By Matthew Legg Business editor

Last updated at 16:01, Friday, 25 May 2012

A Carlisle man’s drive to succeed has helped him dodge the dole queue to launch his own business.

Adrian Daniels

Adrian Daniels was made redundant from his job as a student supervisor at the Richard Rose academy on April 30.

But his determination not to end up unemployed spurred him on to execute a swift U-turn and relaunch himself as a driving instructor.

Danny’s School of Motoring took to the road this week.

“There was no way I was going to end up unemployed,” said Mr Daniels, of Parham Drive, Raffles.

“I’d known for 12 months that my job was going and I was determined to get straight back into work so I started my driving instructor training last November.

“It’s a very involved process with three separate parts – theory, driving and a test of your instructional ability.

“I ended up passing first time which is very rare – only five per cent of people achieve it.”

It’s not the first time the 48-year-old has put trainee drivers through their manoeuvres.

He started off as a motorbike instructor before a stint as a driving instructor in west Cumbria from 1994 to 1998.

He then moved to Carlisle where he went to work for the AA and as a Stagecoach bus driver and instructor before his short career in education.

“I’m keen to work with the local schools helping young people to pass their tests,” he said.

“I think a driving licence is one of the most important qualifications you can get – it opens up a huge range of employment opportunities.

“Driving has changed a lot in the last 20 years; there’s a lot more traffic on the road now and there are more hazards, but I don’t think driving standards are any worse than they were.

“The big bugbear of all driving instructors though is roundabouts.

“Seventy five to 80 per cent of drivers don’t know the correct procedure at a roundabout, which is amazing given everyone is trained correctly when they learn.

“The problem often is that people learn to drive the right way and then they pick up bad habits by watching other people drive or seeing people drive on TV.”

Mr Daniels is offering discounts for students and for block booking.

He can be contacted on 07827 446158.

First published at 14:08, Friday, 25 May 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk