NASP meeting held on Wednesday 7th December 2016

The eighth meeting of the National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP) with the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) was held in the DVSA HQ in Nottingham on 7th December 2016. A pre-meeting involving just the NASP members was held prior to the meeting with the DVSA. The meeting formally noted the resignation of DISC from the partnership.

Mark Magee opened the meeting by thanking everyone for attending.

General Update

DVSA noted that since the display of posters in test centres there had been a reduction in the number of problems arising around the use of in-car cameras. It was also confirmed that during the trial of the new test, examiners have been trialling a Juice Box, to enable the Sat Nav to work all day, hopefully, without the need to use the power socket in the vehicle presented for test.

Examiner recruitment

260 new examiners have now started and there are 104 due to attend training, with the average training time now being 5 weeks. The national waiting time is now down to 8.1 weeks for L tests, with a few ‘hotspots’ having higher lists. It is projected that this will be down to 7 weeks by March. The Chief Executive has made waiting times a priority and has deployed all staff with warrants to carry out tests to bring the waiting time down. There was some concern from the industry about tests being cancelled at very short notice, DVSA have agreed to consider the circumstances on each of these cases. NASP were pleased to see that waiting times were coming down, though there remained hot-spots across the country.

Changes at DVSA

The Chief Driving Examiner no longer has line management responsibility for driving examiners, but for Policy across DVSA, including vehicle testing and enforcement, MOTs etc. Lesley’s Policy Directorate is responsible for ensuring that policy development supports front line staff. There is a frontline team responsible for the delivery of testing across the agency and there will shortly be 2 new Operations Directors appointed (North and South). A Head of Enforcement will also be confirmed. All issues relating to examiners should be directed to Correspondence North. Lesley and her team will however still wish to be made aware of any significant issues relating to examiners and/or testing.

ADI Part 3/ORDIT

DVSA gave a presentation on the results of the second survey of ORDIT trainers. They said there had been a good number of respondents, with an increase in awareness of the possibilities of future changes to the ADI qualifying process. Of the ORDIT trainers who have already made changes, these have been towards client centred learning. Some concern was still expressed about the provision of a ‘live’ learner, as it was felt this could be open to manipulation. There were also comments that more specific information was needed before changes could be made. There was considerable discussion around recording of evidence of training to ensure any new PDIs had proper training of the skills to be an ADI and be better prepared for the future including their Standards Check. The criteria for ORDIT registration in the future will focus more on instructional ability and better consumer information to improve the completion rate. It is hoped to start the new Part 3 test in October 2017 with at least six months’ notice to allow candidates and trainers time to adjust.

Earned Recognition

The Registrar said that earned recognition should probably be viewed separately from consumer information as it is a tool by which DVSA would better identify and target high risk instructors. DVSA said they wanted to understand what indicators NASP would consider for earned recognition. NASP said that they did not support the use of pass rates, so the idea of an alternative such as pass rate against the test centre average was discussed. NASP agreed to further consult with their respective members and compile a list of possible items that could be classed in the Earned Recognition Scheme.

Code of Practice

NASP circulated the latest draft of the industry voluntary CoP and asked for any comments, NASP stated it should be complete by the end of the year. DVSA said they were happy to support it and stated that when the Fraud & Integrity Team speak to ADIs they have received complaints against, they would in future give them a copy of the CoP and highlight where they Could improve.

Learners on Motorways

There will be a DfT consultation very soon regarding Learners on Motorways. DVSA made it clear that only ADIs in dual controlled vehicles will be allowed to accompany learners on motorways.

NASP submitted the latest draft of a leaflet giving advice to those training on motorways. Amongst the many helpful items contained in the guidance, it is noted that ADIs should be discouraged from using roof boxes on motorway lessons. The advice from manufacturers is that they can be used up to 70mph but it was thought to be inadvisable, it was also pointed out the magnets may not perform as well in hot weather.

