Choosing The Right Driving Instructor For Your Teenager
When it comes to choosing a driving instructor for your teenager, parental involvement is essential.
A driving instructor is going to be responsible for the safety of your teenager, the legalities and their driving future, so it is little wonder that most parents want to be fully involved in making sure the person that they choose is entirely above board and committed to not only helping your child to pass their driving test but are fully dedicated to teaching safe driving skills for life.
From researching local instructors, meeting them, asking questions, and giving your child the encouragement and support that they need, you can do so to make sure that you choose the right instructor for your teenager. Here, we are going to look at a few of them.
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Ask around
The best way to find a reliable and trustworthy driving instructor is to ask for recommendations. Ask family members, friends, and people in the local area – community groups on social media are an excellent resource for this. If an entire family have had all of their driving lessons with the same person and passed, it speaks more volumes than an all-singing, all-dancing website with no customers that you can talk to.
Check qualifications
A driving instructor should be suitably qualified. It is good to have your friend’s dad teach them, but are they fully versed in the laws of the road, and are they able to show the techniques correctly? Many of us pick up bad driving habits, which is why lessons should be lead by a qualified and reputable instructor.
Anyone giving driving lessons in the UK must be a DSA-approved Potential Driving Instructor (PDI) or Approved Driving Instructor (ADI). If they are taking money without these qualifications, they’re breaking the law. Your child may be embarrassed about asking for proof of this, but as a responsible parent, you should not be.
Understand their approach
No one knows your child better than you, so it is crucial to help them to choose a driving instructor that is going to suit their personality and style. As with any sort of teacher, a driving instructor is going to have their own teaching approach. Some prefer to be casual and relaxed, while others like to remain strictly business-like. There is no right or wrong way, but it is important to find an instructor that gels well with your child. If they do not click, it will not be a successful partnership from either perspective.
Ask for their advice
The best person to ask for advice about driving lessons is from a qualified driving instructor. They will know roughly how many lessons your teenager will need for them to be ready to take and pass a driving test and be safe and competent drivers for the rest of their lives.
They might be almost adults, or maybe even adults, but supporting your teenager when it comes to choosing a driving instructor is important if you want it to be a success.
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