"Any regrets? Yes, but only one... Had I trained with Ged from day one, I believe I would have qualified within a six month period, not twelve, and saved myself several thousand pounds, too. My future plans? Check test training and furthering my skills as an ADI with Ged’s help!"

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About Us

Active Driving Solutions was established in 2005 and is an independent, dynamic and family-run business, specialising in the delivery of affordable Driving Instructor Training and Fleet Driver Training services of the highest possible standard.

All our Driver Training services are tailored to the company and individual’s needs, and we consistently achieve outstanding results!

Active Driving Solutions offer a wide range of services, including:

• Approved Driving Instructor Training
• ADI Check Test Training
• ADI Fleet Trainer Diploma
• Advanced Driver Training
• Fleet Driver Development Courses
• SAFED for Vans Driver Training

Where are we based?

Our training offices are based in Oldham, Lancashire. We offer Driving Instructor Training courses to clients from all over the UK who either travel for training on a daily basis or take one of our residential courses.

Past and current driving instructor trainees come from all corners of the UK, including Scotland, Wales, the South of England and the Isle of Man. The fact that driving instructor trainees are willing to travel some distance for our training courses is a true testament to the quality of services we provide. Read a sample of our testimonials here.

Our Fleet Driver Development Courses and SAFED for Vans courses are currently available throughout most of the North West of England.

Our Directors

The company is actively headed by two of the most skilled, motivated and qualified driver trainers in the industry, husband and wife team, Ged Wilmot and Claire Wilmot. Both are highly reputable Grade 6 (highest grade) ADI Trainers, who strive to continually improve the standard of driving and driver education in the UK. They are actively involved in all of our Fleet Driver Training and Driving Instructor Training courses, providing both classroom-based and in-car training.

Ged & Claire also deliver seminars and workshops on NLP & Coaching Skills for ADI's at various association meetings throughout the North West, and in 2010 launched their innovative 'Practical Coaching Skills for Driving Instructors' workshops, run in conjunction with Kathy Higgins Dip DI of Insight2Drive.

Ged Wilmot BSC (Hons)

After leaving the University of Wales in 1997 with a Degree in Psychology, Ged trained and qualified as an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI). During qualification, he very quickly realised that there was a need for better ADI Trainers in the industry, so once qualified himself, sought out ADI Trainer Training with industry professionals Mr Brian Weeks, former Supervising Examiner for the DSA and John Farlam of Smartdriving.

From running his own successful driving school in Hyde, Greater Manchester, Ged slowly began building up his reputation as an ADI Trainer and, following a move back to Cheshire in 2002, took up an ADI Training position with a national ADI Training company. However, dissatisfied with their rather unscrupulous sales technique and generally poor approach to providing good quality training, Ged moved on to help set up and develop an ADI Training facility in Liverpool.

Ged has achieved a variety of additional qualifications since becoming a driving instructor, including a Grade A at his first attempt of the Cardington Special Test, and a faultless drive on the challenging DIAmond Special Test. He is a qualified SAFED for Vans Trainer, an A1 NVQ Assessor and a DSA Registered Fleet Trainer. He is also an Advanced Hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner, both qualifications which he considers add valuable skills to his work as an ADI Coach, equipping him with excellent communication and motivational skills in order to get the best out of himself and of his students.

Ged is currently studying towards the Diploma in Driving Instruction, Category C and D1 test categories and a Postgraduate Certificate in Coaching for Driver Development at the University of East London, all of which are due for completion in 2010.

He is one of very few ADI Coaches in the UK to have achieved the ultimate result of ‘Straight 6s’ (highest possible grades) in both his Fleet Check Test and ORDIT (Instructor Training) assessments, purely through the use of modern coaching techniques.

His current focus is on bringing coaching techniques into the industry and developing the skills of experienced ADI’s. Working closely with coaching guru Sir John Whitmore and coaching industry specialists throughout the UK including John Farlam and Kathy Higgins, they are in talks with the DSA with a view to coaching becoming an integral part of the learning to drive and ADI Training syllabi.