Practical Test

DVSA noted there has been a change in the Secretary of State and that the proposals had not yet been discussed with him. The Consultation has been completed with 4,000 responses, the biggest ever. Final results of the test trials is due in March so far there was nothing to show any contra signs. Subject to the outcome of the research and Ministerial clearances, It was hoped to set an implementation date of September 2017, with a 6-month announcement for the change. NASP enquired as to whether there would be a bow wave of test applications, but it was felt the timing would put this into the new financial year so it would probably even out. Should the changes go ahead DVSA pointed out that 20% of tests will still be asked to follow road signs, with the rest using satnavs allowing test routes to be opened out to larger areas. NASP asked if the Show Me questions had been changed for the new test, DVSA stated only the same questions are being used as before. DVSA noted that if these changes are implemented, they would also be implemented on the Part 2 at the same time.

AOB

The matter of a self-booking system for the ADI Standards Check was discussed, it is hoped to know more detail January-March 2017.

It is hoped that the regulations required to bring into force The Driving Instructors (Registration) Act 2016 which provides for two deregulatory measures allowing ADIs to request voluntary removal from the register and simplifying the process for re-joining the register where a person’s registration has lapsed for between one and four years, will be introduced around October 2017.

Next Meetings

It was agreed that the next NASP meeting with the DVSA would be at the start of June in Nottingham. The end of 2016 represents the end of the 6-month period of chairmanship for MSA GB. The ADI NJC will take over the chair for 6 months in January 2017.

Present

Present at the meeting for NASP: Peter Harvey MSA GB in the Chair, John Lepine MSA GB, Lynne Barrie ADINJC, Chris Porter ADINJC, Carly Brookfield DIA and in attendance: Sue Duncan Minute Secretary.

For DVSA: Lesley Young, Chief Driving Examiner; Mark Magee, ADI Registrar; Neil Wilson, Deputy Chief Driving Examiner; John Sheridan, Product Manager Driver Training; Jacqui Upton; Customer Insight & Research.

Peter Hearn, Acting Director of Operations at DVSA, has blogged about driving test waiting times.

In his latest blog post, Peter explains how many extra tests have been carried out since September, and what we’re continuing to do to reduce driving test waiting times.

You can also find out what we expect the driving test waiting time to be by the end of March 2017.

Read ‘Update on driving test waiting times, December 2016‘ to find out more.

3-year-old Freddie Hussey was killed by an unsafe trailer.

Freddie’s parents are urging all drivers to carry out basic safety checks each time they tow a trailer to avoid further tragedies.

You don’t need to be someone who tows trailers to help.

Sign up to our Thunderclap campaign to help spread the message.

Thunderclap posts a one-time message to your Facebook or Twitter account at a specified time – in this case, Wednesday 7 December at 8:30pm. This is so the cause starts to ‘trend’ on social media websites, so more people become aware of it.

 

You’ll be helping to save lives if you sign up.

It will be replaced by the new national register of LGV instructors, which launches on 2 January 2017. Existing DVSA registered instructors.

Your registration with DVSA will expire on 31 December 2016. You’ll be able to transfer your registration to new register free of charge. You’ll get a refund from DVSA for any time left to run on your existing registration. You’ll get the refund by the end of January 2017. Read the full story: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dvsa-supports-new-lgv-industry-driving-instructor-scheme

NASP meeting held on Monday 5 September 2016

The seventh meeting of the National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP) was held at the Lighthouse building in Salford kindly hosted by Pearson Vue on 5 September 2016.

Peter Harvey opened the meeting by thanking Julie Hunter of Pearson Vue for the use of their premises for the day. Julie made a short presentation and updated NASP members on the extension to the contract for the theory test, which will now run until 4 September 2020. As part of the deal to continue the contract, Pearsons have looked at where theory test centres are located, and where there have been movements of population. As a result, 28 new theory test centres are being provided, with the aim of almost 100% of the population having access to test centres within 40 minutes’ travel time, or 40 miles for rural areas. The new centres are scheduled to open in September.

