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news
Blaine Walsh of driving-instructor.tv YouTube stillVideo tells driving instructors why cyclists ride in primary position
Driving instructors are the target audience of a new video that highlights cyclists’ road positioning and behaviour while riding that other road users need to be aware of. The intention that the knowledge will be passed onto learner drivers to help them understand the roads are for all, not just motorists.
Featuring Blaine Walsh, founder of the online video site driving-instructor.tv and Michael Frearson, director of the Association of Bikeability Schemes, among other things the video explains what the primary position is, and why many bike riders choose to take it.
Frearson says “it is vitally important” that driving instructors “understand what cyclists are doing and communicate that to their trainees.”
Walsh adds: “We have to be very aware of cyclists when we’re teaching. We have to be very aware of teaching learner drivers about cyclists, about what Bikeability are teaching, and bringing that into our lessons – the clues that cyclists give us and why they do certain things.
“Why do they cycle down the middle of the lane, what is that all about? And if we know that, we can pass that onto our pupils, and our pupils understand it. That’s really powerful and important.”
Frearson emphasises that when someone on a bike is “riding in the middle of the lane,” he or she is not “getting in the way” of a motorist.
Rather, the cyclist is a road user who reached that section of road first, and therefore have “priority” – a word that Walsh says is preferred to the term “right of way,” and he explains why that phrase is misleading and gives an incorrect sense of superiority to some drivers.
The video, which has been produced for the Bicycle Association, was filmed in Cambridge and once available on drivinginstructor.tv will have a potential audience of 20,000 driving instructors who in turn tutor 300,000-plus learner drivers.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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44 comments
I've been amazed with some driving instructors and how little they know. I had to give a 'lesson' to one about how much space to leave me who had felt (until they saw my video) that the driver had left me sufficient passing space, when clearly they hadn't.
I'd like the driving instructor who shouted at me that I was too late to see this as he allowed his pupil to pass close, within the zig-zags of a pedestrian crossing (on the approach give way side) AND within 50 meters of the junction I had signaled for and was in the middle of the lane to turn right for... three offences in one pass... good instruction, not...
I have had some terrible passes by Learner Drivers… really disappointing. When I learnt to drive I don’t remember there being an absence of bike awareness, but I always knew to give cyclists plenty of room. Why is it so difficult now...?
Did you ride a bike before your learnt to drive? Did you drive with the maybe subconscious idea of how would i like a driver to pass me, and then treated others the same way?
Now take a 17year old, who has never ridden a bike, has never ridden a moped, whose parents have spent the last 17 years cussing everytime they got held up by a horse/bike/tractor etc...
Take a driving instructor from the same mold as the kids parents.
How do you think the 17year old is going to behave?
This needs to be seen by most Driving Instructors in the Hull area who seem to consider cycle lanes with double yellows as ideal locations to hold discussions with their trainee's and punishment passes as basic driving knowledge.
Maybe driving instructor training should include Bikeability and Compulsory Basic Training.
Do driving instructors not bother with the Highway Code then? Not advanced enough for them?
Maybe if they all had to pass Bikeability 3 before being allowed to teach, they might pass on fewer cretinous behaviours.
Tell it to the AA
Me and Blue-Van-Man Show AA Driving Instructor How to Pass a Cyclist... (GL12 PXR)
I contacted AA after this happened and got a poor response, I got the impression they don't teach their driving instructors about cyclists and weren't about to start.
Their president (Edmund King?) is actually very pro cyclist and pro cycle infrastructure (and wants to reduce tension between cyclists and motorists), and so I'm suprised by your post, unless they are seperate from the AA itself?
Edmund is great. Contact him directly via twitter. The AA driving school is absolutely part of the AA (as is the BSM as it happens)
The kindest thing to say about King is that he is a businessman and well aware of who pays his salary. He is usually good at talk, but actions don't exist. His comments about accidents occurring because the Sun is visible show his true view of non motorised road users - essentially identical to that of all other 'professional' drivers.
Neither the AA or any other driving school for that matter train "their" drivers. They are all basically self employed and pay the company who's logo is on the car a franchise fee. Last time I looked it was about £300 a week for the AA. All they do is get the pupils for you. Training is also independent and you can train yourself if you want or go to some crappy college who will happily take about 3 grand of anyone who has it, even though only about 10% only get through the 3 exams.
The whole farce is overseen by the DSA. They have to make a profit so the whole thing is just a moneyspinner. As for learning to drive all the pupil and their parents want is to get them through the test as cheaply as possible so they can forget all about the stupid rules and start to drive properly
I contacted AA after this happened and got a poor response, I got the impression they don't teach their driving instructors about cyclists and weren't about to start.
In future follow up poor responses by contacting CEO - probably a bit late for this one now though!
This sounds like a very well worthwhile effort.
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