trent) test centre.

7th January 2014 – Tom Kendrick – Tom took his test in Newcastle, and ended off a great week for our driving instructor Mark Lawton who recorded 3 passes in the first week of 2014! Great results all round – Well done!

8th January 2014 – Grace Roberts – Grace passed her driving test first time at the Newcastle under Lyme test centre with our instructor John Johnson.

10th January 2014 – Anthony Leese – Anthony passed after taking lessons with our driving instructor John Johnson. He passed at the Newcastle under Lyme test centre.

13th January 2014 – Mohsina Tariq – Mohsina passed first time at the Cobridge (Stoke on Trent) test centre. Mohsina was the 4th member of her family to have passed with Drive Ahead, following in the footsteps of her parents and her older brother.

14th January 2014 – Rev Louis GD III – Rev Louis passed his driving test after taking driving lessons in Stoke on Trent with our driving instructor Martin Molyneux. He passed at the Cobridge test centre.

15th January 2014 – Johnathan Travers – Johnathan passed at Cobridge test centre following his driving lessons with our instructor John Johnson.

16th January 2014 – Sabrina Arif – Sabrina follows in the footsteps (or should I say tyre tracks) of her sister Sobia who also passed with Drive Ahead last year. Sabrina passed at Newcastle after taking lessons with our driving instructor Dave Shannon

16th January 2014 – Nazeela Omar – 2nd pass in the same day with our instructor Dave Shannon. Nazeela joined Drive Ahead after her brother in law passed first time with us in 2013.

22nd January 2014 – Hayman Khudur – Hayman passed in Stoke after taking driving lessons with our instructor Martin Molyneux

24th January 2014 – Matt – Yet another pass with Mark Lawton, his pupils just can’t stop passing this month. Well done to Matt who passed at Newcastle

31st January 2014 – Samantha Wright – A great end to the month with our 14th pass in January. Samanatha passed with our driving instructor John in Newcastle under Lyme.

Yet again, another fantastic month with over 20 new learners starting their driving lessons throughout the Stoke on Trent and Newcastle area with Drive Ahead, and a terrific 14 people have now gained their independence by passing their driving tests!

Driving Lessons in Stoke – How do I prepare?

Driving Lessons in Stoke on Trent

So then, you’ve decided that you want to learn to drive, but you’re not sure what you need to do to get ready for your driving lessons. This blog post gives you a guide about what documents you will need and how to get them, as well as what to expect on your first driving lesson, along with useful website and contact details.

How old must I be to learn to drive?

You can drive from your 17th birthday. However, you can apply for your provisional driving licence up to 3 months before your 17th birthday. If you’d like a driving lesson on your 17th birthday then I’d advise you to start applying for your licence at the earliest opportunity.

How to get your provisional driving licence

Before you even think about getting in a car to drive you must have a provisional driving licence. There are 2 ways to obtain your driving licence. Firstly you can pick up an application form from the Post Office, fill it in, then post it off to the DVLA. Secondly, you can apply online at https://www.gov.uk/apply-first-provisional-driving-licence, this is much easier and quicker, and once you’ve completed your application you’ll normally receive your driving licence within 1 week. The cost of the driving licence is currently £50 and you must also provide passport photos (although if you have a passport already and apply online then they will use the same photo that was used for your passport).

When you receive your driving licence your photo card will be attached to a paper counterpart. It is important to keep both parts of your driving licence safe, you will need to show them to your driving instructor on your first driving lesson, and they need to be taken with you when you take your driving test.

If at any time your driving licence is lost or damaged then you can apply for a replacement. The easiest way to do this is online at https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-to-replace-a-driving-licence. This currently costs £20.

You’ve got you licence, you’re now ready to book your driving lessons?

As long as you have your licence and either it’s approaching your 17th Birthday or your 17 or older already you can now go ahead and book your driving lessons. At present Drive Ahead School of Motoring offer driving lessons in Stoke on Trent, Newcastle under Lyme, and all surrounding areas. When booking your driving lessons you’ll need to decide whether you’d like to learn in a manual or automatic car. To book a driving lesson call us today on 01782 906010

Manual or Automatic – What’s the difference?