Julie said that this year there would be 2.4m car theory tests held, 95% of tests are booked with a 2 week waiting time, and since the start of the contract in 2004 they had conducted over 20 million tests. She said that the main reason for failure was not the Hazard Perception Test, but the multiple choice sections because people did not study the Highway Code adequately.

Code of Practice

Following the decision to update the Approved Driving Instructors Code of Practice (ADI CoP) a number of pre consultation draft documents had been circulated. Discussions took place on the content of the CoP, various amendments were incorporated and agreed and it is hoped that a draft document will be ready to circulate to all ADIs in the near future.

Revised ADI Part 3 Examination

There had been a meeting held on 8 August, attended by NASP representatives with a number of officials from DVSA. It was felt that DVSA had been willing to listen, and an implementation date of October/November 2017 had been suggested. NASP’s main concern had been in the amount of misinformation going out, especially among some ORDIT providers and Mark Magee had agreed to tackle this. Agreement had been reached on how the system would work and the marking, which would follow the same format as the Standards Check.

The main problem was considered to be the provision of a pupil, which could be a full licence holder, but not an ADI. DVSA had said that they felt their examiners were sufficiently experienced to be able to tell if someone had pre-rehearsed a lesson. Part 3s would be available at more test centres, so people could take it in their local area and be in control of the route. Non ORDIT trainers would need to get in touch with DVSA about the future plans.

Mark Magee had said that fewer trainee licences were being issued, and not many people were given a second licence and that he would review trainee licences after the new Part 3 was in place. It was also felt that ORDIT trainers should be judged more on their training standards, and less on premises.

Earned Recognition

A wide ranging discussion took place amount Earned Recognition do ADIs want it, will DVSA do it anyway, will the public actually use it?

The meeting agreed that we need to focus the concept of earned recognition on incentivising and rewarding high performance and that interventions for under-performance should be tackled by other means.

Autonomous Vehicles

It was decided that NASP would produce a collective response to the consultation from DfT

“Pathway to Driverless Cars”.

Those present agreed that whilst NASP was supportive of the overall direction of the proposed changes, we would like to point out our concerns on a number of matters.

Particularly regarding platooning and changes to the Highway Code. Whilst it is clear that the Pathway to Driverless Cars will be made up of numerous small steps and that completely autonomous car are some way off. NASP expressed concerns that drivers were already struggling to fully understand assisted driving functions, and the limits of this technology, in existing vehicles, and perhaps in some cases already abdicated too much responsibility to these existing functions for managing risk.  The Tesla crash clearly proved that even experienced test drivers are over confident of the ability of autonomous cars to manage and mitigate all risk NASP believe that we need to ensure that education about the role and responsibility of assisted or automated vehicle technology is delivered alongside any new vehicle or infrastructure innovation and embed in drivers the vital knowledge that they cannot abdicate management of the vehicle or the drive, regardless of the level of automation provided.

Learners on Motorways

NASP are developing a simple guidance document, perhaps a tick list, to ensure ADIs are confident of the delivery of motorway tuition to learner drivers.

There were also some concerns mentioned about header boards, which lose magnet power in hot weather and could add to possible problems at higher speeds

It was also agreed that the introduction should explain that it was produced in anticipation of learners being allowed on motorways and should map the National Standards.

DVSA

NASP were pleased to see that waiting times were coming down in some areas, though this was not the case across the country.

The matter of a self-booking system for the ADI Standards Check was discussed and it was agreed that NASP should add further pressure on the DVSA to ensure this matter is not forgotten.

List of achievements

The meeting took a little time to look back over the past couple of years and reflect on the work NASP had done and the future direction of travel.

NASP members are confident that by working together they can continue to drive forward a positive agenda for driver trainers and promote professional ADIs.

Next Meetings

It was agreed that the next NASP meeting with the DVSA would be at the start of December in Nottingham.

Present

Present at the meeting: Peter Harvey MSA GB in the Chair, John Lepine MSA GB, Lynne Barrie ADINJC, Chris Porter ADINJC, Carly Brookfield DIA and in attendance: Sue Duncan Minute Secretary. Apologies were received from Gavin Brownlie DISC and Gordon Crosbie DISC.

