Newslink October 2021
Membership magazine of the Motor Schools Association; road safety, driver training and testing news.
Membership magazine of the Motor Schools Association; road safety, driver training and testing news.
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For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
BOOK REVIEW<br />
Insight to Drive – to create<br />
better driving for life<br />
One of our most long-serving and loyal<br />
members has put pen to paper and<br />
produced a fascinating guide to her life<br />
as an ADI in her first book.<br />
Kathy Higgins’ An Insight to Drive has<br />
been written to address the old saying of<br />
‘once you’ve passed your test, that’s<br />
when you start to learn to drive’, as well<br />
as challenge some of the other out-ofdate<br />
beliefs and myths about passing the<br />
practical driving test.<br />
Higgins, an ADI who will be wellknown<br />
to many MSA GB members,<br />
wrote the book to not just help people to<br />
pass their driving test and drive alone<br />
with confidence, but to ignite a passion<br />
for people to drive well for life. The pages<br />
are full of advice and suggestions to<br />
make the roads safer for all road users,<br />
and to cut down needless deaths on UK<br />
roads.<br />
An Insight to Drive is a funny and<br />
informative read, full of top tips when<br />
looking for an instructor, how to find a<br />
good instructor and how to spot if a pupil<br />
is getting scammed by their driving<br />
school.<br />
The advice is delivered in Higgins’<br />
typical warm but straight-forward style,<br />
and true to her character she’s littered<br />
the pages with lots of funny anecdotes<br />
from her many years of being a driving<br />
instructor and owner of her own driving<br />
school.<br />
An Insight to Drive isn’t just for people<br />
passing their driving test. It is for pupils<br />
and parents who are trying to find<br />
the right driving instructor and for<br />
driving instructors themselves.<br />
There is also lots of advice and<br />
information on how to remain confident<br />
and take pride in being a good driver for<br />
life after gaining a full driving licence.<br />
On why she wrote An Insight to Drive,<br />
Kathy said: “I wrote the book because<br />
too many think all driving instructors are<br />
the same, and those looking for lessons<br />
would constantly try to find the cheapest<br />
possible driving instructor, thinking all<br />
that instructor would need to do is teach<br />
them to pass their test.<br />
“To me this is totally wrong. Mums and<br />
dads will, for example, go to great<br />
lengths to keep their children from harm,<br />
yet many will scrimp on paying for driver<br />
training for something that takes away so<br />
many lives, including young ones, in a<br />
very violent and sudden way. So that’s<br />
the main reason why I wrote the book; I<br />
want to put the record straight, to tell<br />
readers, parents and future drivers not to<br />
just go with a driving instructor because<br />
they are cheap or friendly.<br />
“But most of all I am here to help and<br />
educate people on making an informed<br />
choice, so they don’t just pass their<br />
practical test, but they are better more<br />
confident drivers for life.”<br />
Higgins decided to write An Insight to<br />
Drive when, while delivering a speed<br />
awareness course in Knowsley,<br />
somebody remarked to her that all<br />
driving instructors are the same, and the<br />
class agreed.<br />
Knowing this simply isn’t the case<br />
Higgins wanted to put the record<br />
straight, not only to tell people that there<br />
are some fantastic driving instructors, but<br />
how to find them, what to ask them,<br />
who to complain to if as a learner you<br />
are not happy, and to switch instructors if<br />
it’s necessary too.<br />
Packed with stories and real-life<br />
experiences from her decades as an<br />
instructor, Higgins delivers lots of sound<br />
advice for students and instructors alike.<br />
As well as hilarious anecdotes and myth<br />
busting she exposes scams made by<br />
some driving instructors and how to spot<br />
them if they are happening to you.<br />
It’s a great read and will provide even<br />
the most experienced ADI with<br />
something to think about – and plenty to<br />
laugh along with, too.<br />
For more information, please visit:<br />
https://insight2drive.co.uk/home/<br />
an-insight-to-drive-buy-the-book/<br />
An Insight to Drive by Kathy Higgins<br />
Publisher: Book Bubble Press<br />
ISBN: 9781912494064<br />
Available from: Amazon<br />
Pandemic sees big rise in anxious motorists<br />
Research by the AA has found that<br />
three-quarters of drivers suffered from<br />
nerves behind the wheel during the<br />
pandemic – and over 300,000 gave up<br />
driving all together as a result.<br />
Three in five of those who felt<br />
increased anxiety levels said they did<br />
nothing to address their anxious feelings<br />
(67%). Seven per cent cut down on<br />
driving and one per cent stopped driving<br />
altogether.<br />
Older drivers (65+) were the least<br />
likely to have sought help (69%) and<br />
nearly half of younger drivers said they<br />
had done nothing about it (18-24s<br />
48%).<br />
Men were more likely than women to<br />
not address their anxiety; 72% of men<br />
compared to 59% of women said they<br />
did nothing about it.<br />
Drivers can lose their confidence for a<br />
number of reasons. Crashes, nearmisses,<br />
or just being out of practice can<br />
develop into driving phobias if left<br />
untreated.<br />
Mental health charity Mind advises<br />
people with phobias such as a fear of<br />
driving should seek help from their GP<br />
in the first instance, as they can advise<br />
on treatment options which may include<br />
talking therapies or medication.<br />
Promisingly, some drivers had taken<br />
steps to manage their nervousness. One<br />
in ten (13%) had tried relaxation<br />
techniques, 3% took a passenger with<br />
them on their next drive, 6% had talked<br />
to someone about their worries (such as<br />
a friend) and 2% had sought<br />
professional help.<br />
One in five younger drivers said they<br />
had tried relaxation techniques to help<br />
them calm down (18-24s 23%).<br />
A handful had also tried refresher<br />
driving lessons, which aim to boost<br />
confidence in experienced drivers by<br />
addressing specific concerns or areas to<br />
work on, such as handling motorway<br />
driving.<br />
NEWSLINK n OCTOBER <strong>2021</strong><br />
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