Driving lessons, wrong time and place

My brother saw the adverts earn up to £30,000 to train as a driving instructor. However what they don't tell you the training they provide for the £3000 you pay, is nowhere near adequate to get through the instructor test and it takes much longer than they say. He had to get pay for extra private tuition.

After passing the test with good marks - he finds it is impossible to earn anything like £30,000 a year in this trade. Its very hard to get pupils, pupils constantly let him down and cancel at the last minute - all in all a complete nightmare.

I am a fully qualified ADI and can agree and sympathise with a lot of the comments mentioned on this page. When I learnt to drive - I was THAT learner going at 35mph in the 60mph zone! The reason why?? Well, my instructor was more interested in taking the previous pupil home, then going to pick up the next pupil, than she was in actually teaching me to drive!
Now that I'm and instructor myself, I try my utmost to keep my new pupils on the quiet roads, until they are confident at things like changing gear without my help! I then start taking them on 40mph roads for short stretches, gradually increasing their confidence at driving at high speeds, or getting them to turn left at roundabouts that are busy and then when they are more confident getting them to turn right. Its simple things like this that can help prevent other roads users getting stuck, and frustrated behind my car on busy roads and junctions. (you dont like it, the pupil doesnt like it, and neither do I!!) If only all driving instructors were as considerate and taught one lesson at a time instead of trying to cram as many in one day as possible it might result in other drivers not cursing at every learner on the road!

Most learners can't choose their lesson times to any great degree. If you work 8-4 you can only go out between 4 and 7... either way you still have to be able to drive the test routes, which INCLUDE a-roads.

When do you suggest they drive on A-roads? During their working day? Late at night when it could be actually dangerous, not just a nuisance to you?

well most of the time it isnt the instructor that chooses the time of the lesson, its the student. these times may seem stupid to you but maybe its the only free time a student has for a driving lesson

There's a dreadful lack of understanding about driving tuition. No matter how quiet the roads we start our new pupils on, there is inevitably a first time for every driving situation..

First time on a busy roundabout, first time on a dual carriageway, first time in rush hour traffic etc etc.

Yes, it must be annoying if you're briefly delayed, but believe me it's equally frustrating for an instructor when other drivers start bullying nervous learners.

The classic is when you're letting the pupil assess when it's safe to emerge onto a roundabout. They find this very difficult, mainly due to other drivers on the roundabout not signalling correctly, if at all. As a result they'll often miss an opportunity to go, and then the driver behind sounds the horn!

Perhaps they think that sounding the horn will make us pull out a bit quicker? Well it won't. If you're that good a driver, don't sit 6 inches behind our bumper at a roundabout, position yourself further back and then you can drive around us if we don't go as promptly as you'd like.

That's just one example, the list of errors by so called experienced drivers is endless, and they often blame the learner for doing the correct thing simply because they don't know the Highway Code themselves!

Tailgating learners is ridiculous and dangerous. When it happens to my pupils I switch on the hazard flashers - the idiots soon drop back as it alerts the Police to their bad driving.

Learner cars have a Road Fund Licence and are, therefore, perfectly entitled to use the roads at any time of the day or night. I suggest those that feel inconvenienced by having to drive behind a learner simply find another route. Just remember, the reason we ALL have to suffer speed cameras, road humps and other traffic calming measure is because of those that drive too fast!

The idIot below Is clearly an idiot with the insane ideas of ALL learning to take place in arcades. that would surely cause plenty of accdents after learning due to nerves opf finally being out on real roads, and the suggestion that they should be limted to less than 1000cc is clearly unsuitable as it would cause them to go even slower, and whats the piont of driving if you can't go on motorways. I passed my test three years ago and have not had any accidents to date, and I agree strongly with the person who stated that learner drivers are safer than qualified drivers, which is only natural seeing as they are accompanied by qualified driving insturctors who know the ruels of the road inside out. perhaps the person below (L Drivers are Hell), should think about when he was learning to drive before he suggests such extreme stupid suggestions.

I can see both sides of this one.
Yes it is infuriating when stuck behind a learner during rush hour traffic. Especially if the road you are on has few, if any, overtaking opportunities.
Yes, learners have got to encounter as many situations during their lessons as possible, to make them more competant drivers overall.
I think the real problem is when they are taken into these scenarios by their instructors too early. I often follow learners on my way to work and they are generally fine as they have reached a stage of their driving where they are able to cope with the conditions. There is however one particular instructor who appears to take his students on this road on their first or second lesson. They cannot cope with it, get nervous, and make mistakes. The result being that it causes impatience among other drivers and probably scares his students witless.
All it really needs, as with most things these days, is a little tolerance and understanding. We 'experienced' drivers should tolerate learners much more than we do, and the instructors should understand the potential problems caused by pushing too hard too fast.

Yeah, my car also sticks out like a sore thumb... but you wouldn't believe how long it takes some people to take in that they are following a learner...

I doubt most people who've had a licence for over 10 years would now pass the driving test! Some people's attitudes out there are absolutely appalling; especially those who have jobs in the city and only drive from the station to their home most of the time.

Learner drivers need to encounter all road situations and conditions and it is therefore perfectly acceptable for them to be out on any road in ' the rush hour'. The inconsiderate motorist who posted the gripe has to learn to be patient and set off from home a few minutes earlier. I suppose he is a motorist who generally exceeds the speed limit and doesn't care about others. Don't be a 'prat' .......... take pride in driving considerately and calm down !

This just prooves my point that all people above 30 are hypocritical c*nts. Learning to drive was the most troumatic thing I have ever done. Every one who has a licence had to learn to drive at some point. Your just an idiot that thinks they own the road. Simulators don't mean a thing in the real world, adult drivers are worst than learner drivers, they could do with some driving lessons.