Aligning with the National Standard

In April 2014, we introduced the ‘standards check’ which changed the way we assessed ADIs; focussing on assessing their competence to deliver effective training in line with the National standard for driver and rider training. (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/377667/national-standard-for-driver-and-rider-training.pdf)

We therefore want to mirror this in the qualification process so that new instructors are trained in this way from the outset.

Why we’re changing

The industry has confirmed that the current fault-based ADI Part 3 test, which relies on pre-set tests and role play exercises, is both unrealistic and restrictive. It doesn’t give trainee instructors enough opportunity to demonstrate the full range of skills that will they need when qualified.

The change will mean that new ADIs won’t need to undertake additional training or learn different teaching methods ahead of their standards check.

It will also enable the test to be delivered at a greater number of test centres and local to where their training has taken place.

The main changes

We’ll be moving to a competency-based assessment. Trainee instructors will be assessed over a single one-hour lesson on the 3 main competencies of lesson planning, risk management and teaching and learning strategies. They’ll also be assessed on an additional 17 sub-competencies.

Also, there’ll be no more role play by a DVSA examiner – trainee instructors must provide a ‘real’ pupil. This could be a friend, family member or colleague.

The lesson will have to reflect the learning goals and needs of their pupil.

To ensure that trainee instructors obtain the required range of skills, knowledge and understanding we’re exploring the use of a log book in which they and their trainer record the subjects covered, the different levels of instruction given and overall progress. Most, if not all instructor trainers already record progress like this and DVSA are happy for them to continue to use or adapt their existing processes.

When will this happen?

We need to produce an impact assessment first, setting out the costs and benefits of making the change. We also need to consider those trainee instructors who are already in the process of qualifying and give trainers time to develop their learning materials. Therefore, we won’t be introducing this change until Autumn 2017 at the earliest. We’ll keep you updated on timing and how we’re developing ORDIT as things progress.

What we’ve done so far

In May this year, we conducted research to identify awareness of this change and how well prepared instructor trainers and ORDIT organisations are to deliver the new training requirements. The research also set out to confirm what impacts and benefits the change might have.

Early findings:

Early analysis of responses indicates that:

We’ll publish the final report soon, and we’ll be undertaking further research with instructor trainers to help us finalise our impact assessment.

Working with the industry

We also met with NASP (National Associations Strategic Partnership) and spoke with some ORDIT organisations (small, medium and large) to discuss our findings and agree the principles of the new Part 3. Reactions were very positive, showing a clear enthusiasm about the prospect of a new ADI Part3.

If you’re not an ORDIT registered organisation, it’s important that you contact DVSA so that your instructor trainer organisation can be included in further work around the ADI part 3 test.

Response from ADINJC

Approved Driving Instructors National Joint Council

August 2016

Chairman: Lynne Barrie MA

16 Grosvenor Close, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS14 9SR

01543 256578

www.adinjc.org.uk

chairman@adinjc.org.uk

The ADINJC is also a member of NASP (National Associations Strategic Partnership) and fully supports their collective statement. This response expands on that statement to include ADINJC views.

ADINJC Representation:

The ADINJC currently represents approximately 7,500 ADIs and PDIs nationwide.

Gathering our views:

The ADINJC has circulated the consultation document to members via our newsflashes, emails to our member local associations and groups and in our monthly newsletters and on social media. We have also held meetings at local associations as well as our association meetings for groups. We have conducted webinars and written articles for members to view. We have invited and received many comments from our members. We have spoken to members who have taken part in the trials. As a democratic association we have listened to our members and taken a majority view.

Publication of ADINJC views and questions answered:

We agree that our response can be published and we have answered all of the relevant questions raised in the consultation.

STATEMENT:

Whilst we support the proposed changes we are most concerned that the examiner training required to introduce them will mean that fewer resources will be devoted to delivering practical driving tests: resulting in even longer waiting times. There is no point changing the test if candidates still face such lengthy waiting times.

We therefore recommend that these changes are not introduced until the average waiting time for car practical tests is below 7.4 weeks the target in the DVSA business plan 2016-17 and we expect to see the waiting time target reduced to 6 weeks in 2017-18.

 

Consultation Questions:

We are responding in the capacity of a large national association for driving instructors and potential driving instructors. We have 7,500 members.

  1. Have you taken part in the trial of the new test, in the capacity of an ADI (answers only
    requested from ADIs)?     Many of our members and some of our Governing Committee have taken part in the trials and we have kept in close touch with them. Those members have not made negative comments, merely ways in which it could be further enhanced.
  2. Have you taken part in the trial of the new test, in the capacity of a learner/
    accompanying driver (answers only requested from learner/newly qualified/ accompanying drivers)?     Not relevant
  3. Do you agree with the proposal to increase the independent driving section of the test
    from 10 to 20 minutes?     Yes, this is a welcome move because it will help a learner driver feel more comfortable to drive without an accompanying driver in the car.
  4. Do you agree with the proposal to include the use of sat navs in the independent driving section? Yes.
  5. Have you any comments on the proposal to include the use of sat navs in the independent driving section? Members are happy with this and feel it is an essential part of learning to drive as a day to day navigation tool. Those on the trials said it made the test more realistic, allowed the test routes to go out further and avoided the numerous move offs in the current test. The only negative comments we received were about where they would be placed in the car.
  6. How often do you replace your sat nav? Not relevant
  7. Do you agree with the proposal to modify manoeuvres so they take place during the
    natural course of the drive and augmenting them with new, realistic exercises?     Yes
  8. Have you any comments on the proposal to modify manoeuvres so they take place during the natural course of the drive and augmenting them with new, realistic exercises?
    The new manoeuvres represent real life situations which should be included in any basic
    driver training programme particularly as they are also core competences stipulated in the National Standard for driving cars and light vans (category B). The vast majority of members are happy with the new manoeuvres. However we have had members who are very concerned about the pull over to the right and reversing back in a line. They have concerns about the risks involved when so many learner cars will be carrying out this manoeuvre and have also said they consider it is not best practise to park facing against the flow of traffic. They also mentioned concerns about this manoeuvre in the dark on lessons. Some members had concerns about using public car parks on test and pulling forward into a bay. Their concerns were around how the public will conceive the idea. A few members mentioned that they would prefer the test to be 1 of the 6 manoeuvres so they could all be taught and just one tested.
  9. Do you agree with the proposal to change the format of the vehicle safety questions so that one of the two questions is asked while on the move? We feel this is a sensible proposal as new drivers will need to use the auxiliary controls on the move in real life situations. In fact a few members suggested they were asked 2 on the move questions and one stationary one. We understand the examiner will ask these questions at a relevant time.

Conclusions:

This is a welcome improvement to the test to enhance new driver skills. We would also want to see these changes being introduced to the ADI Part 2 ability to drive test and to other vehicle categories. We are very encouraged by the responses from our members who have taken part in the trials.

ADINJC fully support the NASP statement that has been released. We look forward to these changes once the wait for car driving tests is reduced below 7.4 weeks.

Response from: The National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP) (PDF)

Last month saw the release of my book, Live and Learn: A Parental Guide To Keeping Young Drivers Safe On The Road, supported by the ADI NJC. This was a project that I had had in mind for a couple of years but only recently found the time to complete. The aim of the book is to reduce young driver crash risk through informing parents about the learning-to-drive process and options that are available once students pass their tests.

Why a guidebook and why now?

There are numerous sources of parental advice on learning to drive and buying first cars on the internet but these vary in the quality of the advice that they give, are not evidence-based, and are often attached to a particular product or driving school, hence they really only exist to help sell a particular brand or to drive internet ‘traffic’ to a particular company’s webpage. They are very rarely written by anyone with real expertise in the subject and so tend to have very little to say that may affect safety outcomes or, even worse, on occasion give unsafe advice.

