The reason behind the introduction of this part to the practical driving test is to assess the competence of a learner driver to handle driving through the route independently. Please, be aware that it is not to assess your ability to remember directions. If you get lost, it won’t be considered as a driving fault as long as your driving is safe.

If you do go off the pre-determined route, your examiner will help you find your way back. You may also ask the examiner to remind directions while driving. This new section is not expected to add to the driving test duration.

Good luck on your driving test!

ADI vs. PDI

For starters, any learner driver must know what the abbreviations above stand for. ADI is an Approved Driving Instructor. This qualification means a person has passed exams to be a professional driving instructor and is registered with the Driving Standards Agency (DSA). ADIs display their green licence (octagon) on the windscreen of their tuition vehicles. PDI stands for Potential Driving Instructors. They are licenced instructors under training who are allowed by the DSA to provide training for payment. PDIs must display their pink licence (triangle) on the windscreen of their tuition vehicles. You can understand the difference between “green and pink” for yourself. Obviously, ADIs charge more for driving lessons because they are more experienced.

How much?

The majority of learners start shopping for driving lessons with this question in mind. This approach actually turns your shopping into looking for the cheapest option. But if you want to find a good driving instructor, that option would not suit you at all. You should run away from two extremes – overpriced driving lessons and underpriced “special offers”. The national average for a driving lesson is currently around £17-£20. So make sure you shop around for the average.

Pass Guarantee

There is no such thing as pass guarantee. However, it is wise to ask your potential driving instructor about his or her driving test pass rate. Of course, you have no way of checking whether quoted pass rate is true. Yet, it is a good way of spotting a driving instructor who makes unreliable statements. The national driving test pass rate is 45.65%. So if your driving instructor is able to provide anything near this figure, you are in good hands.

What Is Your Grade?

Asking a driving instructor about his or her grade is one of the best ways to assess their competence. Every four years ADIs are graded by the DSA for the quality of driving tuition. Six point scale is used for assessment. Look for the following grades:

• grade 4 is competent
• grade 5 is good
• grade 6 is a very high standard

We’ve covered four basic things to consider while choosing a driving instructor. Although qualification, driving lesson cost, pass rate and instructor’s grade are all very important and relevant choice factors, personal feel is crucial. Your driving instructor can be a 6-grade ADI with the highest pass rate, but if you don’t seem to hit it off well, you probably need to try another one.

DSA planned to revise driving test regulations last May when officials announced their intention to make it mandatory for the candidates to take an observer on-board during their practical test. The idea behind new rule was that an observer could be valuable during the learning process, which in turn would bring road safety benefits.

Driving Instructor Association (DIA) representatives and other stakeholders, however, saw it as the initiative could do exactly the opposite of what DSA officials were trying to achieve. The revamp of driving test regulations generated hot debates. There was even an E-petition from candidates to stop DSA from introducing the rule. The final round of debate was the meeting of DSA and DIA representatives late in September, just weeks before the rule was scheduled for introduction.

Finally, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis announced DSA put a hold on the revamp to avoid unnecessary regulation. But the choice whether to have observer sitting in during L-test still remains with candidates. In his statement, Adonis insists that having someone sitting in will enhance learning experience and, in turn, improve road safety.

When an error has occurred, the best way to restore confidence is to repeat the action without the learner driver repeating the error. To guarantee success, the driving instructor must take full responsibility – even if you are on the way to the driving test centre when the error occurs!. All the driving instructor has to do is “tell” the learner driver when the error is about to occur – which is usually long enough for the confidence to be restored.

Hazard Perception is the drivers ability to recognise a situation on the road which is either dangerous, or has the potential to develop into a dangerous situation in which some driver action will be required. Good hazard perception requires good visual scanning and anticipation, and a good understanding of how driving situations can develop.

Hazard Perception Test Video

Why the need for Hazard Perception

• Over confidence
  Young drivers rate their own performance as above average. They are more likely to equate “good” driving with the ability to master the controls of the car at higher speeds. However, vehicle control is only part of being a good, safe driver.
• Under-estimation of risk
  Young drivers take longer to develop the risk assessment skills required to safely interact with other road users. They detect and assess hazards more slowly, and they also under-estimate the risk of a hazard resulting in a crash and over-estimate their ability to deal with hazards.
• Age
  Young and novice drivers have a higher crash rate because they are inexperienced, their cognitive and perceptual skills are not fully developed and they take more risks. They also pick up bad habits quickly.
• Lack of driving experience
  Teenage drivers have less training and experience, which leads to more traffic violations.
• Poor attitudes
  The fact that violations, rather than errors or lapses, are associated with crashes suggests that they are caused by a poor attitude to road safety, rather than a lack of skill on the part of the drivers. While it is necessary to train drivers to a basic level skill, it is also necessary to persuade or constrain drivers not to violate. Therefore road safety efforts should be focussed on attitude change as well as initial skill training.

Surepass Driving Instructor Training Courses deal with the novice driver through to the more advanced. Our trainers are aware that chances are a novice driver will be involved in a road accident within their first year of passing the test, especially during the first six months. The courses are designed, not only to enable a provisional Instructor to qualify but also:

1. Understand the legal requirements and responsibilities of supervising the learner driver
2. Understand the role of the Driving Instructor
3. Understand the role of the Driving Standards Agency and its examiners
4. Know how to effectively encourage and support the “L” driver
5. Gain experience in hazard awareness and perception to an advanced level

The above skills coupled with our bespoke Driver Training will undoubtedly contribute to the reduction in the 38,800 road user injuries each year which involve at least one driver with less than two years post-test experience.

Training to be a Surepass Driving Instructor is not just about the cheapest course, the job at the end, the earning potential, its also about learning to help young drivers (and old) understand the risks and responsibilities they are undertaking everytime they get behind the wheel of the car. Surepass Instructor Trainers are passionate about providing professional instruction in the most effective way to help reduce the number of fatalities on our roads. If its your concern too then let Surepass train you to become the type of Instructor the DSA require.

When choosing a UK Driving Instructor you should make sure they are registered with the Driving Standards Agency.

Many people think being a Driving Instructor is an easy job, all they do is sit in the car giving directions all day. Teaching somebody to pass the driving test takes a great deal of patience and a lot of awareness. When you have finished for the day – you are not physically tired, but mentally tired.

It is illegal to take money from pupils for the giving of driving instruction unless the driving instructor is registered with the DSA.

To become registered your driving instructor must first have passed a police check. They have then to pass a Theory and Hazard Perception Test followed by an Advanced Driving Test.

Once they have passed the Advanced driving test they can choose to take 40 hours training and go on to a Trainee Licence. This allows them to gain experience for the Final Exam.

Your driving instructor must display his license to instruct in the window of the driving school vehicle. If the license is green – then the driving instructor is fully qualified. If the license is pink – then the instructor is a Trainee. You should check the license in the window, make sure it has not expired and the photograph matches that of your driving instructor.

If you pay somebody to teach you to drive that is not a registered driving instructor – you are not insured to drive the vehicle. It is only registered driving instructors that can get insurance to teach people to drive.

Don’t worry if your driving instructor is on a trainee licence – they will have undergone a lot of training to get the licence and as a result they will be more up to date than perhaps an instructor that has been teaching for 20 years.