Blog Archives

Tom Stenson, head of ADINJC training, talks to BADIs (Feb-2025)

26/5/2025

Tom's talk was one of the clearest, unhesitant, engaging, animated, with good choice of vocabulary. It raised the essential notion of "error training". This means giving the freedom to commit mistakes and then helping the learner to extract what they can from what went wrong.

I'd always suspected this was a legitimate and effective way to teach any practical skill, but always known DVSA (and driving trainers) to shy away from it.

As for hazard anticipation skills in novice drivers, he admitted there's not much published as yet. But there is a research project from the University of Leeds.

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Driverless cars ... 1971

18/5/2025

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Boffins at the Road Research Lab in Berkshire showed off their driverless car (among other road-based ideas) 50 years ago today.

It was part of experimental developments to help motorists by the end of the century.

BBC News broadcast this clip on 18 May, 1971.

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Dr James Whalen presents to BADIs (May-2025)

6/5/2025

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Canadian. ADI since 1991. BSc business psychology; PhD driver psychology.
Involved in National Road Safety Conference (Nov. 24) concerning 'Vision Zero' (cp 'Net Zero').
Universities' recent foci have been: Cranfield (non-compliance); Edinburgh (speed choices, influences); Loughborough (driver attention).
It's estimated that GDL in GB could save 4,471 casualties and £224M pa (on just 17-19yo).
Freud’s arguable biggest contribution to how humans ‘tick’ is his theory of “unconscious mind”, so learning you're aware of comprises 10%, and 75-80% affecting one's behaviour subliminally. Implicit learning is learning without being aware of it (an example of ‘classical conditioning’).
VAK acronymises the 3 learning styles.
‘Operant conditioning’ = voluntary actions performed by participants. Recall the dog-salivating experiments (Ivan Pavlov, 1934), and the bobo-doll experiment (Bandura, 1961).
Teaches the Pros/Cons of front/rear wheel drives; physics of momentum and CdA; torque-steer; understeer.

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