It was my thought that a reasonably detailed evidence and research-based guide book that explains the underlying causes of young driver crashes before it attempts to offer solutions could help to cut through the myths and half-truths surrounding the learning to drive process and young driver safety.

In just over 100 pages, Live and Learn, provides parents with advice on: choosing a driving instructor, structuring lessons, the benefits of a student-centred approach, private practice, choosing a first car, issues of ownership, insurance and telematics, as well as other new technologies available, all with the single aim of reducing crash risk. Not to sell any particular product and not to promote any particular driving school.

The benefits to ADIs

Live and Learn encourages parents to be more active in the learning-to-drive process and to pay more attention to what is happening on driving lessons. ADIs often complain that parents don’t take enough interest in what they do, or respect their skills and what they are trying to achieve – safe drivers. There is a common perception that all parents are interested in is how they can get their child through the test as cheaply and as quickly as possible. Firstly, I do not believe this to always be true, however where it is, it is important that parents can understand the potential risks that they are exposing  their child to if they try to force them through a test before they are really ready.

Parents may sometimes choose a driving instructor based on price alone, because they are not able to differentiate between instructors and the different qualities and benefits on offer to them. By informing parents of the safety benefits of quality driver education, it is more likely that they will be able to make better educated decisions about driving lessons and not choose instructors on price alone.

For me, better educated parents may be more demanding on instructors, but in a way that benefits safety, rather than a negative way such as trying to force their children to test sooner. Live and Learn encourages parents to talk regularly with instructors and sit in on the back of lessons. In general, the greater the parental involvement in the learning-to-drive process the stronger both educational and safety outcomes will be.

Why recommend Live and Learn?

The ADI NJC and I sincerely hope that you will recommend Live and Learn to parents. As the author I would obviously be thrilled if you read and like the book, and hopefully there is enough useful content in there to make it a very worthwhile read for ADIs. However, the aim of the book is to advise parents; if it is to have any practical benefit then it needs to be seen by parents.

The advantage of recommending the book to parents is that it helps to reinforce that you are a thoughtful, caring and safety-focused instructor. Parents appreciate instructors who truly have the best interests of their children at heart. If you keep a copy in your car, showing it to parents may at least start a safety-based conversation. Developing discussions about safety and crash risk is far better than conversations about test-dates. If parents book lessons with you online, why not send them a link to the website? Every little extra touch adds value to your business.

There is an active Live and Learn Facebook page. On here I post useful advice, tips and videos all related to reducing young driver crash risk. Please like and share this page so that you can access great free material that can be shared with customers and parents. Of course, parents should also be encouraged to like the page so that they can see the safety tips and appreciate the great work that so many ADIs are doing to improve young driver safety on a daily basis.

Live and Learn is life-long learning

As ADIs we all recognise the benefits that life-long learning brings. Driving is a life skill. In the learning-to-drive process there are three key stakeholders; the learner, the instructor and the parents. For too long too many parents have been absent from this process due to a lack of knowledge and support to understand what it takes to learn to drive in the modern world. If we work together to change that, then we can all continue to Live and Learn for the benefit of everyone.

Lynne Barrie MA, ADI (Chairman ADI NJC) said about this book:

“Though aimed primarily at parents, Neil Snow’s evidence-led guide will be of key interest to driving instructors and road safety professionals looking to understand how a student-centred approach to driver education can improve young driver safety. An important read.”

Live and Learn: A Parental Guide To Keeping Young Drivers Safe On The Road by Neil Snow is available to buy now from www.liveandlearn-book.com priced at £9.99. ADI’s can also receive significant discounts for bulk purchases, allowing you to sell the book on to customers at profit. To see all the benefits of becoming an authorisied distributor see the information pdf.

Alternatively the book can be purchased from Amazon and is available as a paperback and on Kindle.

