A driving school instructor needs to work very hard if they are to survive in this cut throat business of teaching learners how to drive a car. Contrary to what a particular driving school advert currently running on UK TV might want you to believe, there are no instructor shortages in any parts of the country, in fact competition is so fierce, that just being a good instructor is not enough to keep your business afloat especially if you are new or recently qualified.
Being a driving instructor means saying goodbye to a regular working hour of 9-5pm, learning how to run a business, understanding tax requirements, customer satisfaction and care skills but more importantly than anything else driving school marketing techniques.
An established instructor might be able to leave off 15 years of recommendations, but a PDI in training or a newly start up driving school will have to go out there and fight tooth an nail to get new learner drivers on a daily basis in order to pay for the weekly school car leasing fees, bearing in bind that there will be those looking for cheap driving lesson deals not willing to pay for a high quality tuition, some only looking for someone to take them for a test, not to talk of the risks involved in running a driving school business like loss of income due to accidents, short notice lesson cancellations, sickness, etc.
So if you are thinking of starting a career as a driving instructor, you need to consider all these factors including having to work at un-social hours (6.30am start and 9pm finishing) to cover driving tests and working clients only available at late hours after work. You do get your rewards though, but money or earnings is not usually one of them. Job satisfaction is one, and once established, then you might be able to dictate more the hours worked and spend time with family members.
Don't for get it costs a lot of money to train as an approved DSA instructor, and time as well so make sure you do all the complete research before embarking on the journey including what the local market conditions, you can't survive on family/friends promises of taking tuition with you when you qualify!
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Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Driving following distance
You must use the right following distance during driving lessons so that you develop the correct habit for when you go for the dsa practical car driving test if you want to have a good chance of passing, as there is a section in the dl25 report sheet that specifically addresses errors in this skill.
While passing the practical test might be one of the reasons why you want to use the correct following distance while driving, it should be a habit that you should use for life! If there is any driving skill that you should maintain to the dsa standard, then this is the one, and the reason is not far fetched.
Driving too close to the car in front of you will one day see you involved in an accident sooner than later, whether you think you are a good driver or not because all it takes is for the car in front to brake suddenly, and you don't have enough space to stop your car due to your tailgating attitude.
Accidents due to incorrect following distances or tailgating is very common, and while not all of them might be life threating, injury or damage to cars, the resultant cost for insurance companies and the inconvinience you have to go through should be enough reason for you not to adopt this bad driving habit. It does not matter where in the world you drive, US, Australia, Saudi Arabia or Africa, if you follow the car in front too closely for the speed you are travelling at, it is not safe, and you are gambling with your life, does it realy matter if some other stupid driver moves into the gap? I would rather be late getting home, than arrive home as 'The Late'.
Every day on the uk roads you can see examples of drivers not allowing adequate following distances to the car in front as they tailgate their victims for whatever reason, be it they are in a hurry to get to nowhere, like to intimidate cars displaying 'L' plates or are just acting plain stupid by not paying attention to their driving.
As a reminder, here is what the highway code says car drivers should do:
"Stopping Distances. Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear. You should leave enough space between you and the vehicle in front so that you can pull up safely if it suddenly slows down or stops. The safe rule is never to get closer than the overall stopping distance.
Allow at least a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front on roads carrying faster-moving traffic and in tunnels where visibility is reduced. The gap should be at least doubled on wet roads and increased still further on icy roads, remember, large vehicles and motorcycles need a greater distance to stop. If driving a large vehicle in a tunnel, you should allow a four-second gap between you and the vehicle in front.
If you have to stop in a tunnel, leave at least a 5-metre gap between you and the vehicle in front."
Start today a new habit of giving other car the correct following distances and be a better, safer and controlled driver by not tailgating.
While passing the practical test might be one of the reasons why you want to use the correct following distance while driving, it should be a habit that you should use for life! If there is any driving skill that you should maintain to the dsa standard, then this is the one, and the reason is not far fetched.
Driving too close to the car in front of you will one day see you involved in an accident sooner than later, whether you think you are a good driver or not because all it takes is for the car in front to brake suddenly, and you don't have enough space to stop your car due to your tailgating attitude.
Accidents due to incorrect following distances or tailgating is very common, and while not all of them might be life threating, injury or damage to cars, the resultant cost for insurance companies and the inconvinience you have to go through should be enough reason for you not to adopt this bad driving habit. It does not matter where in the world you drive, US, Australia, Saudi Arabia or Africa, if you follow the car in front too closely for the speed you are travelling at, it is not safe, and you are gambling with your life, does it realy matter if some other stupid driver moves into the gap? I would rather be late getting home, than arrive home as 'The Late'.
Every day on the uk roads you can see examples of drivers not allowing adequate following distances to the car in front as they tailgate their victims for whatever reason, be it they are in a hurry to get to nowhere, like to intimidate cars displaying 'L' plates or are just acting plain stupid by not paying attention to their driving.
