ADUK Archive

x-Sonia-x wrote:Hi

I had my first drive with my observer on Sunday. I was waiting in car park as nervous as if I was on a test My nerves soon disappeared once I started driving. I was quite amazed at how much I learnt in that one session. The first thing he told me was not to tuck my thumbs around the steering wheel....

Good grief, is that really a priority item ?

Maybe it's just me, but that's the sort of thing that bugs me about these amateur tutors. I'm sure they are not all like that, but it would be more to their credit if they didn't sieze on things like that so readily. Surely there are more important matters.

Anyhow I'm very glad that Sonia is enjoying her IAM involvement and I hope she will benefit from it.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

TripleS wrote:Maybe it's just me, but that's the sort of thing that bugs me about these amateur tutors. I'm sure they are not all like that, but it would be more to their credit if they didn't sieze on things like that so readily. Surely there are more important matters.

On the other hand, it may have been a way of picking up something small to start with in a friendly, non-threatening way rather than launching in with: "crikey your steering is really quite bad and as for your observation..."
(I'm not suggesting that Sonia's driving is like that of course...just illustrating a point).

Dave - I don't think either of us should criticise or assume too much as we weren't there and you haven't done any observing/tutoring either...but that's probably a good thing...

TripleS wrote:

x-Sonia-x wrote:Hi

I had my first drive with my observer on Sunday. I was waiting in car park as nervous as if I was on a test My nerves soon disappeared once I started driving. I was quite amazed at how much I learnt in that one session. The first thing he told me was not to tuck my thumbs around the steering wheel....

Good grief, is that really a priority item ?

Maybe it's just me, but that's the sort of thing that bugs me about these amateur tutors. I'm sure they are not all like that, but it would be more to their credit if they didn't sieze on things like that so readily. Surely there are more important matters.

Hmmm.. lets see.... does the driver know how to stop this vehicle? - yes - move on - does the driver know how to control the speed? - yes - move on - does the driver know how to control where we are going (steering) - yes but they are hindering this by wrapping thumbs aroung the wheel - mention why this may not be safe - see if they can find a better way on their own, if not suggest a better way.

How would a profesional do it then

TripleS wrote:Good grief, is that really a priority item ?

No, it's rarely if ever fatal.

But, as Rog says, if it's part of changing the driver's grip on the wheel so that they can steer more effectively, it's worth picking up on. Even if it's just a means of reducing the risk of broken thumbs in the event of a crash it would be worth mentioning, particularly if there's little else wrong with the steering technique.

As ever, we're often looking for a number of small improvements in multiple areas in order to move the drive on significantly overall. Some things are also easy to achieve/modify, and are a "quick win" for the associate which is no bad thing in itself on a first drive.

regards
P.

martine wrote:

TripleS wrote:Maybe it's just me, but that's the sort of thing that bugs me about these amateur tutors. I'm sure they are not all like that, but it would be more to their credit if they didn't sieze on things like that so readily. Surely there are more important matters.

On the other hand, it may have been a way of picking up something small to start with in a friendly, non-threatening way rather than launching in with: "crikey your steering is really quite bad and as for your observation..."
(I'm not suggesting that Sonia's driving is like that of course...just illustrating a point).

Dave - I don't think either of us should criticise or assume too much as we weren't there and you haven't done any observing/tutoring either...but that's probably a good thing...

OK perhaps I shouldn't make comments on these things at all in case it turns out to be wrong!

I still think it's a nit-picky type of thing.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

Just thought I would add that my observer is the Chief Observer for my local area and has passed over 120 associates. His comments about 'thumb' positioning did have an affect on me, coz im stil talking about it now which again is a good thing!! It doesnt really matter how small or what the subject the fact is that I have changed my habit coz of what he said and if I can do that after one drive then thats got to be good!! And it obviously wasnt the only thing I learnt from the day!! And the same thing goes for the percentages. If its his own personal way of assessing pupils then thats fine, for me I was really impressed that he felt I was above average, and to put it on a scale like that explained to me exactly where he felt I was with my driving!