BlatSafe is an introduction to skills such as good observation, planning and anticipation which can be practiced each time we drive, ultimately leading to a smoother flowing and more rewarding drive. The BlatSafe DVD covers subjects such as:

- Attitude
- Preparation of yourself and your car
- Smooth car control including acceleration sense
- Observation and anticipation
- The limit point and extending your view through visual links
- Cornering
- Road positioning
- Overtaking
- The use of commentary

Jackie Willis, a driving instructor and founder/director of Care Motoring, a Norfolk-based driving school, has come up with an innovative new way to help learner drivers beat the credit crunch by learning to drive with the help of a parent, or other qualified driver, together with a series of audio lessons, delivered by Jackie and called Virtual Driving Instructor.

“Many learner drivers have either put off learning to drive altogether, or are taking lessons with a driving instructor, but can only afford to pay for them once every 2 or 3 weeks, sometimes longer. If they are lucky, they will have the chance to practise in between, but sadly many do not,” said Jackie

According to a recent survey from an insurance company, applications to have learner drivers added to parents’ policies has increased by around 23% and it is this group of learner drivers that Virtual Driving Instructor is targeting. A survey by Churchill insurance in 2007 showed how much damage can actually be done when parents attempt to teach their children.

Virtual Driving Instructor takes away the responsibility of what to teach and how to teach it from the unqualified instructor, by ‘instructing’ the learner through these audio lessons. Jackie explains:

“The parent, or other supervising driver, and the learner, listen together before going off and practising, as instructed in the audio lesson. They then stop again after this practise and listen for further advice. And of course, if the instructions have not been fully understood first time, then the audio can be rewound and listened to again”.

Certainly the lessons seem to be very thorough. There are 25 in all, which includes 5 manoeuvres lessons, and each lesson is accompanied by a set of lesson notes to help the supervising driver. Each lesson contains the instructions for the skill being practised, encouragement for the learner to assess their own progress and set their own targets for improvement, risk management techniques, Highway Code references relevant to that lesson, and links to various websites for additional help and information, as well as recommended reading material.

As Jackie, an experienced teacher and classroom practitioner, points out, whatever a person is learning, success is achieved quickest and best when the subject can be learned through visual, auditory and kinaesthetic means. So, in the case of learning to drive, watching training videos and good role-model drivers, coupled with listening regularly to the audio lessons and getting as much driving practice as possible, will lead to accelerated learning which is of a much higher standard.

It is also recommended that the learner backs up this ‘diy’ training with some lessons with a ‘real’ driving instructor, who may then be able to focus their training on higher level skills, producing novice drivers who possess advanced driving skills as soon as they obtain their driving licence.

Now wouldn’t that be a novel idea?

Download and purchase information can be found at Virtual Instructor