Brighton driving instructor ‘automatically’ fast tracks clients through their lessons

Innovative driving instructor Paul Cracknell has come up with a simple way of getting his new learner drivers off to a flying start.

The instructor, who runs Strictly Driving, gets clients off and running within five minutes of getting behind the wheel by using automatic geared cars to fast-track them – saving both money and improving safety.

The 57-year-old, who set up his company four years ago, said learners get the immediate benefit of driving straight away, instead of spending up to two hours learning about controls.

He prides himself on being a new kind of driver training provider, where he works closely with learner drivers as a team to achieve their aims.

He said: "I’m not the first to offer both automatic and manual driver training but I am pretty certain I’m the first to use an automatic to fast track clients into safe driving and save them money.

"With the traditional method of learning to drive most people will spend at least two hours learning about controls and simple moving off and stopping.

"The overall learning time is often reduced considerably because difficult skills can be separated out and learned in isolation. This means people could save money by needing fewer driving lessons.

"But there is also a more serious road safety benefit. The most common complaint levelled at the driver training industry is people are taught how to pass the driving test but learn to drive after passing the test.

"Safety is determined by how drivers think and decide what to do in difficult situations and it is probably true that as an industry we could do more to make new drivers safer.

"Traditional driver instruction does not provide much opportunity for drivers to think for themselves because of all the instructing and guidance going on in the initial stages about when to change gear, how far to raise the clutch or where to steer the vehicle.

"In contrast, Strictly Driving learners are considering safety questions and managing risk on their first driving lesson and learning how to stay alive, starts to become fun and interesting."

The married dad and grand-father, who operates across Brighton and Hove, added: "Most people can learn to drive in an automatic with responsibility for control and safety in a relatively short space of time - for some that would be just a few hours of training before moving onto driving with gears."

Anyone who would like to know more can contact Mr Cracknell on 07970 070249, or visit him at www.strictly-driving.co.uk

He is also passing on useful hints and tips on Twitter – follow him at StrictlyDriving.