Right then, fellow driving instructors! Ever finish a lesson with that nagging feeling you’ve used the same ‘character-building’ roundabout with the same pupil three times in a row? Or perhaps you’ve tried to recall that perfect, quiet road for practising a turn-in-the-road, only to find your memory has gone on a little holiday, probably somewhere sunny without dual carriageways.
As a PDI, I found my car was starting to fill up with more scrappy notebooks and hastily scribbled diagrams than a stationery shop’s recycling bin. My lesson planner, once a beacon of hope and organisation, was starting to look more complicated than the Spaghetti Junction at rush hour. I was drowning in a sea of routes, trying to mentally map them to specific pupils, their progress, and the theme of the day’s lesson. It was a proper faff.
The moment of clarity came after a lesson focused on hill starts, where I realised I’d spent a good ten minutes of valuable time just trying to find a decent incline that wasn’t currently occupied by a bin lorry. “There must be a better way,” I thought, in between sips of a well-earned, lukewarm tea.
So, I decided to take action. I channelled that frustration into creating a nifty little tool to bring some digital calm to the analogue chaos: the Car Route Recorder.
This isn’t some overly complex system that requires a degree in computer science. It’s a straightforward, simple app designed by an instructor for instructors. It helps me log my routes with start and end points, tag them with the lesson’s focus (so I can avoid long, repetitive circuits!), and add notes. Now, I can instantly pull up ‘The Perfect Parallel Park Street’ or ‘That Tricky Roundabout Route’ without breaking a sweat.
It’s been an absolute game-changer for my planning. No more guesswork. It means I can build a library of tried-and-tested routes, ensuring each lesson is progressive, targeted, and offers real value to my pupils. It’s about moving from reactive teaching to proactive coaching.
Fancy a gander and a break from the paperwork?
You can try the demo: Have a play with the app yourself and see how it feels.
I’d love to know what you think. You can find it here: https://www.99p.biz/gemini-playground/carrouterecorder.html.
Join the conversation: What are your biggest lesson-planning headaches? Drop a comment below!
Share the love: If you know another PDI or ADI who might find this useful, please do share this post with them!
Let’s make our lives easier.
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