The majority of cars have a manual gearbox, although there is growing number of automatic cars around due to the increase in hybrid and electric cars being used. If you decide to learn in a manual car this means that you’ll need to change the gears, and use the clutch to control the car. In an automatic car you don’t need to change through the gears, the car ‘automatically’ does it for you. If you pass your test in a manual car then you are also permitted to drive an automatic, however if you pass in an automatic car and later decide you’d like to drive a manual car, you will need to retake your driving test in a manual car.

You’ve booked your driving lesson, what can you expect?

Your driving instructor will arrive at the location you arranged when booking your driving lessons. This might be your home, college, a place of work or any other prearranged location. You will be required to bring your driving licence with you on your first lesson. Also, if you’ve been told you require glasses for driving then you must bring them with you to all of your driving lessons. By law you are required to read a new style car number plate from 20 metres away. You will be asked to do this before you drive on your first lesson. If you cannot read the number plate, or you don’t bring your glasses with you, then you will not be permitted to drive.

When you are picked up for your first lesson, your driving instructor will normally drive you to a suitable location to start your learning. When taking driving lessons in Stoke there’s loads of great places to get you started. This will normally be a quiet housing or industrial estate where the amount of hazards are minimal, and the roads are suitable for you to start your learning. You will normally start off by learning about the cockpit drill. The cockpit drill is 5 checks that make sure you are sitting in the correct position, can reach all of the controls properly and can see everything you need to see. The instructor will find your knowledge of the controls of the car and how they work, but don’t worry, if there’s anything you don’t know or are not sure off then your instructor will help out.

Once you’ve got a basic understanding of the car and it’s controls you will then look at how to get the car moving, travel a short distance, then bring the car to a stop in a safe location. Your instructor will always make sure you are safe and if needed can help you out by using their dual controls. If you’ve taken a 1 hour lesson then your first lesson will probably end at this point. The driving instructor may drive you home dependant on the progress made.

We always recommend a 2 hour lesson for your first driving lesson to give you the most benefit when starting out. This means that you may move on to dealing with basic junctions, looking at how to make left and right turns.

It’s important to remember that every person learns at a different rate, and what one person does in one hour, may take another several hours. Your driving instructor will guide you throughout the learning process, but if at any point you feel you don’t understand the subject and would like the instructor to slow things down a bit then just tell them. Also, if you feel you should be making more progress then also speak to your instructor, they’ll be more than happy to discuss it with you.

At the end of the lesson your instructor will give you a debrief about the learning that you’ve done, as well as setting an agenda for the next lesson with you.

If you’ve got any further questions or would like to book a driving lesson in Stoke then call us today on 01782 906010

How to check the parking brake (handbrake) for excessive wear

Driving Lesson Questions

Q. Show Me how to check the parking brake (handbrake) for excessive wear, make sure you keep safe control of the vehicle.

Answer

To check the handbrake, you should firstly press firmly on the footbrake. This will ensure that the car doesn’t move whilst you’re performing the check. Then all you need to do is release the handbrake, then reapply it, ensuring that it is secure and does not come to the end of the working travel. All I mean by ‘not coming to the end of the working travel’ is that the handbrake does not come too far up. You can then release the footbrake.

Why Do I need to check the Hand Brake for Wear?

Regular checks to the handbrake are important to ensure the car remains secure when you intend it to be. Failure to check the handbrake may mean that one day, you park on a hill, then return to find your car not where you expect it, possibly having rolled back into a nice, expensive car behind!

How often should I check my handbrake?

As I guide, I would recommend to check your handbrake at least weekly, but really you could be checking it on a daily basis, as every time you drive you will need to use your handbrake, so you might as well check it regularly.

Your driving instructor will help you to learn the “show me, tell me” questions in preparation for your driving test around Stoke or Newcastle click the button below.

Please call today on 01782 906010 or visit our website www.driveahead.co.uk

Independent Driving on your Driving Test in Stoke on Trent

What is independent driving?

