Antonio Bermejo he was a teacher of driving school from age 28 to 66 when he retired. He has been retired for eight years but still remembers with passion the experiences of those years, his experiences and strategies to move forward and teach all those students who came to his center to drive well, the San Francisco driving school. He founded it in Ourense with his brother on September 4, 1978 and had five centers. After obtaining the title of professor, he spent a year teaching in San Sebastián, where it was forged and from where it took the style that it imprinted on its driving schools. «Our motto was to work successfully, looking for results, the approved one, but that the student learned: encouraging them, looking for strategies to teach them well; with those who cost the steering wheel, working anticipation or field of vision, “he starts.
Two cars were brought from San Sebastián, which the two brothers started with, while the sister took care of the administration. They continued to train to be able to teach classes on all the cards that were being required: dangerous goods, CAP, driver’s license or awareness and reeducation of drivers sanctioned with loss of points. “I taught motorcycle classes, rigid and articulated vehicles and buses,” he points out.
Bermejo adapted to the needs of his students and insisted on key ideas. «The attention in the driving It’s fundamental. There are three types of attention: selective, divided, or sustained. I told them to use the selective and the sustained, see what interests you – the signal or the lane – and discard the rest. Divided attention, doing two things at the same time like driving and playing the phone or the radio, is not good, “he exemplifies. What the apprentices had to do was summarized in three initials: RSM (rear-view mirror, signaling and maneuvering), in that order. “First, see if the maneuver can be carried out, signal it for the rest of the users and then carry it out,” he says. «As a teacher you have to be a bit of a psychologist, know the student, how he receives the messages, to know if you can go slower or faster, what reflexes he has … We were very supportive of the student, none of us was left without taking out the card, even older people or people with physical difficulties ”, he reflects.
He admits that the exam is now more demanding, plus there are many specific permissions. In his case, he emphasizes, he always cared for them to learn well. «I have always taught to drive, not to get a license. The license does not give you practice or experience to use the vehicle on public roads. I always loved teaching driving, I felt very fulfilled giving the practices. For me it was a hobby, I was looking forward to Monday to greet the student and teach him. I liked to see how they evolved, it is a satisfaction to see how people who knew us where a pedal was defend themselves and in the end they drive wonderfully. It is a satisfaction for the student, the teacher and a wealth for the driving school “, he emphasizes. His classes lasted 55 minutes, with the first 15 or 20 of driving, a five-minute interval of jokes and jokes from the teacher, another twenty minutes of mindfulness, another short relaxed pause, and final minutes of work. When he returned from practice, at the last minute he gave mechanics classes at the center.
In their driving schools, they insisted a lot on security. «Many students passed by and I don’t remember any of them having died in an accident. Although that is also luck, “he accepts.
This adaptation to the needs of each student required one more degree in psychology with drivers arriving for the points recovery courses. «They came angry. They were people like a father of a family who had a truck that was left without a permit for six months, and on top of that he had to take a course that cost him 400 euros and two whole weekends. There were also people who came from jail, “he explains. It had to attract them to respect the legality of the road. The first minute was the key moment: «I gave an introduction, walking down the hall of the class and looking each one in the face, the one who made a face, the one who attended. You entered him, called him by his name and brought him to your land. We almost always finished the course in a great way », he reveals.
“He was tougher as a coach than as a teacher”
After the long days of dedication to the students of the driving school, Bermejo still made time for his other passion, soccer. Compare the strategies he used to teach driving with those of football. He was a player and coach for fourteen years. He directed teams such as Vilariño, Puente, Polígono, or Paderne de Allariz. They had a team, Driving School San Francisco, in the futsal honor league.
It translates the qualities that are required in football, such as mental agility, reflexes or field of vision, to those required when driving. With footballers, he admits, it was “tougher” than with apprentice drivers. He was demanding with physical preparation, he wanted his teams to finish in the 90th minute as in the 30th minute. It was what made the difference in categories such as the Second or Third Autonomous, he says. The fans took her when she was young, playing and being a ball boy for CD Ourense. He is still an athlete. He runs popular races – he calculates that he has 400 or 500 shirts – he did two marathons with 60 and 61 years, and if he cannot run he trains for two hours at his home gym in Casamonde (Paderne de Allariz). And he spends time in his garden.
Who is it?
DAYS. Antonio Bermejo was born in Century (Ourense) 74 years ago. He was a driving school teacher. He founded the San Francisco Driving School, which had five locations. Today his children follow in his footsteps at the Sanfran driving schools in Maceda and Ramón Puga street. He is retired.
Your corner. As Burgas, a place that you love for its beauty and for what it represents of tradition for Ourense.
