ABMW

Well done on passing your Driving Test Nosheen. Told you the picture wasn’t that bad

Back in April this year, Ashleigh passed her driving test 1st time at Hyde Test Centre. At the end of the test the Examiner and I always advise the pupil to consider taking some post test training, either in the form of a Motorway Lesson or a Pass Plus Course. I even go that little bit further and ask them that even if they decide not to take any more training, that if they have any problems or query’s then to always call me/text me/e-mail me and I’m more than happy to help.

Sadly in the 13yrs of me being a Driving Instructor I can probably count on one hand the amount of people who have asked for extra help because they are not happy with some aspect of there driving after passing there Driving Test.

So it was fantastic and refreshing to here back from Ashleigh last week, who was not feeling 100% with a couple of issues. So yesterday we went out for a little drive in her rather swish Fiat 500.

Ashleigh was having an issue with big multi lane roundabouts. Like, Denton roundabout and Portwood roundabout in Stockport. To me there is three key areas to consider when dealing with these busy types of roundabouts. Firstly be confident and positive, if your too unsure and hesitent then this will probably lead to you driving to slowly, and you’ll frustrate other drivers leading to beeping horns and unsavoury hand gestures :-) . Secondly is to know your destination, remember on the approach and on the roundabout it self there will be signs and road markings telling you which lane you should be in for your destination. So make sure your in the correct lane. And thirdly, It’s all very well if your doing every thing correctly. But, chances are other drivers won’t be, so watch out for them. Use your mirrors well, even consider a shoulder check when changing lanes and don’t forget to use your indicators to inform other drivers on you intentions.

So good on you Ashleigh for having a great attitude towards your driving and asking for the help.

Yesterday Danielle took her test at Whalley Range, and what a great performance. Only 1 driver error, and that was on the show me/tell me questions. So in reality her actual driving was perfect.

Hey Vicky, Great stuff on passing your Driving Test today. You’ve made it to the Hall of Fame.

I was thinking the other day as I drove another pupil home from passing there driving test, that it would be nice to capture that special moment and the euphoria of passing your driving test. So, here is a picture of Tanveer who passed his driving test at Reddish on the 29th July 2008.

I shall hopefully be posting up more pictures in the future of succesful pupils when they pass, with there permission of course.

Well done Tanveer, Oh and thanks for the Stella

As of the 1st July 2008 the DSA are adding some new questions to the exsisting question bank.

Don’t worry there’s still nothing to taxing to them, but you will need to know where some of the less obvious controls are. For instance do you know where the control is for the fog lights ?, and do you know when you should use them ?.

I will still be giving all pupils a handy print out of all the questions so that you can study them, and I can also using bluetooth on you mobile send you a diagram of everything under the bonnet. Remember we will cover everything during your lessons anyway.

You can find all the new questions here if you want to get one step ahead ?http://www.dsa.gov.uk/Documents/practical_test/dt1/safety%20questions%20post%201st%20July%202008/Safety%20Questions%2007-08%20Cat%20B%20combinations%20Q%20and%20A.pdf

Here is a diagram showing under the bonnet of a Honda Civic 2.2 cdti

On Wednesday last week I was invited to attend the DSA Business Customer Conference in Chorley. One of the biggest Buzz words in the Driving Instructor industry at the moment is CPD Or Continuing Professional Development.

Over the coming months and years CPD will be playing a major roll in every Driving Instructors career and commitment to being professional.

A Continuing Professional Development (CPD) ‘first’ was achieved with DSA certificates being handed out at the DSA Business Customer Conference (BCC) in Chorley. The certificate recognises the role that conferences such as the BCC can play in CPD. There is growing interest in what CPD means for individuals. After all, it is about formal and informal development, based on an individual’s understanding of the benefits to them. In a nutshell, it is a commitment to being professional, keeping up to date and continually seeking to improve.

Just a quick reminder that as of the 1st April the cost of a Theory test and Driving test are increasing. The Theory test will be rising to £30 and the Driving test will be increasing to £56.50. 

So be quick if you want to save yourself some money and get those test’s booked.

The day has finally arrived and ABMW Driving School can now proudly announce to the world our brand new choice of tuition vehicle : A new Honda Civic Type-S GT.

With the old car having covered 35000 miles it was time to start exploring new alternatives as we enter the year 2008 so that our pupils are only ever driving the best possible car.

We believe our new Honda Civic is a fantastic car for you to learn all the essential driving skills needed to pass your driving test 1st time. After looking at several cars we decided on the Honda as it offers a great blend of power, economy and low emissions, easy to use controls from the fantastic and futuristic dashboard, and you can even talk to the car and it will respond

In the coming weeks we will be making some changes to the site to reflect the new car and we will be adding some new pictures into the gallery so that you can see the new car for yourselves.

We hope you are as excited as we are at ABMW Driving School about our new and exciting new car. And as we enter 2008 we are committed to providing the very best in driving tuition, and we can all contribute to A Better Motoring World.

If you would like any more information then please feel free to contact me at andy@abmw.co.uk and finally we wish all our exsisting and future pupils a very merry christmas.

We are very excited to be releasing some big news in the next few weeks. There will be a few small changes to this site to reflect the big news, but the biggest news will be released to the world on Saturday 22nd December 2007, here is a little teaser http://youtube.com/watch?v=QH7ffdKeJK0

Remember to check back to www.abmw.co.uk on the 22nd December for the big story.