Independent Driving was introduced to the UK driving test in October 2010. It is a 10 minute section of the driving test, where the driver is expected to follow a series of directions, roadsigns, or a combination of both. For example, the examiner may say, at the end of the road turn left, then at the roundabout follow the road ahead, then take the next right. If required, the examiner may also show a diagram to support the instructions (see below). Alternatively, the examiner may ask the driver to follow road signs, or may give a combination of both. For example, the examiner may say “At the end of the road turn left, then follow the signs to Stoke on Trent”.

Why is there a need for independent driving?

Independent driving was introduced to ensure that drivers presented for the driving test were able to drive independently, without having to be directed for each individual junction. The reason behind this was that learners could easily fall into the habit of using directions as a prompt. What I mean by this is, traditionally learners are taught the MSM routine – Mirrors, Signal, Manoeuvre (further broken down to PSL – Position, Speed, and Look). They then get into the habit of whenever their driving instructor gives them a direction, they then see this as a prompt to start doing the MSM routine. The problem with this, is that once the learner has passed their driving test, although they may know when to turn left or right, without the direction (prompt) from the driving instructor, the new driver may forget to use the MSM routine.

Also, up until independent driving was introduced, drivers were not required to read directional road signs. Again, once the driver has passed their driving test, they may not have been able to read roadsigns, causing great difficulties, especially when the driver visits an area they are unfamiliar with.

So, what problems may that cause?

The MSM routine is used to assess the traffic situation behind you, signal your intention to other road users, before completing the manoeuvre itself. If just 1 element is missing from this approach, the driver may be creating a dangerous situations. For example, when making a left turn, if the driver doesn’t check their mirrors, they will not be aware if a car behind is following too closely. If the subsequent signal is also missing, the following car will not be aware of the drivers intention to turn, and then may be taken by surprise when the driver brakes to slow down for the junction, potentially leading the following driver to crash into the back of the leading car.

In relation to roadsigns, if a driver was unable to read the directions given on signs, they may get lost, causing stress to the driver, or they may suddenly change direction when they realise they are going the wrong way causing dangers to other road users.

How does independent driving help?

Independent driving promotes thinking on behalf of the driver. Although the examiner may still give directions, they are usually given in groups of three. The junctions may be quite close together, or they may be far away from each other. This means that the driver needs to think about where the junction is, or to read a sign and decide on the direction to be taken, then plan how they are going to approach it on their own, without the usual prompt of an instruction.

But what if I take the wrong turning, miss a turn, or don’t see the signs?

Providing you drive safely YOU WILL NOT have a fault marked on your driving test report! The aim of independent driving is that you demonstrate how to drive safely on your own, and it is not there to test your ability to follow instructions. An example of this would be, the examiner has asked you to take the second road on the left, and you mistakenly take the first turn on the left. Providing you approached using the correct MSM routine then you will not be marked down. If the examiner can see that you are going to turn the wrong way, and it may take you a long way from the set route, they may remind you of the direction required to try and encourage you to go in the correct way. And again, providing you do everything safely, you will not normally be marked down for this. If you have taken a wrong turning, the examiner will tell you so, and then either give you directions to get back onto the same route, or change the route slightly.

Finally, what if I forget where I’m supposed to be going?

Just ask! There will be no problem if you ask the examiner to repeat his instructions, it’s better to do that than just carry on driving aimlessly. What you would be penalised for though, is if you just arrive at a junction, with no signals, and no idea where you are going, because you will not have given traffic around you any indication as to where you are going. If you get to a junction and you are not sure where to go, it is much better to choose a direction, follow your instinct and make a safe turning.

Do you want to start, or are you already taking driving lessons in Stoke on Trent?

Why not give us a call and speak to one of our highly experienced driving instructors about how we can help you to pass your driving test. Our driving lessons are taught using the most modern techniques and we have a great reputation in Stoke on Trent. For more details, please visit our website www.driveahead.co.uk or give us a call on 01782 906010