The Live and Learn Facebook page contains useful road safety information and videos for young drivers, parents and ADIs: https://www.facebook.com/liveandlearnbook/

This interview is taken from an original interview between Paul Caddick, editor at Intelligent Instructor magazine and Quentin Willson.

What are your memories of learning to drive and taking the test?

“For me it was life changing. Back then, in the mid-70s, it was a very important rite of passage and gave you the promises of adulthood, freedom and liberty and the open road, and I took it really seriously. I saw it as a skill, a craft and not just this piece of paper. I had this really good driving instructor who was the most formative influence, ex-police Class 1, so I got all that really good Roadcraft stuff and is something I can vividly remember to this day.”

From being involved in Top Gear and being a well known motoring correspondent, driving fast cars and so forth, road safety could be seen as the opposite end of the spectrum – what inspired your involvement in road safety and, in particular, young driver training?

“Cars are a narcotic to many people, and Jeremy, Tiff and I were really glamorising these fast cars and looning around in them, but we realised we needed to modify this message and show its cool to drive well – fast is easy, well is difficult. However you have to entertain if you want to get an audience on board to hear your message”

How important do you consider the work of ADIs to be when it comes to road safety?

“They are the entry point for everybody’s road safety awareness and driving skills, and collectively they save hundreds of thousands of lives a year because of what they do. It’s a hard job, a calling, and I think they are under appreciated, under represented politically, and we should celebrate and encourage what they do as a real social benefit. However ADIs can’t be complacent either: raising the professional standards is an important part of the process. It will only come alongside raising the status and kudos of teaching people to drive, the pay level and respect and bringing more higher quality trainers into this profession.”

What made you want to get involved with ADIs/driver trainers and the work of the ADINJC, becoming a Patron to the national driver training association?

“I want to help raise the profile of the ADIs both publically but also perhaps more importantly politically. MPs, who years and years ago took their driving test, don’t really think about it and are also often London-centric. We’ve got a driving skills crisis in this country along with poor roads, too many cars, too many road works, and you need much greater skills than you did when I learnt to drive.

But politicians will always point to the casualty figures and state that we are second in the world and doing very well, but there is never any room for complacency. As a first world economy we should have KSIs in the hundred, not the thousands. You have got to constantly be reiterating the message that driving well and driving safely is important to everybody in society. Just one life if you save it is such a noble thing.”

What do you consider to be the most important challenges in order to improve safety on our roads, or are we doing enough already?

“Driving is not a natural thing for us, and for most people, it is not something that we can learn easily. Many aspects, including looking properly in a 360 degree fashion is something more akin to muscle memory – it takes hours of constant training to make it a natural action, and so the tuition process is just so important. There’s this feeling that you’ve got to do it quickly, you’ve got to do it for the least money – fast lessons, fast test and get out there. This isn’t the way to do it; the more time you spend with your instructor the better you’re going to be, and that is proved by all the research in the world.”

Increasing numbers of road safety specialists are calling for road safety to be included in the schools’ national curriculum, but with schools and teachers under immense pressure already, and the timetable full to bursting, is this a /necessary viable option?

“Getting kids when they are at school and thinking about road safety, educating them when their minds are still pure is a crucial part of this process too, especially when there are so many competing pressures on kids senses: they live in an increasingly virtual world where on screen it’s okay to crash cars and drive completely recklessly without consequences. Increasingly you have people getting into cars and think that it’s a virtual world, and it’s something we really have to counteract in a powerful way.

Out of the three Es – education, engineering and enforcement – it is education that’s the most important, and trying to do this when the pupil is seventeen is really challenging. It needs to be at a much younger age, but of course that requires political will, especially when the school’s curriculum is already under severe pressure. I’m not talking about schools spending scarce resource on this, but we teach citizenship and cooking, we should be teaching driving as a life skill. You go back to this climate in Westminster where MPs just aren’t interested in this because it isn’t going to increase their popularity with constituents, but you are talking about saving hundreds of young driver lives every year. It will pay for itself financially if you think about the clearing up and medical costs of accidents, not to mention the terrible sadness, so the argument that we can’t afford to do it is nonsense – we can’t afford not to do it.”

