Pi** Poor Driving Instructors

**SCOTTEX** · 7th April 2006, 16:38

With having to contend with a congested road network in and around my local town, you would have thought that "driving instructors" would take their pupils to quieter areas of the borough. Oh no, every day, small L plated cars are being put into dangerous and difficult areas to cause chaos and tailbacks, whilst their instructors look meakly on. The standard of new drivers is so poor is largely down to poor instructors who only teach enough to pass the basic driving test, another out dated relic, that needs a radical overhaul. Should you ever decide to voice your protest against a particular piece of inconsiderate and/or dangerous learner driving to a driving instructor and your met with ferrocous tirade against you, how dare you criticize us ! If I did the same in front of a Police traffic officier, I’d be charged with dangerous driving, when a learner driver does it, we are supposed to show forgiveness and charity towards them, after all they are only learning. Well, they obviously haven’t learnt or been taught correctly then. It seems driving instructors behave as if the roads are for them to do as they please and the rest of us don’t matter. The gap between good driving and bad driving is widening, why. Do driving instructors need better training and advance skills. Judging by what I see around on the nations roads, it seems the answer is yes,

**Dwabo** · 7th April 2006, 17:49

we all have to start somewhere...and if people learned in quiet rural areas, how would they cope with a busy city centre etc when they have passed their test..they have to learn in all sorts of situations and environments so to be honest, I believe that they should have every oppertunity to learn in a busy towntown centre with everything thrown at them...personally, I think it should be compulsery for people to have to pass a motorway test before they are allowed to drive on them. Unfortunately, I can understand how you feel and am sure its frustrating to be stuck behind them but I fully support learner drivers and the instructors teaching them.

**bobbyboy** · 7th April 2006, 22:22

I agree with both of you, but how does this sound....

At 11.00 last night my neighbour knocks on the door and says her youngest son has crashed her car and can I take her to pick him up as she has had a drink...bearing in mind he has just passed his test 2months ago. On the way she tells me that the son thinks he has written the car off...a 2month old toyota yaris..£10000 worth. When we arrive at the crash site the traffic police are there and the son is in the back of the patrol car..thankfully unhurt. The car is resting vertically against a tree (headlight shining into space) with obvious marks and dents which suggest it has been rolled. I happen to know the traffic cop so he takes me through the accident as he sees it and form marks on the road and damage to fencing, hedgerow, grass banking, and trees. It seems he has lost it on a corner that could be taken at about 50mph safely, at about 10 yards the first roll mark, at 30 yards the second roll mark, at 40 yards farmers fence and hedgerow wiped out, at 60 yards ploughs into grass bank and is catapulted into trees at a height of 6+ feet, at 90 yards the car finally comes to rest up against a tree..totally vertical.....I have never seen anything like it and I have attended 100s of rtas over the years. Me and the officer have the same conclusion too fast and too inexperienced...and very lucky to be alive....the lad isnt the best driver, and I do wonder how he past his test...??
So there are good and poor learner/newly qualified drivers and in the eyes of the law it only matters how good or bad they are for approx 45 mins on the actual driving test...whos fault is it..the driver, the instructors, the test system ?? I havent a clue!!!! but it makes you think when you see something like this

**Ian** · 7th April 2006, 22:30

good point there Bobbyboy, but new drivers have a probationary period, insurers offer good discounts for pass plus and dont forget the driver in it all.

But to learn - youve got to go where you'll encounter problems. however do you really learn untill you start driving on you own?

**bobbyboy** · 7th April 2006, 22:40

you are quite right Ian, Its that old saying...practice makes perfect...

**SCOTTEX** · 7th April 2006, 23:00

The point I was trying to make wasnt about the learner driver, they shouldn't be put these positions by the instructors in the first place. The old arguement about "they've got to learn somewhere" is weak, I've got a horse to school, so its allright if I throw him in the Grand National tomorrow, as "he's to got to learn somewhere".
This topic has been bugging me for a while but today highlighted it, a potentially serious accident was avoided because a learner got themselves on the other side of the road (facing oncoming traffic) stopped, panicked, did nothing, instructor did nothing, all cars stopped, waiting to one to run in the back of the other, I got out and took charge of the situation, got the oncoming cars to drive around the learner and clear the space. I bollocked the driving instructor who took great offence that I dared criticise them. If I was a police traffic cop that warranted driving without due care and attention. ****** amatures.

**AndrewTi** · 7th April 2006, 23:23

Scottex, I'm with you. I think there should be a lot more use of simulators to guage a candidates ability before they are let loose on the road. Also, It's absolutely insane that there is no motorway tuition included as part of the test.

**bobbyboy** · 7th April 2006, 23:33

I agree with scottex on this one, there is no excuse for a learner under instruction to do this, further more there is no excuse for an instructor to allow this to happen...the instructor deserved to have his abilities questioned

**VauxVeteran** · 8th April 2006, 14:21

I think the whole system is crocked, I'll break it up into 4 areas.

1 - The test, it's way to easy and doesn't cover vital areas like motorways and rural roads be they single or dual lane roads, and not enough night driving tips given, I feel it's easier at night than during the day, two headlights are advance warning for me, but still ppl jump out of a side road in front of you.

2 - Making the test harder? this in a real world would be the answer, but in todays society if you keep failing ppl they eventually decide to not bother with a licence and drive anyway, thus becoming an uninsured nightmare, so it's my guess the law sees it better a bad driver thats got all his docs, than a bad one who causes a tragedy with no where for the victims to claim from.

3 - Instruction/Instructors, I pick up lots of ppl in my job and we chat, quite a lot of the time it's a youngster and they tell me how they failed their test etc, when I ask how long they have been learning most tell me 9 mths +, @ 9 mths if they cant pass after that I'd say either the instructor is happy to keep taking their money without concience about getting them passed or they simply do not have the ability to grasp driving altogether.

4 - Solution according to me, I think that before anyone gets a car on the road they should attend a track, 1st they should be taught basic clutch control and braking/acc control, then once this is mastered a short course in slalom driving between cones to enhance steering control, after that speed recognition testing along a line of cones showing how the levels of speed are, as some speeds are not recognisable due to local area conditions, now for the daddy test, high powered car and they have to drive it in a straight line at 130mph, this should remove nerves and show just how fast 130 mph is, after this they should then be allowed to learn on the public highway. I also think that 10 to 2 push pull steering is a bad system, it causes ppl to grip the wheel to tight and destroys the fluid harmony that a driver should have with the car he's in control of, I'm a firm believer you must become part of the car to control it properly.

**lborob17** · 16th May 2007, 02:45

VauxVeteran - I agree with you on most points but I think getting people who have very little driving experience to drive a car at 130mph (even if it is on a track) is a little dodgy - As the speed limit in the UK is 70mph people don’t need to drive any faster than that - surely it would be better to fully understand how a car feels/responds at 70mph - as its entirely different at 130mph!.
Also the point of 'ten to two'- I think that there is a lot of research out there to say that you have at least - a chance of being in more control - adopting this position - just look at police drivers, racing drivers etc. Regarding gripping the wheel - lets just say that I was glad I was using this method when the caravan I was towing had a blow out at 65mph on the M1!! - I didn't loose control and was able to deal with the situation. I was also once a passenger in a car who's driver had adopted 10-2 when we hit a piece of 3x2 wood while travelling at 70mph at night - as he was holding on - we didn’t loose control!.