You may not know Bill Doeleman personally, but if you’ve ever had, say, a parking ticket in the last couple of decades, you know Creston’s former bylaw officer by reputation.
But since starting Creston Driving Academy in January, his professional philosophy has taken a new direction.
“I’m trying to be proactive, not reactive now,” Doeleman said with a laugh.
A former sheriff, Doeleman and his wife — Lorraine, an Adam Robertson Elementary School teacher — moved with their family to Creston from Mission in 1995.
“We wanted to get back to a small community,” said Doeleman, who grew up in Terrace, and later studied criminology at Simon Fraser University.
Doeleman worked for the Town of Creston until 2013, after a knee replacement made it difficult for him to stand or walk for any great length or time — but he can sit down on the job while teaching driving.
“Going from an enforcement to an educational role, it is a bit of a change, but I really enjoy it,” he said. “It’s something I’m passionate about. I really believe in safety, especially road safety.”
Training for his new career involved a three-week intensive course in Kelowna, which included 118 hours of city driving, something Doeleman isn’t fond of.
“After driving 21 years in Creston, the adventure of driving in Kelowna is interesting to say that least,” he said. “It’s challenging. … The first few days, my driving was pretty tentative, but after a couple of days, it all comes back to you.”
The course taught Doeleman to teach others, by giving specific and concise instructions. One instructor told the class that he once told a learning driver to “go through that light,” and the driver followed the instructions to the letter — running a red light because he wasn’t told to stop.
And it also refreshed him on rules of the road, as well as good driving habits. Shoulder checking, for example, is one good practice that drivers tend to forget, and while driving in Creston is less hectic than, say, Vancouver, safety is still important.
“Even though you can get away with not doing things in Creston, if you can establish those habits as a young person, you can drive anywhere,” he said.
Not having run his own business before, Doeleman availed himself of local assistance to get up and running, notably with Jacqui Thom and Alex Johnston at Kootenay Employment Services.
He is already giving back to the community by offering a scholarship to a local teen driver, with a student chosen by Prince Charles Secondary School staff to receive a series of free driving lessons. This year’s five applicants already had some driving experience, so he chose to give all five “refresher” lessons.
Doeleman noted that lessons aren’t useful only to teens. Adults of all ages can also benefit from a refresher.
Of course, the main focus is helping young drivers to become safe drivers — and not just passing the road test.
“I want them to be safe and confident drivers — someone I would put my children in the car with,” he said. “If they’re safe and confident, the test is not something they’ll need to be concerned about.”
