‘I’m the first driving instructor to introduce pothole avoidance lessons’
He started offering the lessons after noticing how anxious pupils were around potholes.
A driving instructor has introduced pothole avoidance lessons after seeing pupils ‘extremely anxious’ around them.
Matthew Worthington, who lives in Paisley, Glasgow, coaches students on how to confidently and safely approach the hazards.
The 35-year-old, who thinks he’s probably the first to offer such a service, said the pothole situation where he teaches has deteriorated in recent months.
He’s been forced to replace four tyres as a result and cancelled lessons while repairs are carried out.
Matthew, of Paisley, Scotland, said: ‘The roads have always been terrible – but in the last six months or so, they’ve been getting extra bad.
‘The students are really nervous – some of them are wanting to avoid certain areas because of the potholes and they’re extremely anxious.
‘What started happening is that people were swerving around potholes without any thoughts of safety.’
Matthew said pupils were failing to check their mirrors when they were driving around the holes, potentially missing a car or cyclist right next to them.
He added: ‘I know where a lot of the potholes are, but sometimes there will be a new one and they’ll hit it – and it really shakes their confidence, even if they’re an advanced driver that’s almost at test level.
‘They almost take a step backwards and become apprehensive.
‘It definitely has a negative effect on the lesson.
‘I’ve spent between £300-400, plus the time where I’ve had to cancel lessons because I’m getting tyres fixed.’
Matthew’s lessons involve thorough conversations about how to safely approach potholes, as well as the potential dangers involved.
He feels strongly this should be a ‘day one’ conversation to make sure pupils can manoeuvre over and around uneven road surfaces calmly.
‘It’s all about pre-planning,’ he explained.
‘There’s a lot more planning going on than there would be for a normal drive, because you’ve got this added assault course of potholes.
‘I go into depth – we have a chat at the side of the road before lessons about the dangers of potholes.
‘This is something that I’ve started implementing from day one – if I start teaching a brand new driver, the ‘how to avoid potholes’ conversation comes in quite quickly.’
Matthew advised that if you have to go through a pothole, ‘keep a firm grip of the steering wheel’.
‘It’s better to hit it square on than to try and avoid it and go through at an angle – you can get your tyre blown out.
‘Look for darker patches in the road or random patches of water – there could be a pothole under that water.’
Last year we shared the 10 places in the UK where people had to wait longest for potholes to be repaired.
Stoke-on-Trent topped the list with an average wait time of 567 days.
If you’re wondering how to report a pothole or how to claim money for pothole damage to your car, read our explainer here.
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