Ten years ago this month, the first edition of an exciting new magazine hit the windscreens of the driver training and road safety worlds – Intelligent Instructor.

A brand new, shiny, purring vehicle of words, wisdom and imagery drove into town, and a decade on from that first appearance, we are still here setting standards and bringing the industry together at its conferences, conventions, industry awards, masterclasses and, of course, informing you online.

Still here

December 2015 was an exciting time, taking the opportunity to provide the driver training industry with the magazine they deserved, one that they would look forward to, and that would give driver training professionals expert support, opinion, information and inspiration.

In those 68 pages, there was everything you needed to improve your business, raise the level of essential service you provide, support you in your needs, and know and understand what was going on in the motoring world, road safety and driver training.

We like to think that we raised the bar for what ADIs could expect and achieve, with your help, and in the season of goodwill, on the eve of a bright new year. 

Little did we know then that a modern plague would lock us all down just five years later, and, like many other businesses, it would take its toll on us financially and lead to the suspension of the hard-copy magazine. 

This was not the end, but the start of a new chapter of our work, and we are still writing it with your support.

So thank you all – contributors, experts, readers, viewers, subscribers and attendees – for helping make Intelligent Instructor the success story it is today.

 

First edition, page 3 

Being a little nostalgic, and also fascinated in seeing how things change (or not) over time, we thought we’d take a look at that first edition of this award-winning magazine.

The foreword: “The whole team here at Intelligent Instructor believe that we are entering a new era in driver training, with greater responsibilities and potentially greater rewards. Our aim is to help you achieve more and to deliver on those expectations, and that by working in partnership with you, we can build a more professional, efficient and effective industry.

Yes, starting out anew is the opportunity to dream. It is a spark of positivity to pull us through,  provide us with the markers to aim for as we reach further and scale higher, looking back only briefly to see how far we have travelled and remind us that the hard work is worth it, that progress can be made, mountains can be climbed, and new horizons realised. And how can this be better realised than at the end of the year when families and friends come together and share good company, conversation and the gifts that life brings.

Then forward again with renewed spirit to face afresh a world of challenges; but what would we really be without them? They are the forces which fire our imaginations and motivations to discover solutions and achieve success.”

Then and now, page 6

Our main news feature from the inaugural edition of ii looked at government proposals in a consultation titled ‘Privatisation & Cash Backs’. 

“In what is being described as the ‘biggest shake up of the driving test in a generation’, learner drivers could be offered financial incentives to pass their driving test first time amid concerns that just one in five people (21%) pass the driving test first time.”

Well, the pass rate ten years on is much the same, and cash-back incentives for candidates never made their mark.

Also in the consultation were thoughts on privatising the testing industry in ‘a push for greater efficiency’.

Transport Minister Lord Tariq Ahma said: “These proposals are about modernising customer services and improving road safety, particularly for younger drivers”. 

Improved customer service in testing, greater efficiency and improved road safety for younger drivers – a decade on, and we are still waiting.

What’s more, it was all supposed to improve waiting times, too!

Featuring you, page 34

The aims of Intelligent Instructor were to produce an informative, educational and entertaining read for a growing professional industry, and we set out to do this with you, and with your help.

Main feature – ‘What R U Doing?’ 

“As the social landscape changes, is it time to redraw the map of what we do, how we do it, and how we are seen to be doing what we do?”

That was the byline of the main feature, focusing on how we, ourselves, can shape the future of our industry through ongoing training, the use of technology, reviewing the latest research and understanding our customers.

These same goals are as important today as they were then, as I concluded:

“Our industry is undervalued, but don’t let us feed that negativity by sinking to the lows of others’ expectations…. Hard work, dedication, professionalism and positivity can pull us through. To paraphrase Pierre Trudeau: ‘The future can be promised to no one, but really belongs to those who build it’.

Looking at the record waiting times for tests and the lack of effective communication and proactive policies from governments, those sentiments seem truer than ever.

