Having A Laugh (And Coaching) Again

03/02/2011
DOAADI
ADI, Funny

On a lesson with a pupil last night, his speed was far too high coming into some junctions. It resulted in him messing up the gears a few times, coasting, going too wide, and anything else that this particular fault (well, planning for the junction – the speed is just a symptom) brings with it.

We dealt with it appropriately during the lesson, although I wouldn’t necessarily say we had sorted it by the end of the lesson. So when we did the debrief at the end I wanted to talk about it some more.

Now, you’ve got to realise that this pupil has spiky black hair and dresses in way that once made me suggest that he was into EMO music. I won’t go into the effect this had on him at the time, but let’s just say that it turns out he isn’t, and that you should never judge people solely on appearance. And be ready for their reaction if you do, and get it wrong!

However, I never miss an opportunity to wind him up over the episode.

In the debrief, the conversation went like this (and this is a real one again, although not a precise transcript):

Me: How did you think the lesson went?

He: I wasn’t happy with it at all. I drove crap.

Me: Well, it wasn’t all bad – you haven’t driven for a while but you did all of the manoeuvres at the start OK, and most of your driving was fine. What were the bad parts you were thinking of?

He: Well, I stalled it once, and I kept missing the gears.

Me: I’m not too worried about the stalling. Why do you think you messed up the gears?

He: Well, I’ve not driven for a while.

Me: Mmmm. Maybe, but I don’t think that has much to do with it. What did we stop to talk about several times in that lesson?

He: My speed.

Me: And what about your speed?

He: It was too fast.

Me: Yes, but that wasn’t the only problem though, was it? What about going wide on those junctions? Why did that happen?

He: I was going too fast.

Me: No, come on. We’ve talked about this before. Coming into a turn you have to check your mirrors and signal, slow down, change gear as necessary, make sure it’s safe, then go if it’s clear. You know all that. What’s going to happen if you come in too fast?

He: I won’t have time to do it all.

Me: Exactly! So when you got into a mess with the gears it was because you were rushing to do it in time for the corner, and when you went wide it was because you were messing with the gears and trying to steer, and when you had to slam the brakes on it was because you panicked because you knew you were going too fast – especially when you’d got the clutch down and it was speeding up even more because you were coasting [edited: we also looked at the effects that this might have on other road users]. Can you see where all this is heading?

He: Yes, I need to think about doing it further up the road so I’m not running out of time.

Me: That’s right, and let’s not forget you weren’t getting it wrong all the time – just some of the time. Your concentration just seemed to go.

He: Well, I don’t like driving in the dark, and I haven’t driven for a long time.

Me: I don’t think that’s the reason [switching to wind-up mode]. After all, we’ve talked about your speed in these situations before – and that was during the day, and when you’d had lessons the week before. You were driving like a chav…

He: Hey, thanks [reciprocating]. I’m not a chav…

Me: …so as well as being an EMO, you’re also a chav now?

He: So… a ch-emo? [pronounced chee-mo]

In the end, we agreed on that new word ‘ch-emo’.

Sky Channel Update

02/02/2011
DOAADI
Movies & TV

Sky Channel PDFFrom today, Sky has updated all its channels. In a nutshell, nothing is where it was (well, hardly), and everything is where it wasn’t (more or less).

As usual, Sky doesn’t appear to have published a comprehensive list of channels – although according to the publicity blurb, it will “be distributing a handy quick guide this week”. That’s no bloody good, when the channels have moved today.

Maybe this will help anyone else in the same position. Click the logo to download a PDF file with all the channels on it.

New Powers To Councils On Road Layouts

01/02/2011
DOAADI
ADI, DSA

An email alert from the DSA:

New powers to help councils redraw the map

Local authorities will be given greater control over how their roads appear on maps and satnav systems – helping them to better direct traffic – under bureaucracy-cutting proposals set out today by Local and Regional Transport Minister Norman Baker.

At present, if a council wants to change the classification of one of its roads – for example downgrading an A road to a B road – it has to be approved by the Department for Transport.

The Government proposes devolving decision making to councils as they are best-placed to decide the classification of local roads. This would help them make clear to drivers which roads are most suitable for through-journeys, potentially reducing congestion on local routes.

Norman Baker said:

“The current system dates back to the 1960s and is a hangover from the days of Whitehall-knows-best. I believe in giving power to local people. This reform will cut red tape and mean councils can better control traffic in their area.

More information

  • read the full press release
  • have your say on the proposals

This is a privatisation-type scheme by this Mickey Mouse government we have. I’d suggest anyone with concerns should use that second link and make their feelings known.

The existing system has worked fine for decades. The new system would mean lunatics who get on to councils would be involved – and you don’t get many lunatics who all think the same way! Going from town to town would be a nightmare – and they think there are too many deaths amongst young or new drivers now?

