Grumbles from the Gearbox
Scary News - Should not fit for purpose mean a Death Sentence?
Should not fit for purpose be a death sentence?
Hitler would have been proud of this idea.
As professionals we see and teach people of all races, religions, colours and shapes and all we are interested in is giving them the best service we can, and getting them to the best level of driving that they can achieve before they take their driving test.
We teach people of all abilities and capabilities and many of our colleagues, a growing band of super people are specialising in those with special needs, so imagine my horror when I read the article in the Independent that states "Unlawful 'do not resuscitate' orders are being placed on patients with a learning disability during the coronavirus pandemic without families being consulted." this is something Hitler wanted in the middle of the last century!
Just how many of your pupils and mine fall into this category, both past and present - tens of thousands, should we plan for the future to not teach them as they may take up too many resources? How many of us have family or friends that fall into this category as well? Like so many other ADIs I have learnt so much from pupils who have asked to be taught a little differently to suit their style of learning, the joy on their faces when they have achieved something that I take for granted. The simple skill that I and tens of millions do each day by second nature yet they struggle with is no different to handing me a musical instrument and asking me to play Bach, Mozart, Beethoven or even McCartney, Lennon or Rice and Webber except for me playing a musical instrument is an extremely painful experience for the listener and it can never be. Does this mean I to am to be on the list for DNR because of my musical learning disabilities one day, where do we draw the line?
Please read the article in the Independent as it has brought up this issue whereby the decisions are being made without consultation with the family, seemingly based on the 'not fit for purpose scenario' that we are so used to hearing about in our profession. Surely we are better than this and millions of our ancestors didn't die in WW2 to stop this form of evil thinking that so nearly came to be the norm for Europe, Asia and possibly Africa.
Is big brother watching you?
I came across this little item yesterday and was most surprised to learn that something had been planted on my phone without my permission.
Oh, I know there is stuff in there by Google as I have an Android phone and IOS if you like Apples, but for the large part I can either lock, block or uninstall it if I wish. This is another level, and it is our elected Government that have done this one. We have all seen the track and trace discussions going on the TV and heard them on the radio and in the last few days how our Boris's new world leading super app idea has fallen by the wayside and they have had to opt for a Google/Apple alternative that works.
I am a huge supporter of the idea to prevent the spread of the dreaded Covid19 disease but I have a couple of reservations and one being that this has been installed on my phone when I wasn't looking. Sadly the new one from Google/Apple is allegedly not as accurate as we were promised it would be. As I understand it the promised app was to be far more accurate to within a few metres or less. The new Google/Apple version does not work on such a narrow area but sweeps at least twice as wide, possibly outside of the 2.0metre safety zone that we all have been taught to work with, this raises the possibility of you getting a phone call for a private lockdown massively.
Now it is all well and good for ADIs and others too say, I do not want this, I am not going to use it but it is very, very easy for them to send out an update as a security patch to your phone to see if you have it activated or not and possibly shut the phone down if you refuse to use it, or worse if you are an ADI, report us the the dvsa. We will have no option to have it active on our phones. All the nonsense of "I do not give permission for xyz to do this or that with my phone....etc" that we see on social media is all hot air as we have already signed the agreements to give permission to add stuff as part of our contracts and HMG can make it law then we have no chance. So forget I don't want it, as your gonna get it!
My other issue is the bad luck that can befall anyone who, like us is self employed. You could just be back into the rhythm of going to work, see the books filling up and the bank account just beginning to change colour from a deep,deep red slowly to a shocking pink and the phone call arrives......isolation and all the lessons have to be cancelled again. The only consolation is that you may have picked it up at the dtc and all your colleagues there and the examiners got the same call so none of your work will be taken.
Here is how to find it.
If you have an Android phone, go under Settings, then GOOGLE settings and it's there.. If you have an IPhone, go to settings, privacy then health. ... I don't think you really understand what they're trying to do here.
As usual, if you find any errors then please let me know and if I have offended anyone it was not my intention to do so, my apologies. If you like what you have read then please feel free to share it and pass it on and if you don't then drop me a line, all comments are welcome as even idiots have freedom of speech.
https://www.theaadi.co.uk/contactus
The AADI the association that is truly independent and stands up for the profession.
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The DVsA response to recent media criticism about the current test waiting times is to throw in the kitchen sink - but, is this the right solution?
Are the DvSA morally bankrupt?
Why bother, the job is not what it used to be?
Where on earth does the dvsa thinking come from, we know where it belongs?
The AADI is offering to help the dvsa with its poor public image to help clear up some confusing issues on the driving test for driving instructors and learners in the UK and make their lives easier.
AADI advising the dvsa, and they are at last listening.
Did the dvsa go too far opening new theory centres when tests are not available?
We are all Ambassadors for our chosen profession
Dear dvsa,
DVSA thanks for all the recent emails,... keeping us ADIs up to date. I should like to discuss with you a few of the points that you have raised.
"It is all our fault (the ADI) that the booking system is in chaos and our fault that candidates are not turning up for the test".
how the dvsa fails its customers on a daily basis