Transmission, page 48

Our feature interview back in December 2015 was an exclusive with Quentin Willson, who sadly died just a few weeks ago.

Along with his TV motoring celebrity status, he was a strong advocate for road safety, for the work we do as driver trainers, and a big fan of the evolving technology of EVs.

He was a big supporter of Intelligent Instructor, a quirky character and generous man who believed that driving instructors don’t get the respect and support they deserve.

“For me, it [learning to drive] was life-changing. Back then, in the mid ’70s, it was a very important rite of passage and gave you the promises of adulthood, freedom, liberty and the open road, and I took it really seriously. I saw it as a skill, a craft, and not just this piece of paper. I had this really good driving instructor who was the most informative influence, ex-police Class 1, so I got all that real good Roadcraft stuff, and is something I can vividly remember to this day.”

Willson went on to represent ADIs as patron of ADINJC, promoting the interests of drivers and even supporting learning from a younger age, gaining experience for longer to produce inherently safer drivers, for example, by championing the work of Young Driver and other Under-17 driving clubs.

He saw driving as one of the “most amazing things; freewill and going here you want, endless horizons… it is unique mong all those things that human being can experience -speed and noise and the idea of controlling this object and being able to literally go wherever you want to go uis the democratisation of personal liberty, and that’s why people get so emotional about it”.

 

 

The end of the beginning

After 52 editions of the hard-copy magazine, COVID effectively killed it off.

That strange period changed many things in the world, and publishing is one industry in particular that was dramatically influenced by it.

The digital, online experience was turbo-charged by lockdowns, so Intelligent Instructor followed suit, becoming a digital, online destination rather than a hands-on magazine.

However, in those first five years, and our subsequent five years online, we have established II as the principal information provider to the driver training industry, an award-winning publication and award-giving institution.

The Intelligent Instructor Awards lead the recognition of the work the driver training industry carries out daily, and promote the essential service we provide to society 

Intelligent Instructor’s ‘Driving Instructor of the Year’ is arguably the most significant and respected award to win as a driver trainer.

Our conferences, in association with ADINJC, are the biggest and best, the most popular industry get-togethers, and a showcase for our profession.

And tyhere is the first of its kind, the Driving Instructor Convention, that takes CPD to another level for ADIs.

We publish FREE guides too, whether you are thinking of becoming an ADI or need help and guidance with running your driving school as a successful business.

And finally, there is ii+, a new membership that provides subscribers with even more news, information, training, and inspiration for their work, business, and career. 

Happy birthday, happy Christmas and a happy new decade

It has been a journey, slow and fast carriageways, potholed roads and smooth highways, congestion, roadworks, the whole remit of travel adventures, but it’s not over yet, and the story isn’t finished.

We have had a lot of help along the way, not least from all the various contributors: that first edition alone featured Lynne Barrie (coaching), Bill Lavender (training), Ian Edwards (road safety), Dan Hill (business), Libby Langley (marketing), and Richard Dredge (motoring).

That was just the start. 

Subsequently, we have enjoyed the contributions of the good and great of the driver training, road safety and business worlds, and long may it continue.

Without them, and without you, we would not have travelled so far and be looking enthusiastically to the road ahead – thank you.

Forewords, page 3

I started then, in December 2015, and I’ll carry on now in December 2025, the month of celebrations and coming together, and looking forward to a new year ahead:

“Yes, it is the season of poor jokes, uncountable units of alcohol and conveyor belt eating habits. It’s the jingling jangling of wallets emptying, drained by the ruddy-cheeked bearded gurus preaching love, peace and happiness, smiling while they count the cash and promise the world…”

Yes, nothing really changes too much, and as with driving itself, it’s the basic principles that remain true and will keep you safe travelling along your way.

“In the words of Dickens: May the New Year be a happy one to you, and happy to many more whose happiness depends on you!”

 

 

 

 

 

The original II team were:

Paul Caddick (editor, writer, journalist, picture researcher),
Christie Len (advertising), Caroline Metcalf  (designer), Richard Storrs (publisher)