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Our Resident Fleet Driving Instructor Consultant Martin points out some unprofessional errors to avoid:
Failing to know the roads you are teaching your pupils on
You turn up for your first pupil who lives in an area you are not familiar with.
How are you going to conduct your driving lesson if you don't know the roads?
One of the most unprofessional things that a driving instructor can do is turn up for a driving lesson without having prepared any suitable roads to drive on!
The ideal solution is to firstly plan out which driving test centre that your pupil will be preparing for i.e the closest.
Secondly you can prepare roads to complete the move off and stop exercise on.
Thirdly you will plan routes of left turns at junctions and right turns at junctions.
From there you plan roads to cover emerging exercises, roundabouts and manoeuvres.
Following that you need to know practice test routes to use as potential routes when you conduct your practice tests.
So this means you need to prepare like any other teacher does!
This preparation should be in advance of your pupil’s driving lesson and not 30 minutes before!
Never ever say to your new pupil, “I don't know your area very well I have not been here before.”
Expecting new pupils to be able to follow your every instruction
A trainee driving Instructor once said to me “why doesn't the pupil respond to what I am asking them to do?”
My reply was “because they are learning to drive and can’t respond to your every instruction. They need time to absorb what you are asking them to do. You are thinking that they should respond as you would do as an experienced driver. You need to be thinking how you responded when you were a learner driver!”
New pupils take time to learn to drive. Just like we all had to learn to walk. It is a gradual process.
Unfortunately new driving instructors who are keen to get their pupils up to test standard as soon as possible lose sight of this.
Failing to find a new pupil’s address for their first driving lesson
You have a pupil who lives on a newly built housing estate or in a block of apartments. You haven't checked in advance of the driving lesson day where they live.
You realise 30 minutes before their first lesson that their address doesn't show up on your Sat Nav.
You end up being late for your new pupil on their first lesson.
Solution: Check Google Maps in advance or look up the road name in advance.
Professional instructors plan where their pick up points for lessons are in advance.
Always check in advance of the actual lesson day if you are unsure of a location that you have never been to before.
Letting your pupil drive home after their driving test
After a driving test, regardless of the outcome, a pupil’s mind-set will not be fully focused to drive home safely.
Whether your pupil is successful or not successful at their driving test – the instructor always drives the training vehicle to drop the pupil off at home after their driving test.
Communication Skills
When you start up as a driving instructor normally this will be with a driving school.
If your driving school contacts you by phone and leaves a voicemail or text message, once your driving lesson has ended you need to return the call or text message.
When you fail to return calls and text messages this creates a poor flow of communication with the Company which you have chosen to work with and may mean that you end up missing out on pupils to teach.
If your pupil contacts you and leaves a voicemail or text message, once your driving lesson has ended you need to be aiming to acknowledge your pupil.
It may not always be possible discuss lesson appointments with your pupil in the middle of your working day but at the very least you could send a text message explaining you will call them when you have finished your working day.
Driving Instructor Presentation
As driving instructors we should be aiming to wear a minimum of smart casual dress when delivering driving lessons.
There is a big divide in the current dress code for driving instructors.
Some driving instructors have a very business like presentation e.g. shirt and tie or a suit jacket and open collar.
Some instructors are happy with basic smart casual attire e.g. if they were going out on a social meeting occasion which is also ok.
Turning up in the latest Nike or Adidas tracksuit does not reflect the role of a professional driving instructor. Yes, it is more comfortable sitting in a car in a tracksuit but that has to be balanced out against the fact that you are there in your professional working capacity.
If you are considering joining Manchester Driver Training as a Driving Instructor and would like more information please send an email with your enquiry.
