When I observe training sessions I am often left wondering just how much learning has come about as a result of the questioning, or in…

The purpose of this article is to provide a starting point in support of your Coach journey.  The most important aspect of moving towards being…

The purpose of this document is to provide a useful reference text in support of your Coach journey. 

If you are reading this then the chances are you are an ADI looking for ways to implement client centred approaches to your lessons as you have a new standards check letter in your hand and are in a cold sweat wondering how you might do it!

Alternatively you may just be looking to develop these areas of your teaching to enhance the experience for you and your pupils.

The information contained in this book is the result of my journey seeking answers to the same questions you are likely asking yourself. I read the many articles on coaching and attended quite a few seminars and training courses, and it all seemed to make perfect sense in a comfy chair with no learner driver beside me. As part of my role as instructor support and development manager I needed to find a way of implementing these approaches that made sense to all 400 of my ADI’s in their every day working lives. My mission (if I chose to take it) was to develop a common sense coaching approach.

My research took me to the European Union’s High impact approach to enhancing road safety through more effective communications (HERMES) project and their work developing the goals for driver education (or GDE) matrix. This matrix showed that we as driver trainers were tackling things on the lower levels of this matrix, which were car control and traffic skills. The work of the HERMES project indicated that there were higher levels such as learner drivers evaluating their own risk taking tendencies and their influences such as peer pressure and social and group norms which were not being addressed in driver training. The final report of the HERMES report suggested that this was the reason behind so many young novice (mostly male) drivers being involved in fatal crashes. The accident data would certainly seem to suggest that it was indeed poor decision making that was causing these issues and not necessarily car control skills. Young drivers were driving whilst tired, under the influence of drink or drugs succumbing to peer pressure or their own risk taking tendencies.

The HERMES report has formed the basis of most of the coaching or client centred courses and books currently available to ADI’s and has greatly influenced the great and the good of the coaching world. It would be very foolish to argue against the accident statistics, however, there is little or no evidence that these approaches have directly had an affect on young driver fatalities. Such research may soon become available though.

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