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Proposed
UK Legislation is "an Insult to the Industry"
Say Driving Instructors
(2
December, 2003)
Thousands of driving instructors could leave the profession
in Britain, in the wake of controversial new
Government legislation, putting pressure on an already chaotic driving test system.
Under the proposed legislation, Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) who qualified prior to the introduction of the new hazard perception part of the driving test have been told they will have to retake the entire theory-based qualifying exam or face losing their jobs.
The hazard perception test, which involves candidates correctly identifying road hazards in a video clip by clicking a computer mouse, was the subject of controversy when it was introduced to the theory part of the driving test last year. Many within the driver training industry saw it as trivializing an important aspect of road safety by turning it into a video game.
The news that driving instructors with many years of driving experience will have to take the test has appalled most within the industry. To add insult to injury, instructors will also have to retake the multiple choice theory part of the test, answering rudimentary questions they have been teaching learners on a daily basis.
Eddie Barnaville, General Manager of the Driving Instructors Association (DIA), said: "It's an absolute disgrace. An exam certificate is not worth the paper it's printed on if you have to rip it up every time the Government moves the goal posts. Our members are professionals and deserve to be treated accordingly. You've got to wonder if this isn't just the thin end of the wedge. Which teaching profession is going to be next to have to
re-qualify on a Government whim?"
The news comes at a time when the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), the Government agency responsible for administering the driving test, has had to relinquish its Charter Mark due to increasingly poor standards and insupportable driving test waiting times nationally.
DSA Chief Executive Gary Austin admitted the Agency's performance had not been acceptable but insisted the new legislation would not add to their administrative headaches but was part of a drive to improve standards.
"It's part of a progressive step towards raising instructor standards," he said.
Mr Barnaville was unimpressed by the assurances, saying "Surely the DSA should be concentrating on putting its own house in order before wasting
instructors' valuable time."
All ADIs already have to undergo regular so-called 'check tests' to ensure continuing competency. Most see this new requirement as a wholly unnecessary attempt to devalue their profession from a Government that has consistently sought to undermine its status in the past. Driving Instructor and DIA member Roger Jewell is typical in writing to his local MP and the DSA to express his contempt.
"I am fully in favour of professional development but this is an insult to the industry," he said.
Stephen Picton Editor of Driving Instructor, said: "Many instructors, for whom years of driving experience will have been infinitely better hazard perception training than a poorly designed computer game, will see this as a patronizing waste of their valuable time. Older instructors, particularly, who will have developed exceptional hazard perception skills as part of their job, are intimidated by the computerised aspect of the test. We have been inundated with letters from outraged instructors and many have said they will simply not bother to take it. This can only lead to instructors out of a job and further chaos in an increasingly shambolic Government administered industry. Ultimately it's bad news for road safety."
Mr Picton went on to say he could think of no other teaching profession in the UK, in which experienced teachers had to
re-qualify every time the Government changes the syllabus.
"Surely if road safety is the ultimate aim, the onus should be on drivers to be retested, not the instructors, as is the case for airline pilots and other professions," he said.
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Footnote:
The DIA organisation is the UK leader in road safety through education. The DIA was established twenty-five years ago and has been instrumental in raising the standard of driver education by the promotion of the DIAmond Advanced Motorists test. The DIAmond Advanced Motorists test has Driving Standards Agency (DSA) approval, and BS EN ISO 9002 quality assurance. The DIA, jointly with the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), awards the Diploma in Driving Instruction, and promotes BA and BSc degree courses. Masters degrees and Doctorates are also available in the DIA quest for higher driver training standards.
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