Social Media is big business.  Not only for the companies themselves, but also for its millions of users who are using it to promote their businesses.

Having in excess of 1,000 ADI Facebook friends, I am in a privileged position to share thoughts, information and ideas with others in an instant, learn new things, gauge opinion by asking a question, or even advertise to my target audience if I need to.  But it would be very easy to alienate myself from my colleagues and potential customers if I wasn’t careful about how I use this fantastic (and free!) network.

Now I’m certainly no expert, but over the years I have noticed a fair few ADIs who are far less careful, and I have seen reputations tarnish within seconds of posting an inappropriate comment or picture.  This article is by no means intended as an attack on these individuals – in fact, quite the opposite!  I write it in the hope that ADIs new to Facebook can learn from the mistakes of others (including myself – I’m no saint!), and avoid pressing the ‘self-destruct’ button when it comes to joining the wonderful Social Media revolution.

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The bay park exercise can be one of the most frustrating to teach and to learn.  Getting the car in between the two white lines first time isn’t always easy, especially from a 90 degree angle to the bay, and when there are no other parked cars in the adjacent bays to help guide you.

But does it have to be done this way?  Not at all!

Two common myths among learner drivers (and even some instructors) seem to be that on driving test day:

1.       You have to park from a 90 degree angle, and
2.       You will fail your driving test if you don’t get the car into the bay in one movement.

A recent trainee driving instructor I was training believed the above to be true because she was told this by her previous ADI trainer.  Many other instructors will have been told the same by their trainers.  Inevitably, this gets passed on to the learner driver.  They too believe they have to carry out the bay park from a 90 degree angle and complete it first time.

The ‘90 degree’ method

The ‘90 degree’ method is often the preferred option by instructors for the following reasons:

• It can be easier to develop a ‘method’
• It helps them relate to the reverse around a corner exercise
• It can encourage the learners to not rely on their mirrors as much.

It can be easier to use reference points from a right angle to the bay, but this relies on the driver starting the manoeuvre from the same distance from the bays, and the width of the bays being the same in each car park.  If these conditions are met, this method regularly results in success.

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“Hi Ged & Claire.  I failed my Part 3 test last week and the examiner told me that although I spotted all his faults and tried to fix them pretty well, my fault analysis needed work.  But I’m not sure where I went wrong, because I did what my trainer had told me.  For every fault, I asked him why he did it, but he just said, “I dunno” or “not sure”, and at one point he acted really defensive.  Is my trainer right, or was my examiner just having a bad day?”  Jim (PDI)

Thanks for your question, Jim.  Fault analysis, the second of the three main core competencies on the Part 3 test and ADI Check Test, is often an area of weakness for PDIs and ADIs, so hopefully I can help clear things up for you!

To explain the basic principles of the core competencies in simple terms, imagine you have terrible stomach pain and decide to pay a visit to your local GP.  After entering his room and briefly explaining your symptoms to the doctor (IDENTIFYING the problem), what would his next step be?  Is he likely to ask:

a)    “Why do you have stomach pain?” or
b)    “When did the pain start?  Where is the pain, specifically?  Are there any circumstances in which it is better/worse?”

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With effect from Monday 1st November 2010, the Driving Standards Agency will accept vehicles fitted with any type of electronic parking brake on practical driving tests.

Electronic parking brakes had until recently mainly been fitted to some higher specification vehicles, but now more mid-range vehicles are having them fitted, too, including the popular new Vauxhall Astra.

Marie Law DSA ADI, with her new driving school car

Until now, the DSA had refused the use of any vehicle fitted with this technology on driving tests, which in recent times has meant that ADIs have been restricted as to which training vehicle they choose. Marie Law, a driving instructor with Latics Driver Training in Oldham had been unaware of this restriction when she recently traded in her 2006 Vauxhall Astra at her local dealership in Rochdale for a brand new 2010 model which arrived with an electronic parking brake. After voicing her concerns, the salesman assured her that all new Vauxhalls were being fitted with the new parking brake. As Marie had purchased the car through Vauxhall’s Driving Instructor scheme, she took his word for it and drove off in her new car.

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