DSA Reports Isn’t it great to know someone really cares? DSA Chief Executive Gary Austin offers some profound words of comfort for thousands of protesting ADIs whose livelihoods he has just put on the line   When sorry seems to be the hardest word . . . I don’t want to take up too much time in this column going over old ground re the debate  about ADIs having to take the new Theory Test, but before I move on to other things, I will just make the point that I am still firmly behind the introduction of theory testing for existing ADIs. It will help instructors to build on their strengths as part of continuous personal and professional development. Explain this developing hazard thing to me just one more time . . . I reiterate that I believe it is natural to expect people who teach driving for a living to have kept up to date with changes to the British driving test and should therefore have no problem in passing an exam which is free for the first test. Arrive Alive!   I would like to congratulate Kathy Martin on being made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s New Year Honours List. I know Kathy is absolutely thrilled with her award and it is well-deserved. For those of you who do not know her, Kathy is an Assistant Chief Driving Examiner who has been dedicated to the Schools Programme.She developed it into the Arrive Alive Road Safety Programme, which won a top international road safety accolade last year at the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards (as reported in Driving Magazine Jan/Feb).   Arrive Alive aims to promote a strong road safety message to pre-drivers aged 16 to 19 and Kathy’s commitment and enthusiasm for the project is second to none. She listens to new ideas and has succeeded in turning Arrive Alive into a nationally recognised road safety programme for young people.   Kathy wants to save young people’s lives on Britain’s roads and the project is particularly close to her heart. We are delighted that this honour has been given to her.   Internet Booking   Now moving on to other business, I am pleased to report that Internet booking for the practical test has proved popular.   From the day it was switched on (24 October) until the end of the year, we received over 30,000 new bookings via the Internet. This represents 9 per cent of new bookings, which is great news and has helped relieve pressure on our call centre.   Phase Two of this project involves developing the system so that existing bookings can be changed or cancelled and refunded via the Internet. Unfortunately this phase is affected by our IT contract re-let process and, until a decision is reached on that in May this year, we cannot proceed with Phase Two.   Speech Recognition A human at DSA's call centre: the last of a dying breed? In the meantime we are working on an ASR (advanced speech recognition) system. That means people coming through on the phone will be able to find out if they can get an earlier date for their test and change their booking (if the slot offered is suitable) without having to talk to one of our call centre staff. The system should be available from May this year and will make the process of getting an earlier test date easier.