What sort of driver are you..

LARSOA newsfeed editor Nick Rawlings (pictured) was offered the chance to experience Norfolk County Council’s Driver Assessment Scheme. Here’s how he got on.

"So what sort of driver do you think you are then, Nick?" Bob Clayton asked.

"I’m not sure really," I replied. "I think I’m fairly careful and safe, and I’m pretty confident." Over the ensuing hour and a half I was about to find out if my self-perceptions were correct.

I was with Bob Clayton, an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) for the past 14 years and Norfolk County Council’s RSO with responsibility for training, who was about to put me through the driver assessment programme operated for Norfolk CC employees.

Background
Norfolk County Council developed its motor policy to formalise best practice with regard to driving on business, driving standards and ‘authorisations to drive’. One element of the policy is the requirement for all its employees with lease cars to undertake and achieve a satisfactory standard in a practical driving assessment.

The assessment programme has been developed with the primary aims of reducing road crashes and improving driver safety through enhanced driving standards. By doing so, the programme should result in reduced insurance claims and improved safety for staff and others.

Driver assessment has been running in Norfolk for the past couple of years and in that time some 600 lease car drivers have benefited from an assessment. The scheme is funded by the County Council’s insurers and Bob manages the team of ADIs that carries out the assessments.

Getting started
"The first stage is purely an assessment with no coaching by the ADI," Bob (pictured) explains. "At the end of the drive the ADI completes an assessment form and goes through it with the driver. If there is a need for training to deal with any areas where the driver scores less than average this will then be arranged."

Bob and I rendezvoused in the Norfolk market town of Diss, where my office is located. We got off to something of a false start because I had forgotten my driving licence, and Bob insisted on seeing it before I got behind the wheel. Once the licence was retrieved from my office and I passed the simple eyesight test, Bob talked me through the vehicle controls and my drive began.

We left Diss and headed for Thetford along the A1066, a relatively straight and uncomplicated single carriageway – which gave me time to familiarise myself with the Ford Focus I was driving.

Then it was into Thetford for some urban driving, out onto the busy A11 dual carriageway in the direction of Norwich before making our way back to Diss cross-country on some very rural roads through pretty Norfolk villages. The idea, Bob explained, is to cover the full range of roads in the assessment – urban, dual carriageway, single carriageway (A class), single carriageway (B class) and country lanes. In all I was driving for around 1 hour 15 minutes.

There’s no doubt that I did drive differently during the assessment compared to how I normally drive. Naturally, one is trying to do everything correctly – that’s human nature. I didn’t feel too nervous - but then again I’m a fairly confident individual. I would think anyone with less confidence might find the assessment a little daunting.

Because I wasn’t a County Council employee going through the standard assessment, Bob did break the rules slightly and commented from time to time on my driving.

Weaknesses
The first thing he picked me up on was not using my mirrors enough – and he was dead right. After he mentioned it, it occurred to me that I hardly use them at all! He spoke of the need to be aware of what the drivers behind are doing, as well as those in front. This one comment had an immediate impact, and I used the mirrors much more frequently after he had made it.

A couple of questions from Bob about road signs immediately highlighted another major area of weakness – my knowledge of the Highway Code. I was unable to explain the meaning of various shaped signs (round for mandatory instructions, triangular for warnings, and square/rectangular for information, as I now know). Basic stuff, really.

Next, Bob expressed concern at my approach to cornering, emphasising the need for me to better assess the severity of a bend before entering it. He also told me how to do this by observing the brake lights of vehicles ahead (if they brake sharply it means the bend is more severe than anticipated), observing roads signs and chevrons, and even observing the landscape surrounding the bend – trees and hedges, telegraph poles, etc.

The verdict
So, at the end of the assessment, what was Bob’s verdict?
There are five grades on the assessment form – ‘very good’, ‘good’, ‘average’, ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ – and the assessment is divided into five sections – Vehicle Control, Observation, Planning, Attitude and Special Manoeuvres/Vehicle Checks.

For Vehicle Control, I scored ‘good’ for clutch control and steering, ‘average’ for acceleration, braking and use of handbrake, but ‘poor’ for use of gears. In my defence, I normally drive an automatic and Bob acknowledged that this could have accounted for my below par performance.

For Observation, Bob graded me as ‘average’ for Forward Observation and Shoulder Checks but ‘poor’ for use of Mirrors. As well as using them more, Bob commented that I was not linking the mirrors together.

So far, so good. But things were about to get worse.

Under Planning, I achieved an ‘average’ grade for Following Distance, Signals and Overtaking. But I was graded ‘poor’ with regard to Hazard Awareness, Speed Issues (minor transgression of 30 & 40mph speed limits), Road Position (driving too close to the centre) and Cornering (better assessment required). Oh dear.

Things were much better with regard to Attitude, where `I achieved a ‘good’ grade for Courtesy and Confidence, but ‘poor’ for Restraint (linked to speed limit transgressions).

Finally, under Special Manoeuvres I was classified as ‘good’ for hill start, parking and reversing. With regard to Highway Code I achieved a ‘poor’ mark, with a strong ‘READ IT!’ note from Bob.

In summary, Bob concluded I had achieved ‘a smooth drive spoilt by low observation and some minor speed plus on 30 & 40 mph limits’. He added that had I been a council employee doing the assessment for real he would have recommended two hours training to address the areas where I was below average.

Bob also suggested I should consider contacting either RoSPA or the Institute of Advance Motorists (IAM) about advanced driver training. "You have the right attitude and with work to iron out your faults I think you could achieve this," he concluded. Which was very flattering.

And my view of the assessment?
In short – very interesting and very informative. I will definitely make an effort to look in rear view mirrors far more frequently and Bob’s tips about driving more to the left and being more aware of hazards, including corners, were very appropriate.

For me, it was a positive experience, and one I could thoroughly commend to anyone given the opportunity to experience it.