An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 24 | ARTICLE SubMITTED by STUDENTS OF THE MT DRIVER INSTRUCTORS COURSE PhoToS by SGT KARL BYRNE T he MT Driver Instructors course took place in the Transport School, DFTC, from 19th January to 20th February 2015. The course was five weeks in duration, with the final week consisting of a written test, a class-taking assessment and a practical driving assessment. before commencing the course, the students had to pass two pre course as- sessments consisting of a rules of the road examination and a practical-driving assessment. The objectives of this course are to provide the student with academic and practical knowledge on the rules of the road and their application for learner drivers; methods of instruction for driver training from a classroom and driving perspec- tive; a comprehensive knowledge of driver-safety issues; and Transport Corps administration and accountancy procedures. Thirteen students, representing all corps in the Defence Forces, and with a wide range of military experience, took part in the course. Units represented on the course included Tpt Gp DFTC, Eng Gp DFTC, Naval Service, 27 Inf Bn, 6 Inf Bn, 2 Arty Regt, 7 Inf Bn, 12 Inf Bn and Ord Gp 1 Bde. To coincide with the MT Driver Instructor course, a Module 2B driving course took place in the Transport School. Con- ducting both courses concurrently proved very successful and was of significant benefit to both courses as the student instructors got invaluable experience instructing real students, under the guidance of qualified driving instructors. The student instructors practised giving lessons to Module 2B students on all sections of Drivers Standing Orders (DSOs), rules of the road, and on-road driving lessons, including trailer instruction, hazard perception, traffic-light proce- dure, roundabouts, and cross-country driving. At the end of the course, each student instructor was able to demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of driver-training practices and requirements, including novice-driver safety issues and an ability to instruct on introductory Defence Forces driver training modules. They were also able to communicate advanced knowledge of the Defence Forces driver training policy to student drivers. In addition they were able to demonstrate knowledge of MT driver administrative requirements, general driver health-and-safety issues, DSOs and road-traffic accident procedures. The role of the Defence Forces driver instructor is to educate the learner driver in all aspects of driver training, including classroom instruction and practical (on-road) driving instruction.

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