ADI

Each year many people start out along the road to becoming an approved driving instructor (ADI), this means the start of a new career or in some cases a second career. Most drivers believe they can drive well and because of this they feel it would be easy to teach others, a competent driver does not necessarily make a good instructor. In our experience too many people do not fully understand what an ADI does in terms of a job, nor do they fully appreciate the knowledge and skills needed to be an effective and efficient driving instructor. Consider the skills required;

. High Standard of Driving Ability

. Sound Knowledge of The Subjects Related To Teaching Others To Drive

. How To Teach Others To Drive

. How To Assess The Performance of Others

. Communication

. Interpersonal Skills & Their Application.

Becoming a Driving Instructor is more than just starting a new job and our programme is about more than qualifying. It specifically draws on your own previous driving and other relevant experiences to build the instructional and inter-personal skills necessary to teach learners safe driving as an attitude for life. Moreover as a driving instructor you'll find that every lesson will be different,you'll meet people of varying ages, personalities, backgrounds and driving abilities. In fact the only thing your customers are likely to have in common is their desire to gain their full driving licence and you are the key to that achievement. Driving is a skill for life, gaining an ADI qualification means that you are able to provide learner drivers with a level of professional training that will enable them not only to pass their theory and practical tests, but also and most importantly to become safe and confident drivers on the roads. It is a responsible and important role which will provide you with real satisfaction.

Legal Requirements

In order to become an ADI instructor you must first fulfil the legal requirements as specified by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA). The DSA is an executive agency of the Department for Transport (DFT).

1. You must hold a full British or European driving licence for at least three and a half years prior to being accepted by DSA

2. You must have no criminal convictions unless they are spent.

3. You must be able to read a car number plate at a distance of 27.5m (90 feet) when the letters are old-stlye wide font.

Please note this is a higher requirement than for the normal driving test

ADI Examination

To become ADI you are required to pass an ADI examination which is separated into three parts:

Part 1:

This is a computerised touch screen examination lasting one and a half hours and consisting of 100 multiple choice questions on all aspects of driving. The overall pass mark needed is 85% however, the questions are divided into four bands and you must achieve a minimum mark in each band. This means that your knowledge of driving and all motoring matters must be comprehensive.

The second section to part 1 is the hazard perception which is taken 3 minutes after your multiple choice questions. The test itself consists of 14 video clips each lasting 1 minute. The test contains 15 scoreable hazards and candidates can score up to five marks on each hazard. For the hazard perception test the pass mark is 57 out of possible 75.

You need to pass both parts of the theory test at the same sitting to obtain an overall pass.

Part 2:

This is a practical test of your driving ability lasting one hour. You will first of all be tested on your eyesight and then you will start the drive. You are expected to complete all the manoeuvres on which a learner driver could be assessed for the practical driving test as well as driving on all types of road including motorways, town traffic, country roads and dual-carriageways etc... You are expected to demonstrate a brisk drive using the same system as laid down in 'Driving - The Essential Skills' whilst showing a high degree of technical skill, anticipation and awareness.

Part 3:

This is a practical test of your ability to teach lasting one hour. The Supervising Examiner will set you two main exercises, they will play the learner driver during these exercises. There will be one where you are teaching someone from scratch and one where the learner is fairly experienced and you are looking for faults. The main areas on which you will be tested are how you present yourself, the techniques you use and your ability to assess the learner driver's skills correctly. When you require to do so by registrar you must take a test of 'continued ablilty and fitness to give instruction (check test). The examiner will be present whilst you are giving a driving lesson to a pupil.

For further information contact Superdrive School of Motoring today (click here).