Frequently Asked Questions

A: No, unlike other driving organisations and schools we run Part 2 and Part 3 all in-car. This is the best way we feel you will become the best possible driving instructor you can, we believe in the philosophy of teaching by doing. You wouldn’t teach a student how to drive in a classroom and would instead want them to gain as much practical understanding as possible, so why should our Part 3 Instructor Training be any different!

Learning with an instructor in-car means for a far more focused and organised learning environment, where your instructor’s provision of attention is directed entirely towards developing your personal skillset as opposed to offering general guidance to a class of up to 30 people.

A: Please call us on 079 666 777 77 to discuss your circumstances and potential payment plans available.

A: If you, or your trainer, feel you would benefit from some further tuition that can be arranged either directly with your trainer or by contacting the Training Department at KWIK PASS.

A: At KWIK PASS we recommend a driving lesson price of £25.00 (or £27.00 for automatic) per hour, therefore this is what you will earn directly. We do not charge you for the pupil, nor deduct any of your hourly earners as a transaction fee. You collect the funds and they go straight into your bank account.

A: Ultimately it is up to you, as you work the hours you and your pupils agreed upon. Upon joining KWIK PASS we will set your profile radius, open your booking diary and start marketing you as a KWIK PASS Instructor. Once we pass on the pupil referrals (at no charge), you will arrange a convenient time with your pupils. If you need to fit your lessons around your family, football team or even improving your golf handicap – you can!

A: The ADI driving instructor test prices are separate to the cost of training and you pay the DVSA directly. The test prices are as follows:
ADI Part One – Theory Test: £81
ADI Part Two – Driving Ability: £111
ADI Part Three – Instructional Ability: £111

A: Entry to the DVSA Register is £300

A.You’ll need a MyDrive TomTom account for this to work, so you can either use the account you made when setting up your TomTom or you can create a new one. You can create an account by visiting the TomTom’s website.

Starting the route

You will need to go to the TomTom website and log in with your TomTom account details. Search for wherever you would like the route to start from. For this article, we are going to use Challenge House in Bletchley. You can do this by either scrolling around the map or searching for a particular place in the search bar. Once you have chosen your location, left click on the map to set it as the starting position. When you click, the location will be highlighted with a blue circle with a white arrow in the centre of it and a box will have appeared on the left hand side titled “Plan Route” – if it wasn’t there already.

Planning the route

To begin planning the route, click on a position further along in your route. In this example, we want to travel to the end of Sherwood Drive, turn right and follow Whalley Drive towards Whaddon Way. By clicking on a point along this route, a new box will appear with an option to plan your route. Click “Plan Route”.

will now highlight blue from the starting point to your current position.

on the left hand side, you will need to change the route type to “Thrill” and disable the “Round Trip” option. This will stop the planner from creating a loop from the start to the end point. To continue planning your route, just drag the finish line icon  around the map. Sometimes the map will try to be intelligent and jump your line to another road. When this happens, you can right click on your intended road and click “Add Stop”. Don’t over use the stops though as there is a limit per route, so only use it when you need to force the route in a specific direction.

Alternatively you can just set an ending location using the box on the left. This is probably better for longer routes – you can just add stops to the different places you want to travel via.

Saving the route

Please see list of insurance brokers/insurance companies providing driving instructor insurance, which offer insurance specifically for driving schools and driving instructors. We advise you get as many quotations as possible to get the best deal out there which will be affordable and meets your needs.  Some ares you might consider when obtaining quotations are:

• What is the excess on the policy and window screen damage?
• Is a replacement vehicle provided in the event of a fault and non-fault claim?
• For how long will the replacement vehicle be provided (is there a maximum time period)?
• If you are hit by an uninsured driver, how will this be recorded on your policy (i.e. as a fault or non-fault claim)?
• If you provide off-road tuition to drivers under 17, make sure you ask for specific details of cover for this element.
• If you have family or friends under the age of 25 that are likely to be driving the car for social, domestic or pleasure, are they covered?
• If you provide instructor training, is cover provided for this for others to drive your vehicle?
• Does the premium offer no claims discount protection?
• Is there any additional charge for paying in installments?

