THE CODE OF PRACTICE FOR PROFESSIONAL DRIVING INSTRUCTORS

Introduction
A driving instructor who gives lessons in a motor car in return for payment must be on the “Register of Approved Driving Instructors” (ADIs). To gain entry to the register prospective instructors need to pass a series of examinations administered by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA). People training to be ADIs who have part completed the examinations can obtain from the Agency a licence to acquire practical experience which is strictly limited to six months. Once fully qualified and on the register, ADIs are regularly tested by the DSA to check their continued ability to give instruction to an acceptable standard. The DSA and the driving instruction industry place great emphasis on professional standards and business ethics. The code of practice set out here has been based on the codes issued by the Driving Standards Agency, Motor Schools Association of Great Britain and the Driving Instructors Association.

Personal Conduct:
The instructor will at all times behave in a professional manner towards clients. Clients will be treated with respect and consideration. The instructor will try to avoid physical contact with a client except in an emergency or in the normal course of greeting. Whilst reserving the right to decide against giving tuition, the instructor will not act in any way which contravenes legislation on discrimination.

Business Dealings
The instructor will safeguard and account for any monies paid in advance by the client in respect of driving lessons, test fees or for any other purpose and will make the details available to the client on request. The instructor on or before the first lesson should provide clients with a written copy of his/her terms of business to include: legal identity of the school/instructor with full address and telephone number at which the instructor or his/her representative can be contacted the price and duration of the lessons the price and conditions for use of a driving school car for the practical driving test the terms under which cancellation by either party may take place procedure for complaints.
The instructor should check a client’s entitlement to drive the vehicle and his/her ability to read a number plate at the statutory distance on the first lesson. When presenting a client for the practical driving test the instructor should ensure that the client has all the necessary documentation to enable the client to take the test and that the vehicle is roadworthy. Instructors will advise clients when to apply for their theory and practical driving tests, taking account of local waiting times and forecast of client’s potential for achieving the driving test pass standard. The instructor will not cancel or re-arrange a driving test without the client’s agreement. In the event of the instructor’s decision to withhold the use of the school car for the driving test, sufficient notice should be given to the client to avoid the loss of the DSA test fee. The instructor should at all times, to the best of his/her ability, endeavour to teach the client correct driving skills according to the DSA’s recommended syllabus.

Advertising
The advertising of driving tuition shall be honest; claims made shall be capable of verification and comply with codes of practice laid down by the Advertising Standards Authority. Advertising that refers to clients’ pass rates should not be open to misrepresentation and the basis on which the calculation is made should be made clear.

Conciliation
Complaints by clients should be made in the first instance to the driving instructor/driving school/contractor following the complaints procedure issued. Failing agreement or settlement of a dispute, reference may be made to DSA’s Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors who will consider the matter and advise accordingly. Should the Registrar not be able to settle the dispute he/she may set up a panel, with representatives from the ADI industry, to consider the matter further or advise that the matter should be referred to the courts or other statutory body to be determined.
Explanatory Notes to Accompany the ADI Code of Practice.

Personal Conduct
1. Being professional means acting in a manner that brings credit to the instructor personally and to the industry in general. For example, an instructor should always be polite, punctual, give value for money and meet the legitimate expectations of the pupil. It means not openly discussing with others matters that a pupil has disclosed, whether in confidence or not. It also means having a training vehicle which is properly maintained, roadworthy, legal for giving instruction and internally and externally clean.

2. The instructor should recognise that some pupils feel threatened or insulted by overfamiliar or crude language or behaviour. The instructor should also recognise that some pupils, particularly women, will feel nervous about driving or being driven to lonely or isolated locations. The instructor’s priority should always be for the safety of the pupil, always taking every practical step to ensure that the pupil will feel at ease and secure in the learning environment.

3. Physical contact can be misconstrued. Except in an emergency an instructor should try to avoid it.

4. Instructors are free to choose their pupils. An unwillingness to give lessons should not give offence and the individual should have no reason to suppose any form of discrimination has been applied. An instructor should be particularly careful not to contravene the provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act, the Race Relations Act or the Disability Discrimination Act. Not every instructor has been trained or is equipped to teach people with some disabilities. Business Dealings

5. If money is taken in advance for lessons the instructor should keep a proper customer account and the pupil should be kept advised of the state of their account. Money for a driving test application should normally be taken at the time or immediately prior to the instructor making the test booking.

6. The instructor should explain the terms and conditions of contract before or during the first lesson and must provide a written copy. A note of this transaction should be recorded. It must always be clear to pupils who have entered into a contract for instruction whether they have a contract with the instructor personally or with a driving school. The instructor or driving school must ensure there is a full compliance with the terms specified in the Consumer Contracts Regulations and in particular with the unfair terms section.

7. It is unprofessional not to have checked a pupil’s entitlement to drive or ability to read a number plate at the statutory distance. Failure to do so could lead an instructor open to criminal charges of “aiding and abetting” under the Road Traffic Act. Similarly, it is unprofessional for an instructor to allow a pupil to arrive at a test centre without the correct documentation or, in the case of a practical driving test, in an unroadworthy vehicle so that the test cannot take place or has to be terminated.

8. The pupil’s readiness for the driving test should be openly discussed and honest advice be given. Should a pupil insist on taking the test against the instructor’s advice the instructor may withhold the use of the tuition vehicle. In those circumstances sufficient notice should be given so that the pupil will not forfeit the test fee. At the commencement of intensive courses a pupil’s attention should be drawn to the potential loss of fee, if judged not ready by the instructor, and the fact recorded.

9. The instructor should try to teach the pupil to drive safely as a life skill (not just to pass the driving test), adapting the instruction to the needs of the pupil. The instructor should endeavour to give driving tuition on a wide variety of roads and in varying traffic conditions. Teaching on test routes alone should be avoided, as should conducting manoeuvres frequently in the same place. Care should be taken to avoid nuisance to local residents.

10. The whole of a paid lesson should be given over to the pupil’s instruction; none of it should be used for the instructor’s personal business. Advertising

11. All advertising should be honest and any claims made to such things as pass rates or check test grading should be capable of verification. It is not uncommon for trading standards officers to prosecute for inaccurate or misleading claims. Both the Advertising Standards Authority and the Office of Fair Trading have the powers to act against the publication of misleading advertisements.

12 If advertising pass rates is to have any meaning then it must be on a consistent basis across the industry. Records should be kept to substantiate any claims made. Conciliation

13. Complaints are a fact of business life and the instructor should have a procedure for dealing with them which is open, honest and fair. Positively handled complaints enhance customer loyalty; sensibly run businesses encourage customers to raise queries before they turn into complaints and correct mistakes before complaints arrive.

14. The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors will be prepared to offer advice in an attempt to resolve a dispute.

15. As a last resort the Registrar will consider setting up a panel to advise on a dispute. The panel would contain at least one representative from the industry’s Association who are endorsing this Code and suitable persons independent of the driver training industry. Where contractual matters are at the basis of a complaint it may be a matter for the Small Claims Court or other statutory body such as a local authority Trading Standards Department.

16. Details of the panel and procedures can be obtained from The Registrar, Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency, The Axis Building, 112 Upper Parliament St, Nottingham NG1 6LP. Further Information Please contact the ADI Registrar at Driving Standards Agency, Nottingham, on 0300 200 1122.