Most people get their driving habits from watching others, parents, relatives and friends. Their driving is only as good as the examples the have witnessed. There are good amateur instructors and bad professional instructors. You can tell someone to give plenty of space to cyclist, while they are learning to drive, most people don't improve how the drive from the day they pass the test. Mostly they get worse, due to impatience and the general speed of everyday life!
It is very true that any moron can teach someone to drive, as long as they are over 21 and held a full driving licence for 3 years. You only have to be an Approved Driving Instructor if you wish to receive payment for giving instruction.
A potential ADI, does indeed have to jump through several hoops to obtain an ADI badge (which costs £300 and is valid for 4 years) and have their name added to the list of Approved Driving Instructers.
They have to have a CRB check and a theory test of 100 questions, randomly chosen from the ADI theory test bank. They have to achieve an 80% pass mark. However, the test is split into 4 sections of 25 questions, they have to get at least 20 questions (80%) correct in each section. You can fail the theory test with a mark of 94%. If they get 25 questions correct in 3 sections, but only 19 questions correct in the 4th section, they fail.
This theory test is pretty simple, a few days reading the relevant books & some common sense is required.
Once this is out of the way, they can take a ADI driving test. This will generally last 60/70 minutes, takes in various road types (including national speed limit roads). They are required to reverse into a road on the left & the right, do a reverse parking exercise, either a parallel park or bay park and do an emergency stop. They can only get a maximum of 6 driving faults, no serious or dangerous faults. They get three attempts to pass the drive.
In a learner test you can get up to 15 driver faults with no serious or dangerous faults.
Now if they get past the driving they can take a Test of Instructional Ability. This lasts about an hour and is split into 2 sections. There are 10 Pre Set Tests. The 1st section they instruct a complete beginner, the 2nd section they teach someone close to their test. Each section is graded 1-6, 1-3 is a fail, 4-6 is a pass. If they get a fail mark in either section, they fail. So, if they get a 3 in section 1 & a 4 in section 2 they are deemed to have failed. A 4-4 will be deemed a pass. Like the drive, a potential ADI has 3 attempts.
Now, a potential ADI has two years, from the date of passing the theory test to pass both the drive and ability tests. If they are not successful in this period, they have to start again, FROM THE START. About 30% don't pass the drive section in 3 attempts and only about 30% of those that start actually become ADIs.
These tests are taken by specially trained Driving Examiners and Local Driving Test Managers.
Once they are on the register of ADIs, they are nowadays required to do a standards check, with a pupil. They should be checked a minimum of once in two years. Again specially trained DEs & LDTMs do the checks. If they fail the check three times in a row, they can be removed from the register.
Only car Instructors are tested to join a register, the LGV/PCV and motorcycle trainers register in voluntary. Interesting and worrying.
