What Makes A Great Driving Instructor

When choosing a driving instructor it is important to understand the various qualities that a good instructor must possess in order to help you actually learn how to drive properly. All of the following are traits that you should look out for in your instructor. If they don’t exhibit these qualities, it may be time to start searching for somebody else to help you to learn how to drive.

Patience

All driving instructors must have patience with their students, as people learn at different rates and in different ways. While one person may be excellent when it comes to theory but struggles during practical lessons, another may be the exact opposite. A good instructor should be able to identify these issues and help the learner with them, without getting frustrated.

Knowledge

It should go without saying that your instructor should be knowledgeable. After all, they are teaching you so they need to understand their subject area. If you find that the questions you ask while driving are being avoided, you may have an instructor who doesn’t posses the required knowledge. If you get a straight answer when you ask a straight question about the road, you can feel more confident that your instructor is up to par.

Communication

Your driving instructor is tasked with teaching you how to be safe on the road, which means they absolutely must be a good communicator. Some may talk constantly, whereas others will be softly spoken. The key is that their message gets through when it is delivered. Ideally they should be able to create example scenarios to help you understand more complex aspects of the lessons, in addition to helping you to think about areas where you went wrong while driving. All of this should be delivered in a way that doesn’t patronise the student, but ensures that they understand the message.

Flexibility

While a good driving instructor will approach all of their lessons with a plan of action, they must also be prepared to adjust this plan based on the needs of the student. By identifying areas where the student is struggling, the instructor should be able to tailor their lessons to the person, instead of delivering the same thing to every student. This ensures that work is done to improve the things that need to be improved, rather than simply going over things the student is already adept at while they continue to struggle elsewhere.

Confidence

Imagine you are sat behind the driver’s wheel of a car for the very first time and the person who is meant to be teaching you to operate this vehicle seems more nervous than you are. It doesn’t inspire confidence, which is the exact opposite of what a good driving instructor should be doing. They should be confident in themselves and the message they are delivering in order to emphasize how important it is to be confident in your actions when on the road. Confidence is almost important as knowledge when it comes to driving, and a lack of it can lead to hesitations or mistakes, regardless of whether you’re the teacher or the student.