ADIs are an important resource and part of the community that are hugely being undervalued by the DVsA, HMG and all within the upper echelons in the civil service. 

ADIs provide the massive bulk of the vehicles for the driving test. Did you know, of the million and a half driving tests conducted in the UK every year, somewhere in the region of 98% of them use an ADI's car. 

Now, that ADI can be totally independent or work for one of the franchises out there but without ADIs the system just simply does not work. We have heard of franchisers and even lease companies bending over backwards to help out at the moment to try and reduce the burden and we commend them for this. They realise that if they lose the ADI, then they in turn will lose a large chunk of their income. The DVsA on the other hand are as silent as the grave. Shouldn't they, on our behalf, be putting pressure on HMG pointing out the issues that the ADIs across the country are facing and at least give us some idea of where we sit on the new 'steps' system that they have introduced?

The DVsA love to send out their emails to update us, let's hope they use a little initiative and tell us where we are on the new slope system of steps that we are all descending so that we can have some idea of what to plan for. We all understand that the best laid plans can go wrong, we accept that we could be in lockdown again, but please treat us like adults, not children, and give us facts.

ADIs are here for the long term, CEOs come and go at the DVSA, I've lost count how many I've seen, so let's see this if one be different and treat us with a little respect for a change.

 

Just imagine the shock of your pupil having a new test sent back and it is miles away from where you had planned on going. This is what has happened to our colleagues using the Llanndrindod Wells Dtc. Their test centre is closing and they have been moved over to Brecon or Newtown.  

Now I will admit that this is a lovely part of the country and can be a beautiful drive, if touring on a holiday and you have all the time in the world. If you are on a strict schedule to get to a test centre at a specific time it can be a nightmare, plus the additional mileage and effect on the environment are both considerable. Add in the perils of a winter test with hill fog, snow and ice and there will be a lot of tests that our colleagues will struggle to get too at all, never mind get there safely on time.

Please help by signing their petition and lend them our support as it could do easily come to a Dtc near you in the not to distant future. Thank you.

What did Boris actually say, well it is really quite easy to find out, as to whether you understand what he said well, that is up to you. All you need to do is follow the link where you can see and read the transcript of his speech on 10th May here. I do wish you all the very best though and suggest a lie down in a dark room afterwards with a cold compress and a large glass of something. The clarity is awesome in its vagueness..

In this rapidly changing environment and situation it is amazing how the advice changes from day to day and often in a very conflicting manner. 

The AADI have been criticised for holding hard onto the belief that ADIs, as a group, will be among the last to return to normal working practices due to the close proximity of our working environment. We have tried to contact our licencing authority the DVsA for guidance and they have been as much use as a chocolate teapot, just referring ADIs back to the Gov.uk guidelines. Each day I am more and more convinced that nobody at the DVsA has read them as they are totally impractical for ADIs to follow.

ADIs are required to clean the inside of the car before and after each pupil. I don't know about you, but most of the ADIs I know usually do this anyway due to sweat deposits and unhygienic bathroom practices of some members of the public. This is an everyday practice for us, yet they do not seem to know this!

Our Membership Secretary has been really busy of late, the nosey devil that he is and asking questions all over the place again on our behalf.

His local paper the Observer took up the cause and wrote a very nice piece on the questions asked, sadly his MP Mr Merryman is still missing as are the other two guys. He suspects that they are all away over the border hiding in Wee Nikki of the North country. 

He was very upset intially, initialy, inisshally.....in the beginning but he has had his milk allowance increased for his efforts and we have given him a bigger rattle so look out folks, he will be back and looking for his answers very soon.

Did you know that ADIs get updates from the DVsA before their employees?                       

It is often why, when you ask an examiner for info on an email you have received they look puzzled and confused. How would you like to be treated like that by your employer?

The is a very long winded and complicated answer to this.....NO.  

That's it, NO we cannot go back to teaching yet..

We have to maintain the 2.0m separation and this is said over and over again on every daily news bulletin.

