Unit 32: Beginner – Moving off, making normal stops and use of the mirrors

Research Material:
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook – Chapter 5
Driving: The Essential Skills – Parts 3, 4 & 5
Lesson Presenter
PST sheets
PST 2 – Moving off & Stopping/Meet, cross and overtake, adequate clearance & anticipation
Examiner’s Part 3 Guidelines

With a customer who is at this stage, it will usually be on their first lesson, so you will have driven them to the nursery site already. However, you may find customers who have only been taught the controls and cockpit drill by an instructor in their first lesson, or that they have had this all explained to them by a parent. On your part 3 examination, you will be expected to drive your ‘customer’ to a suitable area, and this is an ideal time for the recap

Recap: (Timings depend on drive to area – 5 minutes?)
If you are driving them to the area, recap their previous lesson(s?) and find out where the gaps are in their knowledge. Explain the process of moving off and stopping during the drive – using your part 2 commentary driving skills. During the drive, explain your use of the MSM routine, and what you are looking for in all of the mirrors. Explain how what you see will affect how you act in the car.

Objective: (30 Seconds)
To be able to move away under control, and stop in a safe, convenient and legal place (specific), under full instruction (measurable and realistic). How do you feel about trying to do that maybe a couple of times in the next half an hour? (agreed & timed).

Main Points: (9 Minutes?)
Ensure that the cockpit drill and safety checks are carried out safely – bearing in mind that this is ‘known’ information and should be treated as such, independently if possible, or with prompts if you see problems. Then move on to the subject in hand.

Practise:
You should allow for a few attempts at moving off and stopping. Remind your customer that you will be guiding them with a full talk through of the process. At this stage, word everything carefully, watch your customer like a hawk, and be aware of what is happening on the road all around you! Use your core competencies to correct any faults, and if possible try to reduce your level of instruction to an appropriate prompted level for any subsequent attempts.

Summary:
Feedback at this point is hugely important – this may be the first time they have managed to move a car! Be enthusiastic about how it all went, but ensure that you put into place an action plan to deal with any problems with control which you couldn’t fix during the time you had in the lesson. Remember to acknowledge any mistakes, but to keep very positive about both your ability and your customer’s. This is the point where a negative driving instructor will lose a customer – make sure that you leave yours wanting to come back! Fill out their track record.

On your part 3 examination, the phase 1 will usually over-run leaving little or no time for a summary. In real lessons, you will often get further on a lesson.

Discussion Points:
Concentration ‘inside’ the car, and awareness ‘outside’ the car.
Pacing and judging the correct level of instruction.
The use of diagrams.
The use of questions during recap, prompting and summary.