AUTOMATIC :TRAINING
CASE STUDY
RED Driving Instructor
Anthony started as a manual
instructor and attended
a lesson with a customer
passed via Red Driving
School. The customer was
a 17-year-old boy with a
paralysed left arm. (Andrew
has suffered a stroke whilst
awaiting a heart transplant.)
Anthony attempted through
various means to get an
instructor with the required
car adaptations for Andrew.
After no success, he decided
he would retrain himself.
At his own expense he
undertook the Queen
Elizabeth Foundation
Course in Surrey and passed
which enabled him to train
and instruct learners with
disabilities and special needs.
He then approached RED
with a view to getting an
automatic car and the
Mobility Centre to get any
necessary adaptations.
Anthony then went back
to Andrew to start lessons.
Anthony has an auto car from
RED and his own manual car
for lessons. However 80% of
his work is now automatic.
Pros: Helping others and
making a difference.
Cons: Auto car only being
a three-door
Price difference: Manual
£24, Auto £28.
Advice: To start with it's
being prepared to travel
and work the hours that the
customer wants, not when
you want. When the business
is established then you can
plan and adapt your diary.
www.ukdic.co.uk
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THE INSTRUCTOR
the `hassle' a manual car could
bring for them.
These customers are also
more likely to be more
committed, and have multiple
lessons per week as their
continued mobility is at stake in
getting a driving licence.
The instructional technique
is also more challenging with
this client base, which gives a
further variety to the instructor,
but also allows them to adapt
their instruction skills to suit
their customer needs.
What next?
Different styles suit different
people, but with 7000
customers turned down in
12 months from one driving
school alone how many
more people are out there
who want to learn to drive
in an automatic car and are
struggling to find the correct
instrcution?
As we've seen from just a few
examples shared here, there
is the potential for a large,
diverse client base for
automatic driving instructors,
so here is the opportunity to
spread your client reach and
increase your lesson numbers
and income.
What comes next is
completely up to you...
> The Instructor would
like to thank RED for their
contribution to this article,
and also for the use of their
case studies. Special thanks
to Dominic and Anthony for
their involvement.
Mazda's 2 Automatic targets those on Motability schemes and
offers cost-effective automatic motoring for a range of drivers