They have been using 5 Stages to assess this and we had left Stage 5, were in 4 and trying to get to S3 and they have now changed to STEPS. 

Keep up please.

We are in Step 3 and are getting a little more freedom to go out. We can drive as far as we like in the day but, must be back like Cinderella before dark. We can all leave the house together for exercise and can meet 1 other person as long as we keep 3 long steps away from them, that way we can not smell if they have showered lately. If you can smell them - you are too close and must move away.

Do not dare go over the borders of Scotland or Wales - they do not want us up there, or over there! Be warned. 

Step2.

June 1st we send the children out to see if it is safe for the adults to go out again. They can return to school in stages relative to their ages. The teachers are up in arms at this as the kiddies, as we all know, are some of the greatest carriers and spreaders of any virus known to mankind. Do not worry as HMG do not seem to be worried, well not yet anyway.

Step 3

July4th.  

This, all going well, is the earliest possible optimistic date that ADIs can even think of being a start date.  

The Grumbler has to admit having serious doubts on this one (See Grumblers View above) and feels September is a more likely date as this is when driving tests are now being re-booked for. Please make sure you check the new appointment as an ADI has a 2 hour drive for the re-booked test for one of his pupils because the previous centre has now closed. Not a happy chappy I can tell you.

No, not according to the NHS who have to cope with the aftermath of it all when the stuff hits the fan. See this video

Yet the DVsA want us to teach 'keyworkers' as they call them. Will the DVsA management be sitting next to a front line worker today and going back to their family tonight. I doubt it.

I must say a big thank you to the ADINJC who seem to be distancing themselves away from the silly voluntary register and agreeing with the AADI at last, advising their members to stay at home and this week agreeing with us that the idea of screens is a big NO!NO!

Good Morning,

Ref : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/.../can-learn-drive.../... 

 In your article you speak about driving instructors being in the FIRST wave of those who can return to work... That is totally incorrect. Driving Instructors are unable to maintain social distancing and therefor are unable to work at present. It is estimated we will be in the LAST wave or those who are able to return to work.

You also mention the fact that driving instructors can put a screen between themselves and their pupils. That is also totally incorrect. Driving Instructors MUST be able to have full control of the vehicle at all times and if that is not possible, insurance brokers ..... have advised my national association that the Insurance company they use will NOT provide cover.

Placing a screen between instructor and pupil is a VERY DANGEROUS thing to do. Just because Taxi Drivers can do that successfully, does not mean that driving Instructors are able to.

We are not sure where you are getting your information from, however, if you wish to inquire about what is going on in the Driver Training Profession them might I suggest you contact either myself (President AADI) or my colleague, Robert Harper, (Chair).

If you could correct the information that would be greatly appreciated as it is giving the wrong message not only to prospective pupils, but also parents and other interested parties.

Sincerely,

Barry Kenward.

MA. (Driver Education)

Approved DVSA Driving Instructor (ADI) Cars.

 

Our membership secretary did this week, drop a line to 7 of the most commonly known Brokers to the ADI industry and they are as follows. 

Adrian Flux.   Barry Grainger.  C&A Mackie.  Lloyd Latchford.  Master Cover.  PolicyWave.  Waveney.

The questions are widely available on many of the ADI forums on the internet and a huge interest was expressed by fellow member of the profession as the answers would affect each individuals liability in the event of an incident. So, no need to embarrass them even more by publishing them here.  

The responses flooded in. Nope, I'm kidding they did nothing of the sort. The apparent lack of concern for the customers who run into tens of thousands of ADIs and millions of pounds of business up and down the UK, who do deal and rely on was astonishing.

C&A Mackie were the first back and said clearly none of their insurers would cover the fitting of internal screens to ADI cars for the present.

Barry Grainger came back with a similar but unclear answer.  

As far as PPE is concerned, nobody seemed to know the answer other than it must not interrupt us getting to the controls and doing whatever it is necessary for us to do to avoid an accident and keep the public safe.