Diary Of An ADI

I was reading something recently and was struck by the shallowness in the way some people think. It’s a simple fact that just about anyone can learn to drive – the real question that no one seems to consider is should they?

Thinking of my own previous pupils for a minute, my quickest went from absolute zero (never driven before) to test pass in just 17½ hours – passing her test first time. My slowest one to date took around 160 hours and passed on his third attempt (which wasn’t bad, considering). Both were in the 17-24 age group, but I privately despaired at ever being able to get that second one up to test standard – and even then I worried about how he’d drive once he’d passed.

He was an unbelievably slow learner, even though he was holding down a good job in IT. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him except when he was behind the wheel of a car, and he was a really nice young chap. Every single aspect of learning to drive – how to use the clutch, how to brake, how to steer, etc. – had to be dealt with laboriously over months of lessons. And even when he could do them, he simply couldn’t apply them in real situations, and this took even more time to develop.

He wasn’t what you’d call wealthy, but he had no problem paying for lessons. I still felt terrible about the fact that he was paying me thousands of pounds (over £3,700 in the end) to teach him. I’d suggested a couple of times that he might want to consider learning in an automatic, but he was absolutely adamant that he wanted to pass in a manual car. In the end, I think the important thing was that we both knew that he had a problem, and that it wasn’t the tuition that was to blame.

That’s why those who try to suggest that the instructor is specifically the problem, offering epithets like “don’t be ashamed if you can’t do it – pass them over to someone who can”, are talking out of their backsides. I covered everything with this guy, in every way imaginable, in order to teach him how to drive. In the end we both succeeded and I doubt that anyone else could have done it any more quickly than I did.

However, one question I cannot answer is should he be driving?

When you travel the roads every day, you see dozens of people out there who – one way or another – are not good drivers. You get boy racers who think they’re good, but aren’t. You have older drivers whose faculties are declining. You get the white-knuckle matrons who are terrified of being on the roads at all, but go on them anyway. You get the diminutive 4×4 drivers who couldn’t handle a Tonka truck, let alone a 2½ tonne tank (especially near schools and in supermarket car parks). You get people who simply can’t do roundabouts, and who negotiate the same ones every day and do them wrong every time. The list goes on and on.

Should any of those be driving?

Far too many ADIs these days – and it is a fairly recent malady – seem to forget that teaching people how to drive is just a job, and the purpose of that job is to earn money by doing it well. In other words, as with most jobs, there is a balance to be found between purely financial concerns on the one hand, and professional and moral responsibilities on the other. You cannot take things to extremes.

Unfortunately, the exceptional ability of many ADIs to use “doublethink” clouds this distinction quite significantly. For example, specialising in teaching people who have health or age issues, but overlooking the obvious safety implications of letting them loose on the roads – where the moral implications are not even considered – might come across as very philanthropic. But it is a definite selling point which allows a premium price to be charged for the service, so the financial arguments are obviously highly significant.

Is it a sin to advise someone to learn in an automatic car when they have obvious issues controlling clutch and gears? Well, some might argue that the “inferior” ADI who can’t handle such difficult learners would do well to pass them over to someone who can. As I said above, this is utter crap – it is merely a covert marketing ploy by the “specialists”.

Sure, there are some ADIs who can’t even handle normal learners very well, let alone the tricky ones, but that isn’t the issue. What these experts always ignore is the fact that most pupils want to learn quickly and often cannot afford 150 hours or more of lessons. If I get someone who is open about having a budget that they cannot exceed, then I’m open with them about whether I think they can do it or not – and especially if I discover that their left and right feet can’t work the pedals, and still refuse to do so even after hours of trying. Indeed, it’s got to the stage where I make a point of mentioning the automatic option to some new budget-focused pupils once I’ve seen how they are likely to develop.

I’ve got one at the moment. Really nice lady who – on her first lesson – showed a lot of promise. She’d mentioned how she had a budget and had already considered learning in an automatic, but would prefer a manual licence if possible. However, about 7 hours in and it has become clear that her left foot has a mind of its own which isn’t likely to change overnight. I’ve explained clearly that I am absolutely certain she could learn in a manual car, but probably not as quickly as she’d like and she might want to reconsider the automatic option in light of that. The coordination problems that she experiences with the clutch and gears simply wouldn’t exist in an automatic. She is grateful that I have told her this, and although I will lose a pupil she’ll leave happy.

One I’ve mentioned before finally passed her test in an automatic on her 7th (I think) attempt. It took her two years of automatic lessons – and that’s on top of the two she spent with me, determined to succeed in a manual transmission car. Even after 100 hours it was a 50:50 bet on whether she’d put the clutch down before stopping. After her first automatic lesson she phoned me and beamed “it’s great! When I stop at traffic lights all I have to do is brake, and then let go when I want to move again.” That was exactly what she kept doing in the manual car, of course, which resulted in frequent stalls.

There is absolutely no way any “expert” could have made any difference. She simply had a problem with driving, and the fact that it took seven test attempts even with an auto instructor bears testimony to this. If she’d have stayed with me she could still easily have not been test ready even now. I estimate that she has spent in excess of £7,000 to get her licence. And yes, I worry about how she’ll cope when she gets her own car. An instructor’s moral concerns don’t just end with the public.

Anyone who is struggling to learn to drive in a manual car, and who has limited funds on which to draw, should seriously consider learning in an automatic. It’s no sign of weakness to advise them on that – in fact, it is potentially irresponsible and unprofessional not to advise them of that option.