As a reminder, here is what the highway code says car drivers should do:
"Stopping Distances. Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear. You should leave enough space between you and the vehicle in front so that you can pull up safely if it suddenly slows down or stops. The safe rule is never to get closer than the overall stopping distance.
Allow at least a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front on roads carrying faster-moving traffic and in tunnels where visibility is reduced. The gap should be at least doubled on wet roads and increased still further on icy roads, remember, large vehicles and motorcycles need a greater distance to stop. If driving a large vehicle in a tunnel, you should allow a four-second gap between you and the vehicle in front.
If you have to stop in a tunnel, leave at least a 5-metre gap between you and the vehicle in front."
Start today a new habit of giving other car the correct following distances and be a better, safer and controlled driver by not tailgating.
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Ripped off by driving instructor
I recently had an Iranian foreign licence holder come to me for some intensive driving lessons in preparation for a practical car test, and heard of how he had been ripped of by a driving school instructor.
This learner driver had 10 years of driving experience in a foreign country, had already passed the theory test and wanted some tuition to get to the dsa test standard, and I was thus surprised when he told me that he only had 20 minutes of driving from a 2 hour session. Basically the instructor who happened to hold a franchise with a well known national driving school, had ripped him off, by spending one and a half hours going through some kind of 'theory' to educated him on the way things are done here in the UK.
While the driving school had no control over how an instructor runs his franchise, such an incident will not do the brand any good, and it is a shame that an ADI would conduct themselves in such an unprofessional manner just because the learner driver was a bit naive!
So is there anything that a potential learner driver could do to avoid being ripped off by a driving instructor? I give some suggestions that might help.
1. Don't pay for tuition at the beginning of the driving lesson. If your instructor is offering good value for money, there should be no reason why he or she should insist on paying for a service that hasn't been delivered yet. Remember that to be paid for giving driving lessons, you need to be on the DSA's register of ADI's, so no green/red badge, no payment.
2. Don't put up with poor or sub-standard service. If you think you are being ripped off by your driving instructor because that once very good person has now turned sour, don't put up with it. Make your disatisfaction know, and if you don't get what you want, you should change driving instructors.
3. Use the DSA learner driver's record to keep a record of your progess. You are less likely to get ripped off, if at the end of each driving lesson you go through the record, and note what you've learnt in each lesson. You should either be learning a new skill levels 1,2, 3 or improving/becoming independent on skills already learnt 3-5. You should not be repeating the same junction routines, turn in the road exercise if you are making good progress and can perform without little or no help from the instructor.
4. If in doubt, always seek a second opinion. Don't be afraid to book an assessment lesson with another instructor, you might be find out new things or new ways to doing some driving skills.
While you can never as a learner driver be totally certain that you are being ripped off by a driving instructor, if for any reason you are not getting enough driving time, not making much progress (remember you adi should be finding solutions to help you stop making particular mistakes), keep getting your test denied with no light at the end of the tunnel, then think seriously about if you are getting good value for your hard earned money.
This learner driver had 10 years of driving experience in a foreign country, had already passed the theory test and wanted some tuition to get to the dsa test standard, and I was thus surprised when he told me that he only had 20 minutes of driving from a 2 hour session. Basically the instructor who happened to hold a franchise with a well known national driving school, had ripped him off, by spending one and a half hours going through some kind of 'theory' to educated him on the way things are done here in the UK.
While the driving school had no control over how an instructor runs his franchise, such an incident will not do the brand any good, and it is a shame that an ADI would conduct themselves in such an unprofessional manner just because the learner driver was a bit naive!
So is there anything that a potential learner driver could do to avoid being ripped off by a driving instructor? I give some suggestions that might help.
1. Don't pay for tuition at the beginning of the driving lesson. If your instructor is offering good value for money, there should be no reason why he or she should insist on paying for a service that hasn't been delivered yet. Remember that to be paid for giving driving lessons, you need to be on the DSA's register of ADI's, so no green/red badge, no payment.
2. Don't put up with poor or sub-standard service. If you think you are being ripped off by your driving instructor because that once very good person has now turned sour, don't put up with it. Make your disatisfaction know, and if you don't get what you want, you should change driving instructors.
3. Use the DSA learner driver's record to keep a record of your progess. You are less likely to get ripped off, if at the end of each driving lesson you go through the record, and note what you've learnt in each lesson. You should either be learning a new skill levels 1,2, 3 or improving/becoming independent on skills already learnt 3-5. You should not be repeating the same junction routines, turn in the road exercise if you are making good progress and can perform without little or no help from the instructor.
4. If in doubt, always seek a second opinion. Don't be afraid to book an assessment lesson with another instructor, you might be find out new things or new ways to doing some driving skills.
While you can never as a learner driver be totally certain that you are being ripped off by a driving instructor, if for any reason you are not getting enough driving time, not making much progress (remember you adi should be finding solutions to help you stop making particular mistakes), keep getting your test denied with no light at the end of the tunnel, then think seriously about if you are getting good value for your hard earned money.
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