The Approved Driving Instructor Part 1 test – Driving Theory

The ADI part 1 test can be taken at a theory test centre of your choice.
The test consists of 100 multiple choice questions on Driving Theory and the Highway Code, which must be completed within 90 minutes. The questions are divided into four bands. A score of 80% or more must be achieved in each band, together with a score of 85% or more overall to attain a pass.
In addition, a Hazard Perception test must then be undertaken, where a minimum score of 57 out of a possible 75 points is required to achieve a pass.

An unlimited number of attempts to pass the Part 1 test are allowed, although the £80 fee is required for every attempt.

The Approved Driving Instructor Part 2 test – Driving Ability

The ADI Part 2 test is conducted by a DSA Supervising Examiner, at candidate’s choice Test Centre location.

The first part is an eyesight test, requiring a car number plate being read from a distance of 90 feet.

The test itself then follows, as an assessment of the candidate’s driving over a nominal one hour period driving in a variety of situations and routes.
There is a maximum of 3 attempts allowed to pass the Part 2 examination, with a fee of £99 payable for each attempt.

The Approved Driving Instructor Part 1 test – Teaching Ability

The ADI Part 3 test is conducted by a DSA Supervising Examiner, but unlike Part 2 is not conducted at a Test Centre, but starting from a location of the candidate’s choice. The test itself is an assessment of driving instruction over a nominal one hour period with the examiner undertaking two role plays. In the first role, the examiner plays the role of a driving novice, and in the second the examiner plays the role of a pupil who is ready for their driving test.

As with Part 2, there is a maximum of 3 attempts allowed to pass the Part 3 examination, with the exam fee payable for each attempt.

Time Limits

Both the Part 2 and Part 3 tests must be passed within 2 years of the Part 1 test being passed.

Possible earnings
Although the franchising company provides support to the instructor, the instructor is self employed. Therefore the instructor is responsible for their own tax and national insurance payments, etc. and for the running costs of the car. Additionally the franchising company will not pay for holidays or sick days, or any other time off.

As was noted in an earlier article, the instructor’s main business expenses are relatively fixed – primarily the cost of the car, insurance, and the weekly fee to the franchising company. However there are some variable costs, such as fuel, tyres etc. that are more dependant on the number and types of lessons given.

In contrast to relatively fixed expenses, the instructor’s income is dependant on the number of lessons paid for in any given period. Some instructors are happy to work relatively few hours, others want to, and have the opportunity to, work more. Based on these different circumstances, here are some examples of possible income.

Assume the instructor is paid £20 per hour for each lesson, and that this payment is made directly to the instructor. Assume that the weekly payment to the franchising company is £125.

35 Lessons @ £20 = £700, less £125 fee gives £575 gross weekly income.

40 Lessons @ £20 = £800, less £125 fee gives £675 gross weekly income.

50 Lessons @ £20 = £1000, less £125 fee gives £875 gross weekly income.

60 Lessons @ £20 = £1200, less £125 fee gives £1075 gross weekly income.

All vehicle purchase and running costs, insurance premiums, any business expenses, and taxes need to be paid from this gross income figure. Similarly taking holidays – public and personal – into consideration, it might be best to assume that income is only generated from around 46 weeks of the year.

Assuming this 46 week year, gross annual income figures for the four examples given above are £29,900, £35,775, £47,250, and £59,125 respectively.

In this working arrangement, the qualified ADI operates as a self employed driving instructor working with the backing of a franchising company – usually a company that has a nation wide ‘brand’ and is already well established.

Business benefits

Typically the franchising company offers the instructor a range of support, such as

A central booking office
Generally this has a telesales team that is trained in selling driving lessons. As this is a shared national resource, the office can operate longer hours – typically 9am-8pm Monday to Friday and 9am-5pm Saturday and Sunday – providing a service far beyond the normal capabilities of individual instructors.

Marketing Support
The companies normally run continuous centralised advertising and marketing campaigns, and also provide support to assist individual instructors in promoting their businesses, such as advertising in local business directories, local press, free papers and leaflet drops.

Vehicle signs
Usually the company will provide the Instructor with vehicle signage with professional logo and graphics ? effectively providing a targeted 24 hours per day, 7 days per week advertising campaign.

Initial financial assistance
Normally the franchise company will have a special financial arrangement to help the instructor?s cash flow position for a defined initial period.

Business Expenses

Normally the instructor must provide a car at their own expense. The car must have the appropriate dual controls and be correctly insured for the purposes of paid driving tuition. As the car is the instructor’s main ‘tool’, reliability is a big concern. This, coupled with the high mileage involved, normally means a new car is the best investment. Since there are so many special offers on new cars at the present time, it is impossible to give any accurate costs for this expense ? but there are some fantastic driving school oriented offers just now – e.g. free dual controls, fuel discounts. Similarly, since insurance is so dependant on an individual’s personal circumstances and history, it is not possible to provide even an estimated figure for this expense.

In both cases shop around for prices, and ensure that the costs are appropriate for the car to be used for paid driving lessons – particularly in the small print of the insurance policy and any warranty offered with the car.

In addition to providing the car, the instructor will pay the franchising company a regular – normally weekly – fee for their support. Typically the weekly fee would be somewhere between £100 – £150.

In addition to these fixed costs, there are variable costs such as fuel, tyres etc. that are dependant on the number and types of lessons given.