A.Top ten tips of what to do

1. 1. Get the registration numbers of all of the cars involved in the accident. Get the registration of the vehicle you believe is responsible for the accident first, then get the others. Taking pictures on your mobile phone is a perfect way of getting the registration number, but also the cars make, model, colour and scene of the accident. Taking pictures of the third party vehicles is important as there is a yearly increase of reported cases of cloned number plates.
   2. If you’re old school and you don’t own a mobile phone or you don’t have it handy, then you need a pen and something to write on quickly. Again, collate the following: car registrations, make, model, colour from point 1, or keep a cheap camera in your car.
   3. Ask everyone involved for their full name, address and phone number. Ask for proof of ID such as a driving licence for your reassurance. Just tell a little white lie so the person isn’t offended like, “the last person I had an accident with was uninsured so I’m paranoid of it happening again.”
   4. Always ask who their insurance is with and ask them if they know their policy number. Most people won’t know their policy number unless they keep it in their car documents within their car. Everyone should know who they are insured with, though, and if they don’t, make a conscious effort to get a picture of their ID.
   5. If you’re not old school, take as many picture as possible at the scene of the accident. Most client pictures we receive show us the damage to their car but not the scene of the accident which can ultimately prove who was at fault. Take quite a few steps away from the accident and try and get the whole scene – including the road markings, cars involved, signs and even the people involved. This will cover the description point in the next step. Remember, you can take pictures of your damaged car later.
   6. If you haven’t got a camera on your phone, then take note of everyone’s description: gender, height, hair colour, build, skin colour and facial/distinguishing features (e.g. beard)
   7. Take a look around you. Is there anyone who saw the accident that you could ask to be a witness. If the case has to go to court, a witness can go a long way. Get their name, number, address and establish whose fault they believed the accident to be.
   8. Take note of the name of the road and which direction you were heading.
   9. Always go to your GP if you have been injured so there is a record of the injury. 12 months on, you may not remember the date of the RTA or the injuries suffered.
   10. If you are struggling to collate this information because the person(s) are not co-operating or you suspect that they are uninsured, get as much information as possible – vehicle registration, make, model, colour, description and call the police.

GDPR stands for the General Data Protection Regulation.

As of the 25^th May 2018, all businesses are expected to comply with the new GDPR law. As a business, self-employed driving instructor, driving instructor franchisee, this will affect you. You should demonstrate a duty of care to your customers/clients/learners in how you handle and store their data and personal information.

For very large companies this is quite a serious matter. For some smaller businesses it is still serious but the likelihood of being hacked online and having your data stolen for all of your clients is considerably lower. However, there are many instances of failing to comply with the new GPDR law. We will cover those relevant to driving instructors below.

Everything such as your learners’ personal information should be kept confidential and stored in a safe place. If you take a learner/client’s information by pen and paper, this should not be kept in your car overnight and should be stored in a safe place at your home or office, in a locked filing cabinet. If you store customer/client/learner information by computer, tablet or mobile phone, then your device should have a password on it. Any applications (apps) you use to store information should also be password protected and you shouldn’t leave your device, whether tablet, phone or computer, unattended in your car at night.

Confidential information to consider: client/learner’s full name, address, phone numbers, driving licence/provisional driving licence, email address, payment methods, bank details should be stored.

Other confidential information to consider is what you post on social media about your clients/learners. Whether it be a screen shot of a testimonial, the client/learner cancelling on you at short notice, pass pictures etc. These all count as information about the client/learner and should not be posted to the public domain without their consent. As a company we had one instance in which the learner was taking their driving lessons in Bedford and passed first time with one of our instructors. The pass picture was posted on Facebook, however the mother complained and wanted the pass picture taken down. Just be mindful and protect yourself as sometimes people change their minds and with nothing in writing it’s hard to prove a verbal agreement.

Discussing or sharing information verbally, by email or by text message. Be mindful when you are sharing a learner/client’s information that they are happy for you to pass on their name/number/email etc. This shouldn’t cause major issues for driving instructors, but you can see why some big companies such as Facebook have come under scrutiny for selling information and data.

The main immediate concern for driving instructors would probably be the following: storing learner/client information safely and securely, reporting any incidents to the police in the event this information was stolen – most likely if on a mobile phone or tablet.

Having a backup of the information is paramount so you can report to anyone that could have been affected that their information is potential accessible. Be careful of what you share on social media regarding learners/clients. If in doubt, get their consent before posting – even by text message is enough to cover yourself.