Is graduated driver licencing really a sensible way forward to improve young driver road safety, or should we be improving their driving skills before they get on the road through better training, and ensuring that all drivers have a specified level professional training and on the road experience before they can take the driving test?

“Post-test, graduated licencing etc., is another popular area of discussion. While curfews and restrictions are a hopeless way forward, bringing the insurance industry on-board and incentivising better post-test driving is really a necessity. Accumulating insurance points that can lower the cost of driving is the way forward. I think telematics will play a very large part in driving and bringing insurance premiums down for all drivers, because you can’t just do it on age or a post code; it’s completely wrong. Money is the biggest influencer, you can tell people and give them all the facts, but it won’t bring about change. However, saving them money in their pocket, and suddenly it does, and then you can change behavioural patterns

With the government moving towards introducing more privatisation into the driver training and testing market, how do you think this will affect standards?

With the privatisation ideologies of the present government, it is unlikely that our industry will be left untouched. In fact, test centres closing and examiners now using accredited locations such as B&Q and Halfords, it is already in the mix. So how far will it go or should it go? The government’s unlikely to invest in increasing driver training schemes and I think the private sector has to come in and raise the standards. That’s the most important thing so I wouldn’t be against it as long as those standards are arguably higher than the ones we have at the moment. And if it means it gets on the radar, and it means we get a higher level of driver training, higher skills with ADIs, and that’s translated into better awareness for drivers, then that’s got to be a good thing.”

Driver assistance technology continues to dominate car design – is it a good thing, and are drivers capable of utilising these technological marvels or should there be more training?

“Technology – while you still have a steering wheel, you must train people to understand new technology otherwise the aids will cause their own problems and dangers.”

What is so great about driving?

“Driving is something truly special the 20th century’s most amazing thing; freewill, going where you want, endless horizons, or at least it was. It isn’t the case now unless you can find a clear piece of road. Its unique among all those things that human beings can experience – speed and noise and the idea of controlling this object and being able to literally go wherever you want to go is the democratisation of personal liberty and that’s why people get so emotional about it. And the joy for me in all that personal liberty and free will, is this knowledge I can do this because I’ve got this really high level of skill, and anything that’s new and rich and strange and wonderful sensation it throws at me, I can cope with because I am a skilled driver. That makes the whole experience so much more intense, emotional, rewarding is because of that high level of skill that make you really confident at the wheel.

With all the recent fuss about diesels, where does the blame really lie and where do you think drivers should be looking to fuel their new cars – petrol, diesel, electric, hybrid, hydrogen, LPG…?

“Electric cars. I have had a Citroen C zero for a number of years and use it every day. The outcome from the VW emissions scandal is that we really have to sort this out. Now is the time for electric cars, hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, and we’ll see manufacturers really putting serious R&D into it”.

If you get into an electric car you get a completely new sensation that is silent speed. They are in their own way more fun because it something you have never experienced before – silent speed. Speed is a manmade sensation, and it’s always been accompanied by noise. But if you’re in an electric car, which is just eerily quiet, you sit there thinking this is the future, this is the way. I am a complete advocate of this new technology which will clean our air, and make our mobility cheaper and more affordable, and that has to be a good thing.”

What’s your favourite car?

“The AC Cobra, an original 7 litre. It made you drive on the knife edge, everything you did had an immediate consequence. Your skill set is tested; you were grinding your teeth with fear and excitement, and adrenaline just shooting through your veins.”

What’s your favourite drive?

“The Pacific Coast Highway from LA to San Francisco. I’ve done it in an array of different American classics, and it’s just great with the sea on the left hand side, and then all these hills and Hollywood houses on the right, and it’s a dream drive with the hood down and the Eagles playing Hotel California on the 8-track.”

What’s your motto?

“How can this person hurt me? You have to drive thinking every other driver is a whack job, how are they going to hurt me, and be prepared.”