Russell Hogg

    Driving Instructor Training

    Check Tests

    Once you have qualified as an ADI, and you have had your name entered on the
    Register, you need to stay there. DSA will require you to undergo periodic Check
    Tests, more formally called tests of continued fitness and ability to instruct.

    You will be given several weeks’ notice of your check test. You must provide a
    suitable vehicle and, usually, a suitable pupil, though the examiner can play
    the role of a pupil if necessary. I would strongly recommend that you supply a
    genuine pupil. Role-play check tests often result in an unsatisfactory grade. If
    at all possible, avoid taking your husband/wife/other relative, or friend.

    I would recommend that your pupil should reflect the work that you normally do.
    Stick to what you are most familiar with. If you teach learners, then take a learner.
    If you teach experienced drivers, then take an experienced driver.

    Learners in the early stages can be very hard work, and are probably best avoided.
    If you can find a pupil who can get about, but who is rough and ready, they would
    probably be ideal.

    You need to deliver a lesson that is appropriate to the needs of your client. Deliver
    a proper lesson on the move, not a manoeuvre. Some patterns emerged during
    the many check tests I conducted as an examiner.

    • Ambitious lessons usually went well. For example: overtaking;
      planning; making progress; fast roads; twisty country lanes.
    • Lessons lacking in ambition did not usually go well. For example:
      reversing; turns-in-the-road; reverse parking.
    • Lessons concentrating on one aspect of driving often went wrong.
      For example, covering only left turns.
    • Pedestrian crossing lessons were often badly done.
    • Lessons planned to minimise risk to the ADI usually went wrong.

    The moral here is to pick a pupil who needs some development, and to deliver an
    interesting lesson on a route that will make the pupil, and you, work hard. A plan
    should not be rigid, and you need to be ready to change your lesson if necessary.

    I offer training to prepare for your check test. This is best done well before your
    appointment, but, if you have had a check test and it did not go well, I can help to
    prepare you for your next meeting with a DSA examiner.