Module 4.
Session 3. Keeping Control
Keeping control – the runaway train!
It is not unusual to hear failed Part Three or standards check candidates use language like "I felt that I was on a runaway train!"
However, it is not only Trainee instructors who have lesson control problems - experienced instructors can experience problems if they do not pay sufficient attention to route planning or are unaware of the 'learner's state' at any given time.
In this session we will consider some situations that could cause major problems if left unchecked. The purpose is to help to start thinking about control before your in car sessions, there your instructor will take time to go into this aspect of instruction in more depth and, through role play, practice control techniques.
Control issues 1
Over acceleration and generally driving too fast.
Imagine you were teaching a student who started to accelerate too quickly, rushing their checks and constantly 'sneaking' over the speed limit by a few miles an hour. They may also rush to junctions and turn in a sharp manner.
- How do you think you could address this with the student driver?
- What tools have we covered so far that may help you help them develop a better and more appropriate driving manner?
Control issue 2
Something is not quite right.
You have a student driver that is usually quite alert and focussed during their lesson but today something is not quite right. They are forgetting routine systems that they are usually very good at, they seem less responsive to Q and A and generally not with it.
- What could be the route causes of the change in character?
- What questions could you ask to find a route cause?
- In a worse case scenario, what are the safety and, or legal implications for both you as the driving instructor and the learner driver if you simply ignore any danger signs?
Control issue 3
I didn't expect that!!
Putting aside how you will feel on your part 3 test think about how this may effect your learner driver. The pressure they will be under would be similar to that of their own test. A very good reason not to take a friend or a family member - it simply isn't fair on them as they would be under a great deal of pressure not to let you down.
You have made a plan - discussed it with your student driver - agreed roles and during the simple drive over to your main training area your student starts to make error after error, causing them to build stress and get increasingly worse.
This is not what you expected at all and it looks like, although you have told the examiner that the student's has had 32 hours of training, it looks like they have only had about 3 hours behind the wheel.
- What would be the examiners immediate impression of you as an instructor?
- What would you suggest you could do in this situation?
- How could you plan and prepare for a situation like this?
Please write all of these control issues in your workbook with your answers so you can discuss them with your instructor and in the online workshop.
Remember - write what you think, if the answer you give are not correct that does not matter at this stage - it opens up the forum for discussion. Only then can you discover new ways to handle a situation and develop positively.
Students need to understand how they can take or regain control in any situation.