DSA Warns Of DVLA Scam

01/02/2011
DOAADI
ADI, DSA

A DSA email alert:

DVLA scam email warning

Watch out for emails claiming to be from DVLA asking you to verify your driving licence details via an online link – it’s a scam. DVLA has not sent any such email, so if you get one delete it immediately.

Scam phishing email

The email appears to be an attempt to trick drivers into providing personal details. If you get the email below, do not respond to it and delete it immediately.

This warning has also been published on the Directgov website:

From: DVLA

Subject: Update Your License Details

We are currrently upgrading our database and all drivers are required to update and verify there driver’s license details.To complete your license verification with us, you are required to fill out the form in the link below.

{Fake link}

Drivers that refuses to upgrade his or her details within two weeks of receiving this verification email will lose his or her driver’s License and will have to take a fresh driving test.

We sincerely apologise for any inconviniences this might have caused you.

Thank you for your co-operation.

(c) Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency Swansea SA6 7JL

It’s amazing how easily people fall for these things. Especially when the phishing email has spelling and grammatical errors in it.

Despatch: February 2011

01/02/2011
DOAADI
ADI, DSA

February 2011: Despatch DownloadThe February issue of Despatch has just been released by the DSA. Click the logo on the left to open it in a new tab.

Articles include the impending review of the Motorcycle Test (aka this Mickey Mouse government trying to change everything Labour ever did); a review of the bad weather and how it has affected tests and a short bit about ‘client centred learning’ (already, the “experts” on the forums are repeating this phrase at every opportunity, so you know where they got it from).

There’s also a review of independent driving so far (by an ADI),  something about an ADI who has been awarded an MBE, and a few minor snippets at the end.

AA Buys BSM: Further Update

31/01/2011
DOAADI
ADI

Another Press Association news release  on the AA take over of BSM:

AA moves to buy driving school BSM

The British School of Motoring (BSM), the UK’s largest driving school, has been sold to motoring giant The AA, which bought it out of administration.

Administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the move would preserve the 100-year-old BSM brand, safeguard 2,400 jobs and allow 30,000 customers to carry on taking their lessons.

The driving school has struggled since a £10 million management buyout in November 2009 led by joint managing directors Abu-Haris Shafi and Nikolai Kesting, the Mail on Sunday said.

Matthew Hammond, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: “We are very pleased to have been able to complete a sale of the BSM business.

“The sale preserves the BSM brand and its 100-year history, and secures the immediate transfer of employees, driver franchisees, trainees and student drivers to a large, stable and successful company.

“The sale benefits instructors, students and employees and we are delighted to have achieved this.”

BSM is understood to have appointed PwC to advise it on a sale before it was bought immediately after entering administration.

The AA was being lined up as a buyer and is likely to have paid only a nominal sum for the business, according to the newspaper.

BSM has 2,100 franchised driving instructors across the UK, 135 employees at the head office in Bristol and a further 145 employees at 71 network centres across the UK.

Its operations will continue without interruption and its employees will transfer over to the new company.

The “nominal sum” is rumoured to be £1 according to the Daily Mail story. Apparently, BSM went into administration and the AA bought it instantly – within minutes.

EDIT: Also covered this morning in London Glossy, the FT, and Insider News. Nothing new – although the FT links the change from FIAT to Vauxhall as part of the sale, which appears to have been ongoing for some time – just the same story as above (or links to it in some other cases).

Continue to watch this space.

AA To Buy BSM: Update

31/01/2011
DOAADI
ADI

There’s a new piece of information published in Business Sale Report.

AA owner to rescue struggling BSM

The AA is to purchase rival driving school business British School of Motoring (BSM), which has been having financial problems.

The pre-pack administration deal will involve the transferal of BSM’s driving instructors and the brand, which is to be kept.

Acromas, the owner of AA and Saga, is being backed by private equity firm Charterhouse and is close to finalising the deal with the administrators at PwC.

BSM’s troubles began in late 2009 when it bought out German firm Arque Industries in a £10 million deal.

It has also been reported that BSM was not able to pay its staff their first wage packet of the year, and that it has debts relating to properties and vehicles.

Established in 1920 as a franchise business, BSM is the largest driving school in Britain with about 2,100 self-employed instructors. It teaches about 130,000 learners at almost 100 centres. The AA has less than 2,000 driving teachers.

Plans to expand the instructor base to 3,000 had to be shelved due to the cashflow problems.

So, it looks like they will keep the brand name. However, the AA boasts that it is the only national school to use fully qualified instructors – and a lot of BSM’s instructors are not qualified.

I suppose that technically they can still say that if they keep the two brands separate, but I think they might need to do something more.

I also wonder how the franchise fees will change (if at all)? BSM instructors can be paying well over £300 a week for their franchise, whereas AA instructors only pay around £200. How will the AA justify that. Can it? Will it?

