ADI Part 3 - PST 2 Phase 1

PST 2 Phase 1 Moving Off and Stopping

The DSA classify your learner as a beginner for this pst.

Always keep in mind that this pst has two distinct elements, moving off and stopping. Many trainees get the SE underway, then remember that they've forgotten to brief the SE on making normal stops.

Never forget, safety overrides instruction. Never let your learner do anything dangerous, such as emerge from a junction without taking effective observations, or perform any manoeuvre in a dangerous area.

With this pst, you will invariably get into the drivers seat at the start of the test, and the SE will ask you to drive to a nearby area to continue the lesson. Although you aren't being tested on your driving ability, the person you most need to impress is sat next to you! So, make it a good standard DSA drive.

Use the drive to demonstrate the required technique for moving off from the side of the road. You can perform a very simple talk through of what you are doing, how you're using the controls and how you perform those essential all round observations. Above all . . . keep it simple!

Let's think, as always, where our learner is 'at' in their training . . .

Well, it's likely that they'll have only covered the controls lesson. After all, moving off and stopping is the very first thing a learner needs to be able to do to get their driving of the ground. It'll be unlikely that your learner will have done this before, so your lesson will need to be pitched accordingly. Remember for all phase 1 pst's, that the learner will usually have never been trained in the subject area of the past, so you'll need to place a heavy emphasis on actively teaching in the early stages.

The Briefing

Once you reach the area the SE wishes to use for the lesson, you'd be best advised to swap seats, so that the SE is in the drivers seat for the remainder of the lesson.

Now, before this is done, exercise your control by asking the SE to check the door mirror and blind spots before opening the passenger door to get out. Also, tell the SE to walk round the back of the car, not the front. Walking round the back gives a greater view of oncoming traffic and oncoming traffic can see you much easier.

As in all phase 1 pst's, aim for a briefing of around 7 to 8 minutes maximum. If the briefing goes on a bit, the SE will more than likely prompt you to get on with it. Take the prompt!

Use the briefing to set the aims and objectives for the lesson. State the objectives positively, as it helps you to remember what the lesson actually is, and the learner knows exactly what to expect.

As always, don't fall for what I've nicknamed the 'empty box' syndrome. No learner is an empty box, they will each have some previous knowledge and skills that can be built upon for the lesson . . . so use good question and answer techniques in the briefing to find out.

For this pst , your learner will have already covered the controls lesson, and they may have a very basic knowledge of msm, and may be able to tell you all about it. So ask them! If the SE shows a good knowledge of ms-psl, and can remember how the system is used to deal with hazards, all you have to do is teach them the extra bits associated with moving off and stopping. Please keep in mind the stage that the learner is at though, because it's highly likely that the SE will tell you that they have no knowledge of msm.

Use the briefing time to display all the sub skills by keeping control, and establishing the level of instruction.

The Marking Sheet

The areas shown on the left side of the marking sheet are those directly relevant to this pst. Please be warned . . .

You need to have an excellent knowledge of the pst relevant knowledge areas, but you will not get a green card based on an in depth knowledge of these areas. That is NOT the main part of what you are being tested on. You are being tested on your skills as an instructor, the areas on the right side of the form - the Core competencies and Instructional Techniques.

For this pst, the relevant areas are:

• briefing on moving off and stopping
• mirrors, vision and use
• mirrors, direction, overtaking and stopping
• mirror, signal and manoeuvre
• precautions before moving off
• co-ordination of controls
• normal stop position
• normal stop control

You will need to try to cover these areas in the briefing or on the move, but don't get hung up if any particular skill isn't mentioned or tested. If it doesn't arise, the SE will strike a line straight through it and ignore it for the purposes of assessing your performance.

The simple fact is that these are the basic 'common sense' areas that you'd cover with a learner on a lesson anyway, so they should present you with no great challenge.

Remember, the highest mark you can get for the pas relevant areas, on the left side of the sheet, is 'satisfactory'. Not 'good' or 'excellent', but 'satisfactory'.

Developmental phase

When the briefing is over, you'll get the main part of the lesson underway and instructing the SE how to move off and stop. Remember, the SE will be role playing a driver with very limited experience, so expect them to act like it.

I find that a full talk through 'dry run', with the engine switched off, helps enormously. If you do a dry run, you can sort out any problems such as the SE trying to use the wrong feet on the pedals, before you find that you have those problems with the car driving towards other hazards!

Think about your level of instruction . . . the SE will never have done this before, so you'll need to teach actively to start with. Look back at the sub skills pages of the site to check your understanding and knowledge.

You'll be giving a full talk through, but only in the skills of this subject. For instance, don't teach the SE all about the controls unless you have to. The idea of learning to drive is that the learner can do it all for themselves when they pass the test. They'll never get there if you spoon feed them what they should already know.

Contrary to many trainers views, you can over instruct at phase 1. Over instruction is unlikely to play a part in this pst, because the learner is at such a basic stage. However, you should still try to get the SE to move off for themselves by the end of the lesson. After all, that's the objective!

Remember what the lesson subject is and don't change it into a different lesson. You would receive a poor mark for control of the lesson if you allow this to happen.

You will use the core competencies throughout the entire lesson.

Have no fears about 'nit picking' - if you see a fault, identify it and sort it. Remember, bad habits become very strong habits if left to grow. This does not mean, under any circumstances, that you pull the learner over every hundred yards to have 'a go' at them. You can deal with almost all phase 1 faults on the move, using good communication skills and by exercising your control over the lesson and the learner.

If you anticipate a fault, deal with it before the SE makes it. Please ignore the nonsense so widely talked about that the SE will mark you badly for the Core Competencies, unless you allow them to make the errors for you to deal with. Would you do that with a real learner? NO! So don't do it with the SE. Remember, part 3 is a lesson. Simple as that. Much better to fix it when you suspect it's about to happen, rather than to wait for it to happen. To do so could be dangerous, unprofessional and simply downright bad instruction.

You'll probably have the time to move off and stop two or three times during the main part of the lesson. By the end of it, your learner should be doing much of the work for themselves.

Remember, if the learner keeps making the same errors over and over, even though you've mentioned them, consider that you may not have analysed it correctly and put the remedial action in place.

Typical SE Errors

It really is impossible to define a list of the errors the SE will make, but think about the skill level of the learner that the SE will be role playing. The errors will be very similar to a learner at that level. You need to remain flexible in your approach and deal with errors in the way that you think best.

Again, it's impossible to prepare a 'script' or strict lesson plan, because the SE can take you down any 'route' he or she wishes, to test your instructional skills.

Typical errors would include

• poor use of clutch and gas pedal- setting off to quickly!
• trying to use the wrong feet on the wrong pedals
• errors in ms-psl - out of sequence, mirror checks missed - especially when stopping
• signaling to move off dangerously - signaling to move off is almost always unnecessary
• veering off course and towards obstructions - remember the old saying 'the hands follow the eyes'
• moving off in the wrong gear
• moving off without taking effective observations
• moving off with the hand brake still on
• poor co-ordination - foot pedals, steering, gears etc etc
• stalling through lifting the clutch too quickly or applying too little gas
• the list goes on and on . . .

Phase 1 errors tend to be procedural errors and co-ordination errors. In other words, typical learner errors in using ms-psl correctly or in road positioning, and also in the physical co-ordination of the controls of the car to achieve the lesson objectives.

At the end of phase 1, the SE will tell you that the lesson has ended. They will then make some notes on your performance whilst you take a look at your notes for the next lesson. Then, before you know it, it's straight on to phase 2 . . .

ADIT team