One of biggest nation-wide instructor training provider, Red Driving School, went into administration. The number of complaints from disillusioned driving instructors under training is soaring. Driving instructor test failure rate is jaw-dropping. – It sounds like a daunting undertaking to get a decent driving instructor training these days. Here in this post we are going to talk about getting driving instructor training in the UK and…. getting it right.

Before you shell out your hard-earned money to any driving instructor training school, it’s important that you know the reality of the industry and are able to distinguish between providers. So have some patience and do lots of research before making your choice. Read on to know what to look out for.

Don’t Watch TV

We won’t go about the realities of driving instructor industry or dispelling all of those TV advert myths from instructor training companies here. Simply check our dedicated post before you proceed.

Read Between the Lines

Get it? When a driving instructor school promises a guaranteed placement, it doesn’t mean anything near job security, salaried employment or steady supply of work. What they really offer is to take out a franchise with them. Taking out the franchise means you will pay a fee on a monthly basis to a driving school in exchange for the right to use their name, company logo and often a vehicle. Franchise typically involves the responsibility of a franchisor to supply a franchisee with pupils, handle advertising and provide business-related services. The problem with franchise thing though is that you have to pay your franchise fee whether you earn it off your pupils under franchise deal or not. And fees can be high enough to leave you working just to cover the amount. So make sure you fully understand your franchise offer and it is economically viable.

ORDIT or Not?

Once you start looking for a driving instructor provider, you will surely come across the acronym ORDIT. It stands for The Official Register of Driving Instructor Training. The Register was set up by DSA to ensure standards of driving instructor training are met and maintained. It’s voluntary. However, one of the good things about DSA approved providers is that you can complain to DSA if there is a problem with your training. Typically DSA requires ORDIT registered driving schools to establish clear refund and complaint procedures.

Word of Mouth

There are a great many of organisations out there, small and giant, offering a driving instructor training. And it’s a minefield to walk on. The best way to get informed is to ask other approved driving instructors for advice or visit professional internet forums where people speak from their experiences. Below is a link to driving schools reviews:
http://www.drivertrainingtoday.co.uk/forum/index.php/board,296.0.html
You may also wish to consider what Surepass Driving School has to offer. If so, please, go to our previous post here.

Anyone who makes their living by teaching others how to drive will be fully aware of the many hazards on our roads. Tailgating, speeding and overtaking on bends are all frighteningly common problems. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good a driver you are, if you are unlucky enough to meet someone driving their vehicle recklessly, then you may well be involved in a collision. Even driving instructors will need to make car and accident claims if they are in the wrong place at the wrong time!

And this is why it is so important to have a good standard of protection in place. Many people will simply see insurance as being a legal requirement and a rather expensive necessity; but this is an unhealthy way to think. In the wake of an accident, the quality of your cover really can make all the difference to how quickly you are able to get your life back on track. And if you run your own driving school, then this will be doubly important! For a driving instructor, a car is the singularly most important item to have. And if it is off the road, then your income will immediately grind to a halt.

Of course, anyone will want their vehicle repaired/replaced as quickly as possible after an accident, but if your livelihood depends on it, then it is so much more serious. Some insurance companies will deal with claims far quicker than others and it is well worth looking around. This is where the internet proves to be very useful; not only can we use it to get quotes, but it will also provide us with plenty of information about each insurer!

Many people will make the mistake of trying to find the very cheapest insurance, but this is often a bad idea. There are plenty of companies out there who will offer you cover for a really low price, but at what other cost? Just how comprehensive will your policy be? And how quickly will they deal with any claims? Finding the right insurance isn’t simply about tracking down the lowest quote, there is far more to it all than that.

We all like to find ourselves a bargain whenever we can, but vehicle insurance is very much an exception. So save your ‘penny-pinching’ for other products and concentrate on the quality of your cover instead! Your vehicle is very important to you and keeping it adequately protected is of paramount importance; especially if you are using it to shape the drivers of tomorrow!

The research in question was carried out by one of the biggest price comparison sites moneysupermarket.com. It was based on an online poll of more than 1,500 British drivers. The poll exposed really worrying road safety picture with only three per cent of those polled able to recognise the simplest rules and signs from the Highway Code.

As far as road signs are concerned, only half of British drivers were aware that 30 mph speed limit sign indeed means the driver has to slow down and adhere to the limit. 65 per cent of polled motorists failed to correctly identify the sign for ‘no vehicles’. 39 percent of them had no idea about the meaning of the sign and 21 percent understood it as ‘obey next warning sign’. About 7 per cent of drivers were unable to recognise the sign ‘oncoming vehicles have the right of way over you’.

The poll further found that 23 percent of drivers did not know pedestrians should be their main priority when turning into a side road. One of the most worrying unawareness of rules was how motorists would perform U-turn. 23 per cent of drivers would look over their shoulder first! Only a quarter of motorists would do signalling so other drivers can slow down.

It seems that after obtaining their driving license drivers never brush up on their knowledge of the Highway Code. This may wind up causing accident on the road or worse. Motorists are required by law to conform to the rules from the Highway Code, or otherwise they could be fined, given penalty points or disqualified from driving.