08/10/2021
I am a driving instructor and we get enquiries almost every day with people asking for a lesson and to use our cars for test this week or next week or next month. We also have students who book or have booked tests before they are ready in the hopes that they will be ready in time. I totally get that they are just wanting to pass as quickly as possible but please understand that my car is my business and I can’t take unnecessary risks with it - so I will only hand over my keys for Students to use my car for test when I have assessed them ready for test. So if I feel a student is not ready but they still wants to have a go, then they will have to do it in a different car. If I feel they are not ready, that doesn’t mean they can’t get lucky and pass, it just means that in my professional opinion, they are unlikely to pass and I don’t feel their skills are good enough yet for me to feel confident to hand over my keys.
We have waiting list as long as our arms and we don’t want to or need to keep students longer than necessary.
Just remember we work for ourselves and we offer a service, (driving lessons) most of us have terms and conditions to use our services which students need to agree with before we take them on. Taking on a student to teach them to drive does not guarantee them use of our car/business/livelihood for their test just because they think they are ready or because they just want to have a go.
So when a driving instructor says you are not ready and to move your test date or take it in another car, they are not letting you down. They are being honest with you and not prepared to take an unnecessary risk with their car which is also their means of income.
