"A Watchful Eye"

I took a phone call from a prospective pupil the other day. She was complaining about her present instructor – not Hamilton, I hasten to add! It seems he regularly used his mobile phone while instructing, though obviously not instructing because his mind was at times elsewhere. I was sympathetic with her and said I understood her frustration, pointing out it is illegal for a driving instructor, in charge of the vehicle to take or make hand held phone calls. I was able to organise a Hamilton instructor for her and I understand from feedback from our instructor she is much happier now.

Another recent conversation with a parent revealed an instructor who apparently had been making inappropriate comments to her daughter during lessons. The instructor was asking about her boyfriend and seemed to be looking at her rather than the road. The pupil, a vulnerable 17-year old, was beginning to feel uncomfortable and fearing her lessons. Thank goodness she told her mother and by contacting me we have able to arrange one of my driving instructors to look after her daughter. I asked him to call her direct to allay any concerns and lessons have now been set up with her daughter. I advised the mother to contact the Driving Standards Agency to make a formal complaint. She had spoken to the previous driving school, who apparently said there had been no previous problems with this instructor. The impression is the matter is going no further and the instructor is free to abuse his position as an instructor with other vulnerable young girls.

Safety checks have been set up to protect vulnerable young people. All instructors have to have Criminal Record Checks (CRB) before a license to instruct is issued or renewed. All instructors have to have a “check test” every 2-4 years to examine their instructional ability. Unfortunately nothing is full proof and a few can slip through the net. All I can advise is that every parent or guardian should keep a watchful eye on how driving lessons are conducted and that the new driver feels they are gaining from the experience without any sense of discomfort. If anything seems out of place – change instructors! I don’t wish to appear alarmist as most instructors conduct themselves professionally for the good of the pupil and the successful transition from new driver to fully qualified is an ongoing process throughout the UK. The vast majority of new drivers pass (maybe not the first time) without any serious problems, I just ask any parent to be watchful.