What NOT to do as a Driving Instructor

When you start exploring the idea of becoming a driving instructor, you’ll find plenty of information available about the best ways to pass your test, or how to be a great driving instructor. Won’t you won’t always find is advice on what NOT to do as a driving instructor. So just what are some of the biggest no-nos in the driving instructor industry? As a general rule, never...

• ...Leave Yourself or Your Vehicle Vulnerable

• Fortunately, many learner drivers are taking lessons because they genuinely want to learn to drive, but in February 2015, one driving instructor learnt the hard way that some people aren’t always what they seem. During a scheduled driving lesson, the instructor exited the vehicle in order to guide the learner during a turnabout, leaving his car unsecured and vulnerable. The learner took the opportunity to steal the vehicle, stranding the instructor on the side of the road. The 17 year old learner was arrested later that day… when he was also in possession of the instructor’s wallet!

• ...Defer Driving Tests for Skilled Learners

• If you’re enjoying a few months with a jam-packed schedule and taking home a higher salary than normal, it can be hard to let go of those students who are ready to take their test. In 2014, a driving instructor nicknamed ‘The Doc’ was in this exact situation. In fact, he provided his own girlfriend with 20 years of driving lessons without ever once putting her in for her test! In this time, he conned the woman out of £206,000, and managed to con other students out of an additional £31,000. What was his grand plan? He didn’t even have one. Apparently, he was just ‘silly with money’!

• ...Continue to Work if You’ve been Removed from the ADI Register

• In Ireland, you are only permitted to provide professional driving lessons for a fee if you’re (a) working on a trainee licence that you can apply for after you’ve passed stage 2 of the ADI examination, or (b) a registered ADI listed on the RSA database. If you have been removed from the register - for not paying the renewal fee or for failing a check test, for example - you WILL be caught! The RSA maintains a publicly accessible list on their website, and actively encourages learner drivers to report unregistered driving instructors either to themselves or directly to the Gardai.