To become a driving instructor the following legal requirements must be met:

The applicant must hold a full UK unrestricted car driving licence, or a European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) unrestricted car driving licence that has been exchanged for either a GB licence or a Community Licence – advice on exchange of foreign licences can be obtained from DVLA.

The applicant must have held the licence for a total of at least four of the six years prior to qualifying. A foreign driving licence, an automatic car driving licence or a provisional licence held after passing the driving test, all count towards the four years.

The applicant must not have been disqualified from driving at any time in the four years prior to being entered in the Register.

The applicant must be a “fit and proper” person to have your name entered in the Register. All spent and unspent convictions, motoring and non-motoring will be taken into account when we assess your suitability to be entered on the Register. This includes fixed penalty offences such as speeding.

Note – the acceptance decision rests with the Registrar. The Registrar will take into account any motoring convictions acquired in the last six years, and any criminal record. Any motoring offence(s) resulting in endorsements totalling five penalty points or more are likely to result in an application being refused. A criminal record is not necessarily a bar ? the DSA assess the suitability of ex-offenders to apply to join the Register of Approved Driving Instructors in accordance with their Suitability Statement. The DSA statement on how we handle disclosure information is also available on their websites.

The applicant must pass the two practical exams within two years of passing the theory and hazard perception tests, and then apply for registration within 12 months.

Further age and time restrictions – the law states that you cannot accompany a person learning to drive unless you have held a full UK or EU/EEA driving licence for three years and are aged 21 or over.

Note – A full licence issued in another country will count towards this three year period, provided it is accepted under the ‘exchange’ scheme mentioned above.

After Registration, it is within the Registrar to remove an ADI from the Register, for example where a person has failed to meet the ‘fit and proper’ requirement, either by being convicted of an offence, or where their professional conduct has brought the Register into disrepute, or they have failed or refused to attend a check test.

The Register
The Register of Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) was introduced in October 1964 on a voluntary basis, and by October 1970 new legislation was introduced making it a legal requirement that anyone who wished to give paid instruction in cars had to qualify and have their name entered into the Register. Further changes have taken place over the years, and today’s driving instructors are known as Driving Standards Agency Approved Driving Instructors (Car).

The Driving Standards Agency
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is the executive agency responsible for conducting all statutory theory and practical driving tests. The Agency is also responsible for maintaining the Register of Approved Driving Instructors.

The ADI Register
The Register was set up to maintain and improve standards of driving instruction, and ensure a minimum standard of tuition.

Under the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1988, it is illegal for anyone to charge for instruction unless they are listed on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors, or that they hold a Trainee’s Licence’ issued by the Registrar.

Responsibilities of an ADI
An ADI?s responsibilities extend beyond driving instruction, to include setting high standards of driving and behaviour in new drivers whatever their age or experience, making the job very demanding but also extremely rewarding.

Accordingly, an ADI is expected to demonstrate:

1. A high regard for all aspects of road safety
2. A high standard of driving and instructional ability
3. A professional approach to your customers
4. A responsible attitude to your pupils and profession
5. That you are a fit and proper person

Is this the Career for You?

The job involves

1. mixing with all sorts of people, some of whom you may not find it easy to get on with.
2. good people skills and a lot of patience and understanding, as well as
3. a thorough knowledge of the theory and practice of driving
4. an ability to teach
5. the ability to stay on top of changes in the regulations governing the content and conduct of driving tests, as well as driving instruction
6. providing a professional service to clients of all backgrounds.
7. a keen business sense
8. working unsociable hours to fit in with your pupils’ needs.
9. being responsible for your own safety, that of your pupil and other road users.
10. having high level of concentration throughout your working day. Your last lesson of the day has to be conducted with the same enthusiasm and competence as your first, which can be difficult.

The Driving Instructor starts by assessing the learner’s driving knowledge and skills, then planning lessons based on this assessment, focused on getting to the point where the pupil can take their driving test.

Most lessons follow a similar pattern, with the instructor teaching pupils:
How to use vehicle controls with confidence
The correct approach to road safety
How to safely manoeuvre, turn, reverse and park
Driving law and the Highway Code
How to deal with emergency situations
How to undertake basic vehicle checks.

Most instructor vehicles have dual controls so that the Driving Instructor can make any necessary adjustments to the learner’s driving technique. As the pupil becomes more competent, they are introduced to more challenging driving situations.

Once the instructor believes a pupil has reached the necessary standard, they would recommend that the pupil apply for a driving test date. Any lessons beyond this are likely to cover theory and law in more depth.

Additional lessons might be given after a pupil has passed their test – such as in night driving or motorway driving.

Ready for a change? – become a specialist driving instructors

Specialist instructors usually have further professional qualifications. Some employers in road haulage and bus and coach services train their experienced drivers to become instructors within the company or at a specialist training school.

A voluntary DSA register for LGV instructors has been introduced, and there is a similar register within the Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) industry.

An alternative career path is to become a certified motorcycle instructor.

There are also various continuing professional development (CPD) schemes on offer from the Driving Instructors’ Association (DIA) and Driving Standards Agency (DSA).

In this time of financial uncertainty, many people are looking at driving instructor training as a possible route to a new career. So we’ll be having a look at exactly what’s involved in driving instructor courses.

The first part of the 3 part driving instructor qualification is a theory test, which is really an excercise in home study, with readily available study material. The second and third parts of the driving instructor course require more specialist instruction, with both classroom and practical sessions. this allows a student to gain Adi registration, the key to becoming a driving instructor.