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Four
Learner drivers - four personalities (by
Dieter Fischer)
Driving
Instructor would be a perfect job - without the students, I like to joke.
Dealing with people all day is very demanding. The constant
change, dealing with
different personalities, moody, quiet and rigid one lesson, outgoing,
noisy and talkative the next, can be very draining.
The following article looks at the
four basic personality types and what to expect from each during a driving
lesson.
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WILLIAM
THE
THINKER (Melancholic personality) |
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Before
meeting William you knew he had a melancholic personality.
He
had booked in for five double lessons in the first week.
He
tells you he wants to learn properly, which means he
expects perfection.
At
the posh school William attended, they showed car-crash
videos.
The
graphics affected William to the point that he took five
years to find the courage to enrol in driving lessons.
Teach
William to apply the handbrake firmly and you will have
trouble releasing it afterwards.
A
thinker type does not waste many words. To lighten the
conversation you ask if he plays sport.
After a long
silence, as if you had asked him about the meaning of
life, comes a typical one word says it all:
"Tennis".
William's
thinks very logically, so it is best to explain things methodically. His exact mind will love 'pull-push steering', the 'System of Car
Control' or the 'Moving-off' procedures. His parallel parking is spot on.
Traffic situations which involve judgment (lane changing, turning onto a
busy road, etc) take him longer to learn. Judgment cannot be learned
with a formula.
Forever analyzing and striving to get it right,
hinders William's decision making and slows his progress. Because
melancholic people are quiet and give the appearance of being upset, instructors
often try to cheer them up, quiet unnecessarily.
Despite his lack of feedback, William's computer brain has stored the
information given. He will make a good no-nonsense driver. A lesson with
this type of personality seems to drag on; the instructor getting tired of hearing his own
voice. Don’t let this stress you! Our next pupil is charming Jane.
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JANE THE
ACTRESS (Sanguine personality)
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Jane’s easy-going, talkative personality has
gained her many friends. She had plenty of driving experience with them
and won’t usually need many lessons. She grasps concepts quickly but can’t
be bothered with detail. During a lesson she might spot a friend
driving or walking nearby. This gets her all excited and she will try to
get their attention. Being a people person, sanguine Jane loves being on
stage.
A bus stop full of waiting passengers, cars at lights or even just
a pedestrian provide a ready audience. Suddenly the windscreen wipers
start operating in bright sunshine, indicators flash right, then left,
then right again (How do I turn them off??) The accidental tap on the horn
gets heads turning in our direction.
What fun we are having! Jane just brushes it off in her happy-go-lucky
style, while the instructor feels like tearing his/her hair out. Just join
in the laughter - no lecture about the dry windscreen ruining the wiper
blades. Why spoil the fun?
When the show is over, Jane will charm the instructor with praise for the
expert tuition given so patiently. (How we love to hear it!). Lessons
with the Janes' in this world are seldom boring and time goes fast. She
will be one of those surprising you with a little kiss on the cheek after
she has passed her test.
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JIM THE GOER (Choleric personality) |
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Jim’s focused, confidence approach is a real challenge to the
instructor, who may have trouble keeping up with Jim’s pace. Before the
instructor has time to outline the lesson, Jim has already completed the
cab-drill and is asking , where do you want me to go? This confidence
can be misinterpreted as cockiness. It can be off-putting to some instructors.
Jim in his quest for knowledge asks lots of questions. He
may even argue on some points. The instructor wonders, who is teaching
who? Keep the goer on the go. Jim hates just driving around and gets bored
easily. Invent challenges such as:
"See if you can get four
out of six turns correctly!" or "Try to park correctly
twice in a row!" or
"Please do a three-point
turn, I will check if it’s licence test standard.!"
His competitive nature
makes him excel. There is a tendency to pick on the slightest fault to
counteract Jim’s overconfidence. Deep down you will find he is rather
touchy and gets easily discouraged.
Driving too fast is one flaw in his
behaviour. He is goal-oriented and
tends to take risks. These attributes make him a top achiever at school,
but on the road he has to learn to keep things under control. An
instructor has to be patient with Jim’s impatience. The focus should
stay on Jim’s good points. In time Jim will slow down and form a more
realistic view of his abilities or lack thereof.
Or last customer, Clare,
will bring us back to a slower pace.
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CLARE
THE PEACEMAKER (Phlegmatic
personality) |
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As a child Clare was very quiet, causing no trouble and is always
eager to please. Her gentle, peace loving nature hates being
under any
kind of pressure. She has a controlled, even temper and even if the
instructor raises his or her voice, Clare does not seem to be moved. Ask
her, if she finds it hard to make decisions, she’ll reply: "Yes and
no." Clare is content being led by her instructor, who must be careful not to
stay equally content to always tell her what to do and when to do it. This
may avoid stress on both, but progress will be very slow.
Jim the goer had to learn that the accelerator can get him into
big trouble. Clare needs to experience that speed can also get her out
of trouble.
Staying calm, when a truck behind
narrowly avoided a smash by
braking sharply, is ignorant bliss. Waiting behind a parked bus may show
great patience. But what if the driver is having his lunch? It is a
delicate balancing act between pushing an easygoing learner to progress, or to just let
them learn at their own pace.
Any ambition an instructor has, to teach someone in
record-braking time should not be attempted with a phlegmatic student. It
may turn them off completely.
Clare will never develop into a racing car driver. Yet, her steadfast,
dependable character should keep her crash-free for many years.
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Very
few people are pure Williams, Janes, Jims or Clares. Most of us have
a mixture of two or three personalities. Other factors that influence behaviour need be considered: self- image, upbringing, environment etc. To
assume that a learner, who operates the windscreen wipers by accident is an
actor-type is wrong. He or she may be used to driving the family BMW?
However, equal folly would be to treat a thinker-type like an actor or to try
to push peacemakers beyond their comfort zone.
Skilful instructors
know their own personality type and teach with sensitivity, taking into
consideration the different personalities of their clients.
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Please
note: Traffic regulations may vary in your part of the world. We
recommend you use our information, where possible, in conjunction with a professional
instructor.
Road
Safety by Dieter Fischer, 2001 - Learner Driver Hub 2020
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