ADI instructor Green Badge checked

For the first time in over seven years of my being a driving school instructor, a potential learner driver client asked to see my green ADI registration badge to confirm that I was a legally operating driving school owner. This was a good thing, but as I said, it is not a regular thing. People are either more interested in getting cheap driving lessons and don't really care who is teaching them, or just take the words of the instructor as being true without checking the green ADI badge which should always be displayed on the windscreen by the instructor when giving paid tuition to any member of the public.

The ADI registration badge has the following information about the person giving the learner tuition, so it is a good idea you check this and avoid getting ripped of by an illegal instructor.

The full name of the instructor, the ADI number, whether they are fully qualified (green coloured badge) or a Trainee (pink/red), the photo of the individual named and the date of issue of the registration badge and expiry date.
The document is the only assurance a learner driver has that whoever is teaching them has gone through the proper training and is operating according to the standards of the DSA and thus will be giving them good quality instruction. There are 2 things that determine if one continues to remain on the the register, the green badge renewal which costs £300 and your passing the DSA instructor check tests.

No matter how cheap your driving lessons are, or what you have agreed to pay your instructor for every hour of tuition, if it involves renumeration in cash or kind, it is illegal for that person to do it unless they are on the ADI register, and display the certificate to prove. Why not check your driving instructor's green registration badge today.

The video below gives more advice on how to avoid illegal or doggy instructors.

DSA Driving Test Car

There I was sitting in the waiting room of the test centre with some other driving school instructors having a chat, our clients had not long ago departed with the DSA examiners to the car park to begin the 40 minutes of the practical assessment.

In walked a man who was more than 5 minutes late for the driving test, we adviced him to ring the bell knowing fully well that he was not going out on this ocassion with the examiner who was probably having a cup of tea while filling out the necessary paperwork.

The examiner walks in, and the candidate begins to explain that the reason why he was late was that the bus he took got caught in traffic! So you didn't come here in a car then? No, I was going to use the DSA car for the driving test! The kind examiner goes on to explain that they don't provide cars for the practical assessment, that it is the responsibility of the candidate, and that all this is explained in the test appointment letter. He also advices him that he will have to re-book another appointment, and he needs to talk to one of us ADIs about using our cars.

After the dsa examiner goes back to the office, we find out that the man is a foreign licence holder who just booked the theory test passed with flying colours, went on to book a practical test without speaking to a driving instructor or doing any proper research, and didn't even bother to read the appointment letter he was sent in the post by the DSA! Well that mistake cost him £62 in driving test fees, a wasted journey and day off work!

You need to bring your own car for the test, and it must meet the requirements as par the letter sent to you confirming your test appointment, better still get an approved driving school instructor to take you, he or she would usually ask you to book an assessment driving lesson prior to the day, to confirm you are at test standard, and will not crash thier means of income, more importantly it will get you to actually demonstrate that you have the skills expected by the DSA examiner, and the ADI would also give you some advice to increase you chances of passing.
Even if you don't think you need driving lessons, I strongly suggest you thoroughly read the book Prepare for your Practical Driving Test: The Official DSA guide, as it contains all the information you need to make sure you adapt your international skills to the UK standard.

Driving school car buy or lease?

Driving Instructors sitting on Tests

Once upon a time, it used to be a very common request for driving instructors to want to sit in on their candidates driving test, as it was the only way for new ADIs to learn the routes used by the DSA examiner, and therefore know of any potentially difficult areas that need to be dealt with.

The DSA has now posted all driving test routes on the internet, so this is no longer a valid reason for why an ADI or PDI should want to accompany a learner driver on their test, but there are still a few reasons for an instructor to sit in on a driving test.

1. On request by learner driver. I have as an instructor been asked on many ocassions by my clients to accompany them during the driving test because they feel more comfortable with me in the car, and it eases their driving test nerves caused by a stranger sitting next to them. Other candidates have asked me to sit in on their test just so they can get feedback from me in case they fail and know the areas that they didn't do particularly well on.

2. Getting to know the individual driving examiners and their attitude. As an approved instructor, you will only get to know your local dsa examiner if you interact with them and sit in on some of the tests that they conduct. Every examiner will have their own personality, despite them being professional. You will know the ones that follow the book to the dot, those that are more lenient, the friendly ones and those that are curt and abrupt, this will help you to prepare your candidates better, and warn them of those that could easily make your candidates uncomfortable by their behaviour. This is particularly important for trainee instructors (PDIs), newly qualified full instructors (ADIs) or those new to the test centre and its routes.

3. Another reason some learner drivers want thier driving instructor sitting in on the test, is that they believe the test will be conducted more fairly. There is no evidence to support this belief, but test candidates think that because an ADI knows what is expected, the examiner will have to operate fully under the test guidelines.

There are a few things that a learner driver needs to know about instructors sitting in on their tests.
It is your right to have or refuse them being in the car with you. A driving school can not insist that an ADI most accompany you.
There is no evidence to support the fact that having an instructor in the car affects the conduct of the examiner or the result of a test. I've been in a few tests where I though a candidate had failed due to a driving error, only for it to be marked as non serious. So far I've never disagreed with a failure verdit while sitting on a test with a client.

You don't need to have an instructor in the car, a friend or family member or interpreter (NON ADI) can always sit in the car with you, and I've never heard of a request being turned down by a DSA examiner.

Driving on International Licence in UK

Some learner drivers seem to be unclear about the law regarding using an international licence to drive in the UK and how it affects their provisional licence if they have one.

If you are only visiting the UK for a short time, or are temporarily resident in Britain for less than 12months, then you can legally drive a car here as long as it is insured and fully roadworthy. You therefore don't need to apply for a provisional licence and take the UK driving test. If on the other hand you are going to be resident in the UK for longer than 12 months or have permanently moved to the UK, then your internation driving permit is only valid for 1 year after which you will need to obtain a UK provisional licence and only drive while being supervised by a Full British licence holder of 3yrs or more and must display "L" plates.

This means that you can't be legally insured to drive a car on your international driving permit 12 months after your initial arrival in the UK, even if you have been back to your country of origin. You will also not be able to drive a car in the UK on a provisional licence even if that car is insured for you to drive with your international licence.

Your insurance policy can only cover you either as an international foreign licence holder or a provisional learner, not as both, so while your local licence is still valid, you don't need L plates and can practice for the UK driving test using that, but once you apply for your provisional licence, you will need to inform your insurance company and only drive while being supervised. If in doubt, always speak to the insurance company, and get things covered in writing, as in the event of an accident you want to be covered.