Here are some more examples:

• You must have a privacy policy in place (to provide processing information). If you are a franchisee you will need to refer clients/learners to our terms and conditions/privacy policy online and ask them to sign the progress card to confirm they have read and understand them.
• Right to access personal information – should your clients/learners request anything such as a copy of their progress or transcript of text messages between them and yourself, you should comply.
• Right to rectification – in the event you recorded something incorrectly or the learner/client has changed their address, this should be amended if requested by learner/client.
• Your learner/client’s rights to restrict you of processing their personal data – If they don’t want their data/information stored in a particular way then you may need to come up with an alternative way which pleases them. In the event this is not possible and the learner/client doesn’t want to share the data you asking for, you may have to mutually agree that the service can’t be provided. For example, if the learner/client refuses to take an eyesight test before their first lesson.
• Right to erasure – should the learner/client ask for their information/data to be deleted, you should comply. A good and fair example of this is dash cam footage of their recorded driving lesson/driving test.
• A document explaining why you need a learner/client’s data – refer to terms and conditions/privacy policy online and ask learner/client to sign the progress card.
• A document which informs your learner/client what you intend to do with their data. Refer to terms and conditions/privacy policy online and ask learner/client to sign progress card.
• How long the data will be stored for and how it will be stored – Refer to terms and conditions/privacy policy online and ask learner/client to sign progress card.
• Make clear the contact details of your business – If you are a franchisee you should provide your office/home address.
• How their data will be erased – refer to terms and conditions/privacy policy online and ask learner/client to sign progress card.

If your learner/client’s data/information is lost then you should contact everyone concerned and let them know. Obviously do what you can such as changing passwords to stop any immediate access if possible.

If your learner/client’s data/information is stolen then you should report it to the police and obtain a reference number and then follow the guidelines for lost/stolen below.

Depending on the information lost/stolen, certain learners/clients may try to sue you if they are caused harm and distress. If your phone or tablet is stolen and no learners/clients are affected, then it would be very hard for them to seek compensation.

Here are a few examples:

• You have a card machine and you have kept their card details in your car. Since your car was stolen, the learner/client’s card has been used for unauthorised payments.
• You teach 2 learners, without thinking any harm can be caused, you pass the address of one of your learners to the other. The learner then stalks and harasses the other, police become involved etc.
• You share a test report form on Facebook with your learner/client’s driving licence number visible. This is then used by someone to hire a car through a non-reputable car rental company. The learner/client later receives fines, court letters for various incidents causing lots of distress.

Visit the following links for more information on the consequences:

• ICO webpage for Data Protection guides
• ICO webpage for Identity Theft

Data breaches and the GDPR

A data breach is any situation where an outside entity gains access to user/learner/client data without the permission of the individual. Data breaches often involve the malicious use of data against users/learners/clients. If a data breach should occur, the GDPR specifies that companies must provide adequate notification. The affected company has 72 hours to notify the appropriate data protection agency and must inform affected individuals “without undue delay.”

You can also be fined for non-compliance

This is unlikely to affect driving instructors immediately, but it is still possible. You should be mindful that fines for non-compliance can be as high as 4 percent of revenue. Regulators are likely to look more kindly on companies who are trying to be compliant.

Disclaimer

The above article is not legal advice. All of the content above is an interpretation of how the GDPR law affects driving schools, driving instructors and franchisees. If you are unsure about the GDPR law then should consult a solicitor for guidance.

A.With the DVSA moving over to marking tests by iPad/tablet, it’s inevitable the examiners marking the standards check and part 3 tests will be looking at the use of technology in lessons more favourably too.

Every year, major companies are also looking and progressing to more paperless ways of running their business to reduce running costs and help the environment. So why not start making the change yourself as a driving instructor?

Get ahead of the times so you’re ready, rather than being a step behind and the last person on the wagon, so to speak.

Here are a few examples of technology and practical tools that can be used in lessons:

• Lesson planner
• Driving manual
• Images of potential hazards
• Images of junctions
• Videos from previous lesson – make sure you have the pupil’s consent or get learning examples off of YouTube
• Record keeping/pupil progress
• Sending page links to pupils by email
• Sending progress of lesson/mock test by email

Things to remember

The technology mentioned above can only be used when the car is stationary, the engine is switched off, you are parked up in a safe, legal, convenient place and the key is not in the ignition barrel.

Be sure to address the fault or problem while the car is moving, so the pupil can recall the incident better when the car has stopped.

A picture is worth a thousand words. These are great ways to coax answers out of your pupils, helping them think and come up with solutions to problems themselves. If you can do this, you are transferring ownership to them more and getting them to discover the answers – which they’re more likely to remember.

You can apply for a trainee driving instructor licence after you pass the ADI part 2 test.

This allows you to get 6 months experience of providing on-road instruction before your ADI part 3 test.

You can register as an ADI when you’ve passed all 3 qualifying tests. You must register within one year of passing the ADI part 3 test.