Claire Wilmot Dip DI

Claire qualified as a driving instructor in 1997 after following in her mum's footsteps. Claire was her mum’s first pupil and she passed her driving test first time in 1990. She started training to become an ADI at just 21 years old and, wanting to become one of the best instructors, Claire embarked on a mission to learn and study further. Over the following few years, she gained the DIAmond Special Test qualification and the Grade A Cardington Special Test qualification. She also gained the Diploma in Driving Instruction and trained as a DIAmond Advanced Examiner as well as becoming a DSA Fleet Registered Trainer.

As well as being an examiner for the Driving Instructors Association, Claire is part of the DIA General Purposes Committee and is also a question writer and examiner for the Diploma in Driving Instruction (Dip DI).

Claire worked solo for a number of years as ‘Claire Moores School of Motoring’. In 2001, Claire co-founded a new driving school, Latics Driver Training, which is based in Oldham. Claire designed a hugely popular and successful ‘Head Start Programme’ for 16 year olds which teaches them basic car control skills before they are legally able to drive on the road at 17. Her driving school now has 25 instructors, but Claire’s ethos is not to be the biggest, but to be the best. She is extremely proud to have a strong team of instructors working with her, most of which she and Ged have trained personally.

In 2004, Claire met Ged and they joined forces to set up Active Driving Solutions, with a view to providing ADI Training and Fleet Driver Training services of the highest calibre. To date, they have achieved outstanding results, even surpassing their own expectations!

Claire is constantly developing her driving school and currently, she is working with Ged and fellow trainer and friend, Kathy Higgins, in developing a DSA Accredited Fleet Trainer Diploma - strongly centred around the use of modern driver coaching techniques.

Claire has been an ADI Trainer for the last 9 years. Like Ged, Claire is a successful Grade 6 ORDIT Registered ADI Trainer and thoroughly enjoys seeing all of her trainees reach their potential. She has trained instructors from all over the UK including from the Isle of Man.

Claire strongly believes in Continuing Professional Development and completed her NLP Practitioner Diploma in 2008.

Locally, she regularly visits local schools, colleges and universities to give talks on driving, road safety and how to set up and run a successful business.

Ged and Claire live in Saddleworth with their two young children, Faith and Charlie.

DSA Approved & ORDIT Registered

Active Driving Solutions is fully registered with ORDIT (the DSA’s Official Register of Driving Instructor Training). In order to gain this membership, the DSA scrutinised our premises, training facilities and administrative documents. Each trainer was also examined whilst giving training to students to ensure the needs of the individual were catered for, and that training was of a high enough standard to meet the DSA’s stringent ORDIT requirements. In fact, Ged received the highest possible grading on his most recent ORDIT assessment, once again achieving the coveted "straight 6's" result! Claire also received many Grade 6's on her assessment.

We offer all of our driving instructor training clients unrivalled full lifetime support, and it is for that reason people recommend us to their friends and colleagues. We have trained hundreds of potential driving instructors, many of whom have gone on to set up their own driving schools or become ADI Trainers and Fleet Driver Trainers.

We are strongly in favour of Continual Professional Development, and actively encourage all our former students to continue developing their skills beyond qualification.

Fleet Training Success

The Fleet Driver Training side of the business has gone from strength to strength, and more recently we have been heavily involved in providing SAFED for Vans training throughout the North West of England. Our results speak for themselves, and companies are only too happy to recommend our Fleet Driver Training courses to others.

We have recently completed Fleet, Driver Development and SAFED for Vans training courses with companies including DHL Exel Supply Chain, BMS Superfactors, TopSpeed Couriers and Speakmans Construction.

Qualifications

Our specialised team of ADI and Fleet Driver Trainers are highly qualified and committed individuals, who are constantly striving to improve their skills and abilities to ensure they remain the best in the business. Between them, they are probably the most highly qualified Driver Training Consultants in the UK, and are all Grade 5 and 6 DSA Approved Driving Instructors. Other qualifications include:

Professional Memberships

Our trainers are also members and associates of various industry organisations including:

• Member of the Driving Instructors Association (DIA) and DIA General Purposes Committee
• Member of the Institute of Master Tutor Drivers (IMTD)
• Member of the Motor Schools Association (MSA)
• Member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM)
• Member of the Official Register for Driving Instructor Trainers (ORDIT)
• Member of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)