Watch this space.

AA To Buy BSM?

30/01/2011
DOAADI
ADI

This story appeared in today’s press (this from the Press Association):

Struggling BSM ‘may be sold to AA’

The British School of Motoring (BSM), the UK’s largest driving school, could be sold to motoring giant The AA, it has been reported.

The driving school has struggled since a £10 million management buyout in November 2009 led by joint managing directors Abu-Haris Shafi and Nikolai Kesting, said the Mail on Sunday.

The AA is understood to be close to sealing a deal for a nominal sum, after plans to expand the pool of instructors at BSM to 3,000 apparently faltered. PricewaterhouseCoopers is understood to be advising BSM for a sale.

The market is dominated by independents, with about 45,000 driving instructors in Britain.

BSM, which operates as a franchise business and was set up in 1920, is thought to have just 2,100 instructors, with The AA having fewer than 2,000.

Should be interesting if it happens. Will it be all under the AA brand, or will BSM be kept?

I like the part where they go on about how many independents there are compared to the number of instructors under each of the company names. Each independent is effectively a school consisting of ONE instructor (or in some cases, up to a handful).

They’re not a group of 40,000 instructors all working together. They’re 40,000 individuals, all working as competitiors to each other. They undercut each other to try and win business, and don’t stop until they’re virtually giving lessons away for nothing. That’s why franchises can be a good thing, and why they tend to be more successful than a lot of newly independent ADIs offering lessons for £17 an hour – after the initial “first 3 for £30” kind of offers. The franchise will be charging up to £25 an hour in the meantime.

The story is also covered briefly by This Is Money.

The Story Of The Guitar

30/01/2011
DOAADI
Movies & TV, Music

The Story Of The GuitarThe BBC is showing Guitar Heroes again on one of its satellite/cable channels. This time, it also has some other guitar-related documentaries.

There’s a great one about Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits), but the one that caught my eye was this three-parter about the history of the guitar (available for the usual limited period on iPlayer).

Alan Yentob travels around to various places to look at how the guitar originated, and how it developed – from Mediæval times to the present. Lots of acoustic and rock footage included.

Car Roll Back + Biting Point

29/01/2011
DOAADI
ADI, Training

Someone found the blog using the question “can the car roll back at the biting point?” If you understand what the biting point is then you already will know the answer. I’ve explained the biting point before. Here’s a summary.

If the car is in gear, the clutch acts like a volume control on a radio or mp3 player. When you push the pedal all the way down, the ‘volume’ is at 0, when you lift the clutch all the way up the ‘volume’ is at 10 (maximum). If the clutch is only part way up then the ‘volume’ is somewhere in between.

The “volume” in the case of the clutch is how much of the engine’s power is transferred to the wheels.

In reality, because of how the clutch is designed, the “volumes” we’re interested in occur over a very narrow range of pedal movement quite a way up from fully depressed – this is what we call the biting point. It is not a fixed point, but a range – how much bite depends on what you are trying to do, and where.

A ‘volume’ of 4 or 5 might get the car moving on the flat or perhaps a very gentle incline, but on a steeper upwards slope you might need a setting of 6 or 7 to avoid the car rolling back slightly. Similar considerations apply to moving off more quickly.

Precisely where the bite point occurs in the pedal travel depends on the car. It will be different in every car you drive. Even your own car will change its biting point as time goes by, as the clutch plates wear down. Knowing the basic principle is useful, but operating the clutch and finding the bite should be instinctive rather than coldly calculated every time you need to do it.

So yes, you can roll back at the biting point – if you haven’t got enough bite set.

Will the car roll back when you have the biting point?

By definition, no. However, if you haven’t got enough bite then it might – just as too much bite will make it move forward.

You have to try to understand what the biting point is – and how it is part way between no engine control of the wheels at all and total engine control of the wheels. The exact point of bite varies depending on the angle of incline.

Will I fail my test if I roll back?

It’s not automatic, but if you roll back a lot, or do it every time, then yes you could fail your test for it. I’ve written about it in detail in this article.

EDIT 20/2/2011: I’m still getting hits on questions like “how to find the biting point every time”.

Obviously, I can’t be certain what people are thinking, but the wording (and the fact there is clearly a problem) suggests people are perhaps being a little lazy in the way they approach driving.

You cannot just magically “find” the biting point at the outset unless you think hard about it. You have to “feel”, “look”, and “listen” for it (i.e. feel the car change its revs, listen for the engine slow down, and look for the slight movement as the bite takes). The more you do it then the quicker you’ll get to that magic point where you just find it and go without having to think.

Some people – not many in my own experience – have a serious coordination problem and find manual driving a huge challenge. If they switch to automatic then they never look back (although if you pass in an automatic you can’t drive manual without passing a test in a manual car). But these are exceptional cases.

Driving properly and safely requires thought. Learning requires even more.