When you have passed what are you then allowed to be called

call yourself a ‘Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency Approved Driving Instructor (Car)’

charge money (or monies worth) for giving driving instruction

apply for permission to use DVSA logos to show you’re approved

register to have your details shown on the GOV.UK service to find driving schools, lessons and instructors

Your registration will last for 4 years.

You’ll be training drivers to meet the national standard for driving cars and light vans. It sets out the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to be a safe and responsible car or van driver.

You can use the learning to drive syllabus as a way of teaching people the skills, knowledge and understanding.

You must take and pass at least one ADI standards check during each 4-year period you’re registered as an ADI.

The purpose of the check is to make sure you have kept up your standard of instruction. The ADI Registrar will contact you to tell you to book your standards check via the online booking platform. It doesn’t cost anything.

You’ll need your:

• driving licence number
• ADI personal reference number

You can be removed from the ADI register if you:

• fail to meet the required standards
• fail to attend the standards check when required

refuse to take the standards check

Your pupils can either book their tests themselves, or you can book them.

You can use services to:

book and manage driving tests for your pupils

book and manage theory tests for your pupils

You can sit in and observe your pupils’ driving tests but you cannot take any part in the test and you must follow certain rules.

There are different rules for filming or recording a driving test.

You will need to pay franchise fee if you work with KWIK PASS. You need to set up as a sole trader to do this. You’ll need to provide your own dual-control car that meets the rules to be used for driving tests and pay for repairs and insurance.

Pass Plus is a practical training course that takes at least 6 hours and is for drivers to improve their skills and drive more safely.

It can be taken at any time although it should be most useful to new drivers in the year after passing their test.

You must register to teach Pass Plus. You do not need to take any extra training or tests to teach it.

DVSA encourages you to join ADI associations and organisations so your interests are properly represented in talks. Each organisation has its own terms and conditions.

You can sign up to the voluntary code of practice agreed by DVSA and the driving instruction industry.

DVSA encourages you to take continuing professional development (CPD). This is voluntary development to keep your skills up to date.

You decide how you do it and pay any costs involved. Take the DVSA special test for instructors. You can take the voluntary DVSA special test to test your driving skills to the highest standard.

At the end of the test, you’ll get a grade gold, silver, bronze or fail. You can use it when you advertise your services.

You’re responsible for your ADI registration, including renewing it and keeping your registration up to date. You must write to the ADI Registrar within 7 days if you get a caution or conviction.

This includes:

• getting a binding over order (being ‘bound over’)
• having your name entered in the sex offenders register
• being banned or barred from working with children
• any motoring or non-motoring offence, including penalty points

Read about how to manage your registration.

You must update your ADI registration within 7 days if your name or permanent home or business address change.

You’re responsible for renewing your ADI registration every 4 years.

You must get a criminal record disclosure check before you renew your registration. You must still be a ‘fit and proper’ person. Renew your ADI registration

You can re-register as an ADI if your registration ran out in the last 12 months. You must get a criminal record disclosure check first.

You’ll get a letter from the ADI Registrar if they intend to remove you from the ADI register. You’ll have the opportunity to respond and give them any supporting evidence.

The ADI Registrar will look at all the facts of the case and will make a final decision. You’ll get a letter to tell you about the decision.

Usually, your name will not be removed from the register until 28 days after the date of the letter. This lets you appeal against the decision.

Your name will be removed from the register if you do not appeal.

The ADI Registrar can also use the immediate removal process where you’ll be told that your name will be removed from the register within 14 days, unless:

you appeal to the General Regulatory Chamber within 10 days of the date of the removal letter.

The ADI Registrar can suspend your ADI registration immediately if they think you pose a significant threat to public safety.

You can appeal to the General Regulatory Chamber if you disagree with a decision the ADI Registrar makes about your registration.

You should sign up to get email alerts from DVSA on issues affecting ADIs, including things like:

• changes to the driving test
• new services for ADIs
• changes to driving test centres in your area

DVSA runs the Despatch blog for driver and rider trainers, which gives official advice and information for you. You could miss out on important information if you do not sign up for email alerts and the Despatch blog.

You can also follow DVSA on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

ADI test and registration fees are set by DVSA – fees for driving instructor training vary and are set by training organisations. Driving test costs for your pupils are also set by DVSA.

More information and the full legal requirements about driving instruction are in these acts and regulations

The Road Traffic Act 1988 (as amended)

The Motor Cars (Driving Instruction) Regulations 2005 (as amended)

Driving Instruction (Suspension and Exemption Powers) Act 2009

The Driving Instruction (Compensation Scheme) Regulations 2012

The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999