DVSA steps up safeguards to protect learner drivers
Jacqui Turland, the DVSA Approved Driving Instructor
(ADI) Registrar, has confirmed that she will treat driving
instructors having sexual relationships with 16 and 17-year-old
pupils as exploitation, even if it’s consensual. If an instructor
is considered a high risk to learners, they face being removed from
the ADI register. There...Request free trial
Jacqui Turland, the DVSA Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) Registrar, has confirmed that she will treat driving instructors having sexual relationships with 16 and 17-year-old pupils as exploitation, even if it’s consensual. If an instructor is considered a high risk to learners, they face being removed from the ADI register. There are currently around 39,000 driving instructors in Great Britain and the majority of those offer a high standard of tuition and pride themselves on delivering excellent customer service. It’s important that learner drivers get a high-quality service from their instructor. Learners and their parents need to be confident that their instructor will:
To ensure the safety of learner drivers, all driving instructors are subject to enhanced criminal record checks which must be renewed every 4 years. Serious allegations of improper behaviourHowever, from April 2016 to March 2017 there were 109 investigations into instructor misconduct, which includes inappropriate sexual behaviour and other offences. DVSA will investigate serious allegations of improper behaviour and refer its findings to the police. These allegations include instructors:
Andy Rice, DVSA Head of Counter-Fraud and Investigations, said:
Unacceptable behaviour and contractual issuesDVSA is also reminding learner drivers that:
You should also report any contractual issues you have with your instructor to DVSA, such as:
DVSA will ask the instructor about the matter on your behalf. However, DVSAcan’t help you get any money back. Find out how to complain about a driving instructor’s service or behaviour. Choosing a driving instructorThe best place to find a fully-qualified driving instructor that meets your needs is on GOV.UK When you use this service, you can check if instructors agree to follow the voluntary driving instructor code of practice. This sets out how they should behave in their personal conduct and business dealings. All the driving instructors listed have passed enhanced criminal record checks and had their ability to teach assessed to a set standard. Driving instructors choose whether or not to be listed on this service, so not all qualified instructors will be shown. |