To Become A Driving Instructor Is A Rigorous Process

Two of the most important pre-requisites, when yo wish to become a driving instructor are that you must be 21 years of age or over and hold a driving license for at least three and a half years. In case you have gathered more than 5 points on your license, your application may get rejected by the DSA. To become a driving instructor you need to pass the Approved Driving Instructor training. This training program is divided in to 3 sections: a theory section that is computer-based, a practical driving ability test and an instruction ability test. You need to pass all these three sections in a span of two years. In case you can not make it within this stipulated time, you will have to start from the very beginning all over again. While you can sit for the theory papers as many times as you like, you will have to pull through the practical examinations in a maximum of three attempts, in these two years.

To become a good driving instructor, you need more than driving skills. You need to have adequate patience, adaptability and good motivation skills, to be able to move your pupils to deliver their best, under your coaching and guidance. You need to have a very calm temperament also, and not get excited or angry, even when you find someone driving on the wrong side of the road!

To become a driving coach, you need to have a special aptitude for dealing with people, some of whom are novices in the field of driving and may make fatal errors while learning. You can not afford to lose your shirt over such incidents. Your job is to gently make the greenhorns understand the road rules, the safety aspects and highway codes, so that they do not make the same mistake again.

Remember, over a period of time, you are no longer a mere 'trainer' to your students. You are their friend, philosopher and guide, all rolled in to one. You are responsible for building their confidence on the road. You are their mentor who can correct any wrong habit which they could have developed while learning how to drive.

You have to wait patiently for the moment to arrive, when your student no longer asks you where the clutch is and does not brake abruptly. He or she knows how to maneuver a steep bend and does not mount on the curb. You are then going to prepare him or her to take the driving test. You have to be prepared to share the dangers of driving around with a novice all through the training period.