Monday, January 15, 2007

Learning to fly is important, but hey, learn to land also

Being a driving instructor can be a very scary and potentially hazardous occupation, but that can also apply to being an examiner of driver’ s licences.

What do you do when the examiner who is testing you is more afraid than you are?
I know of an examiner who has had a few very nasty experiences while testing clients. For example I know of an incident where a learner driver had passed the yard test, gone onto the road, come back and as she was stopping her vehicle at the traffic department, pressed the accelerator instead of the brake pedal and ended up parking the car on the pavement, almost evicting a tree in the process.

When you start replacing your work shoes every three months, then you know there is a problem.
He was so stressed out that even his shoes became worn out. How did this happen you may be asking. Well whenever this examiner was out on a test and the learner was approaching a stop situation, this was where the problem arose. Sitting in the passenger seat while someone else is driving, you are approaching stationery traffic at a robot and the driver you are with does not in your mind start braking on time. It makes you look for a brake pedal where there is’nt one. You start pressing down and rubbing your foot on the passenger side floor. I suppose changing shoes is better than having to have to go home to change your underwear.

How does the saying go, you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family. Closer to home, you can choose your driving instructor, but you can't choose your examiner. I think a lot of examiners need to work on developing their people skills. At the traffic department where this particular examiner was stationed there were chairs outside the office of the examiner where the learner drivers had to wait for there names to be called. I am sure a lot of you remember what it was like sitting outside the principal’s office. This was ten times worse.

All this examiner would say as he walked past the learner was “KOM” ( come ) and off they went to do the test. Maybe learning more than one word would be a good place to start on a journey of developing people skills.

Having come to know this examiner over the years, he was actually a very splendid person. I suppose looks can be very deceiving also.

Uniforms also put fear in most people. So try not to be intimidated by the fact that the examiner may be wearing one. A few of the traffic departments have moved away from examiners wearing uniforms, this does make a difference. Uniforms symbolize different things to different people.

A key thing to remember is that the examiner is not there to fail you, for what on earth would they gain by doing that; you cause yourself to fail by things you do or fail to do. There is no grey area, so make sure you are practically as well as mentally prepared for your drivers test then you can only pass.

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