Driving Excellence

16/06/2024

📣 It's my last week as a driving instructor.

The last few years with A1 Driving School have been fantastic. I'm proud of the hundreds of students I've taught who have mastered the dreaded parallel park, learnt to actually turn their head to blind spot check, or flawlessly signal on roundabouts! It's been a joy seeing students pass their restricted and been immensely rewarding when they come back a year later to do a assessment drive with me before their full and I discover they still have pretty good driving habits.

I'd like to thank Harald Leeuwenburgh for taking me on at A1 and for putting up with my nagging or crazy ideas and suggestions! Sorry for always keeping you on your toes!

I've enjoyed discovering every road, every street, cul-de-sac or quirky intersection on the North Shore. I've enjoyed the flexibility of the role and adapting my classroom teaching methods to coach one-on-one practical skills. But whenever l've taught a group of school students on the RYDA programme or taught the Street Talk defensive driving course l've found myself feeling at home in a school classroom setting so I knew a return to science and physics teaching was inevitable when the right time and opportunity came along.

I'm excited to start at Carmel College next term - a school that I have long aspired to and admired. I'm looking forward to putting on the lab coat and teaching science once again.

So my final message to all the drivers out there: slow down, drive calm, drive focused, avoid distractions, be courteous, allow more space and importantly enjoy every drive and make it a learning opportunity.

Matt 🚗

14/06/2024

🙌 🌟 Congratulations Star for an excellent drive today!

🌧️ ⛈️ Just as the testing officer arrived the heavens opened and made driving very challenging so well done for staying calm and confident on the roads.

😊 So proud of you and it was a pleasure to help you take this step forward with your independence.

🍪 And thanks again for the amazing card and yummy home baked Melting Moments!

🚘 Drive safe and remember to make every drive a learning opportunity. 🚗 🚙 🚗

✅

10/06/2024

It continues to be nearly impossible to get a driving test in Auckland, and this is hugely frustrating for students, parents and instructors.

For instructors, it has seriously affected workflow as students can’t get tests and move on in their driving journey. There’s less incentive to do a defensive driving course and reduce their time on their restricted if they can’t get a full licence test for months.

And to top it off, I have recently had several students who have waited months for a test only to have it cancelled by the test centre due to “circumstances outside their control” and gone to the back of the queue with it rescheduled for another few months.

In short we have a situation with fewer drivers completing Defensive Driving Courses, drivers learning to drive by failing driving tests instead of professional lessons or deciding to drive unlicensed because they can’t get tests. This is not improving the standard of driving and will do little to address New Zealand’s shocking road toll.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/long-waits-for-driving-licence-tests-as-demand-skyrockets/FNXZUVGASBFSRCVJHBCQ4E6F4I/ Long waits for driving licence tests as demand skyrockets

Resit fees were scrapped last October, but now people are struggling to book tests.

21/05/2024

It’s Road Safety Week! 🎗️

Today I was facilitating the Speed and Stopping sessions as part of the RYDA programme with an awesome year group of girls from St Mary’s College. 🚸

A fantastic day teaching how speed affects stopping distances, looking at car safety features and understanding safe following gaps. 🚗 2s 🚙2s 🚗

And the rain mostly held off too! ☔️

20/05/2024

Congratulations Scott on passing your restricted! 🥳

So proud to hear that the testing officer said it was obvious you were a safe driver. 😊

Drive safe and remember to keep learning from every drive. 🚗 🙌

07/05/2024

Congratulations Sam on passing your restricted! 🥳

So pleased that you don’t have to wait months for a resit 😮‍💨

Drive safe and remember to keep learning from every drive. 🚗 🙌

29/04/2024

Check out my interview with RNZ about the problems with free driving test resits

Learner drivers are booking their tests before they are even ready because wait times have stretched out to over a month, a driving instructor says.

26/04/2024

Congratulations Janik on passing your restricted! 🥳

Passed first time and with zero errors! 💥

Keep up the good habits and make every drive a learning opportunity. 🚗 🙌

01/04/2024

Don’t forget to practise the Road Coad at the supermarket!

We’ve all been in a situation where we’ve noticed frustrating or disruptive behaviour at the supermarket, much like when we’re on the roads.

So to celebrate the first of April, we’re thrilled to be able to share with you a very important document: the road code for supermarket trolleys. This guide isn't just useful for your next shop—as you know, these rules apply anytime you’re travelling on the road.

You can find the official road code on our website: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/roadcode

27/03/2024

Great to be teaching in the classroom today facilitating the Street Talk Defensive Driving course with a great bunch of Kristin School and Pinehurst School students!

Today they learnt how human risk factors, thoughts and emotions affect a driver’s actions, explored how “slippage” can cause deterioration of good driving habits and how to reframe mistakes as positive learning opportunities.

Looking forward to the final (and my favourite) session on hazard recognition and the importance of “getting the big picture” next week… Better stock up on more snakes and Freddos!

17/03/2024

Bookings are now open for my next Street Talk Defensive Driving Course in May!

📍 Rawene Centre, 33 Rawene Rd, Birkenhead
⏰ 4:00pm to 6:00 pm
🗓️ Wednesday 1 May, Friday 3 May, Wednesday 8 May and Friday 10 May 2024

🚗 Street Talk is a Waka Kotahi NZTA approved advanced driving course that reduces the restricted licence period by 6 months for drivers under 25.

⚠️ The course teaches how to recognise hazards on the roads and how to avoid dangerous situations that lead to accidents

📝 It is an intensive and interactive course comprising of 4 x two-hour classroom sessions followed by a one-hour practical on-road session (completed in your own vehicle). The course is best suited for students on a restricted driver licence.

Book online here:
https://www.a1drivingschool.co.nz/book-now/