NORTHERN
Ireland's oldest driving instructor will mark the new year by
celebrating half a century of coaching people through the dreaded
driving test.
Patrick Deehan (83) first tutored pupils in an Austin A30 - complete with starting handle - in January 1958.
Since then he has changed to a modern Renault Clio and has clocked up an estimated two million accident-free miles.
He
can also boast that he was the person who persuaded Ulsterbus to allow
female drivers behind the wheel and the first person in the north to
get a HGV licence.
Mr Deehan, from Derramore Park, Magherafelt began driving as a teenager and had planned a career as a tennis coach until the compulsory driving test was introduced.
"Everybody
laughed when I started because at that time you got a licence for 25p
and the compulsory test had just come in so people were not used to
being tested - that was called learning by accident," he says.
"I put a sign on the roof of my car on the second week in January and it all began from there."
One
of the proudest moments of his career was the time spent teaching a
young man who had lost both legs and an arm in an electrical accident.
In 1965 Jim Patterson made headlines when he passed his test at the first attempt.
"He came to me with an adapted car asking to learn how to drive," Mr Meehan says.
"I
never met a fellow who whined as little about his disabilities. He came
to me a year after he'd had the accident and a year later he was ready
to sit the test."
"Some
people came to know he was doing it and on the day, TV cameras arrived.
I was busy telling them to stay away in case the attention made him
nervous but he passed the test."
"He
then had difficulty getting insurance so I put him through an advanced
test and there they said he was so good they had never met his equal."
Another challenge came when Niall Higgins booked a driving test for his 17th birthday.
Mr Deehan took the youngster for his first lesson the moment he was legally allowed to drive - at one minute past midnight.
Other lessons followed at 8.30am and 11.30am before the teenager passed the test at 3pm later that day.
"It was the first time I put someone in for the test the same day as giving them their first lesson," he says.
As
well as being an instructor, Mr Deehan became the north's only accident
investigator in 1981 and still practices, appearing as an expert
witness in cases in England and the Republic.
He also was responsible for introducing female drivers at Ulsterbus and retrained driving instructors for the company following a spate of serious accidents.
Mr
Deehan's years of experience tell him the best way to transform today's
little boy racers into good drivers is by providing incentives.
"The
government can spend a fortune on education and prosecution but it
wouldn't take a mint of money to have some form of competition or prize
if they behave themselves for a few years," he says.
Mr
Deehan's South Derry School of Motoring is still on the go but the age
range of the learners has changed since he first began. "Then the
average driver was 39 but now it's around 19 and it's the young people
who really keep me young. I know how to put fake tan on for instance.
And I know that formals cost a fortune for young men," he says.
"When
I look back I realise that I love driving, driving instruction and all
the wonderful people who I have met over the years. I'm glad I took
this opportunity. I wouldn't have missed it."
