Learner drivers rattled by harassment and honking inspired by Tik Tok stunt

Most workers accept these days that fast-moving technology will impact on their job, but for Illawarra driving instructor Delma Johnston, it has taken a dark turn.

Delma, from Gwynneville, who specialises in manual driving instruction, has earned a solid reputation for teaching young learners who suffer from a swathe of psychological conditions from anxiety to ADHD (attention deficit disorder).

“The key to this type of teaching is patience and a calm environment, but what is particularly unsettling at the moment is a trend inspired by TikTok,” she says.

“The clip makes a joke out of blasting the car horn, particularly if you’re behind a learner driver, the second traffic lights turn green.”

This sort of harassment has caught on in the Illawarra and has spread from traffic lights to any location with an L-plater travelling in front.

“Unfortunately, it has impacted on one of my students at the worst possible time,” says Delma.

“She was going for her licence when she momentarily hesitated on a roundabout with a car behind her.

“The driver started blasting the horn, which made her pull over in the next lane in front of another car and it was game over for her licence.

“She was distraught and even the testing officer told me later the incident was horrible, but he had no other alternative but to fail her, resulting in a long wait for her next test.”

The TikTok clip has now been removed, but the damage is still lingering.

“I even got honked at the lights at Bulli because of the ‘learner’ sticker on the car. The light was barely green before the honking began,” says Delma.

TikTok is not the only form of technology that stands between young people and their driver’s licence these days.

Mobile phones are an ongoing problem with learners who have difficulty in separating from their phones even for a driving lesson, says Delma.

“I always ask them to take their phones out of their pockets and place them in the console, but one boy I was teaching recently started checking his phone for messages during his lesson,” says Delma.

“He had put his phone in the door thinking it was out of my line of sight but as soon as I saw what he was doing I made him pull over and store the phone out of reach.

“When this issue arises I usually ask my learners if they would drive blind covering a distance of 50 metres at 60 kph.

“They all shake their heads, but I tell them that’s what they are doing when they check their phones for as little as five seconds.”

Despite challenging times, Delma says she loves what she does.

“My mother taught me to drive, but not before she showed me how to change a tyre, change the oil and to clutch-start the car,” she says.

Before her current role, Delma spent 20 years in hospitality then moved into counselling with Relationships Australia.

She earned her driving instructing qualifications in 2010 soon after her sister-in-law, Mel Moore, established her driving school.

“The oldest person I’ve taught to drive was an 88-year-old woman from Unanderra whose husband never allowed her to drive during their marriage,” says Delma.

“Once her husband died, she came to us for lessons and for a time she returned every month so that she had the support of somebody beside her while she cruised around for a little while.”

Delma’s heart these days is in training the young and often vulnerable drivers on our roads.

“Driving gives all young people a sense of independence, even more so when they are struggling with a range of disorders that can rob them of self-confidence,” says Delma.

“The longest it’s taken me to get a learner across the line was eight attempts but through patience and her will to succeed she got there, and not just got there but aced it.”