How To Keep your Learners Safe During their Driving Lessons

20 May 2021

Are you ready to take out the next generation of learner drivers on their lessons? As driver instructors, our number one priority, aside from getting learners passed, is road and driver safety. Passing on the wisdom and knowledge we have to keep our students safe on the road is so important to ensuring safer roads across the UK. At Beverly Slater we are passionate about quality and excellence amongst driving instructors. Here are some of our top tips to guarantee safety during these all-important driving lessons.

Get to know your Learners

Spending as much time with them as you will, you are bound to get to know your learner drivers. It helps to be both a friendly and encouraging face for them as they take on the challenge of learning to drive. This is also useful in keeping them safe. All learners are different and will have differing levels of confidence and anxiety. Quickly understanding the areas of which your individual learners feel anxious and begin to panic, will help to keep both them and you safe. As the instructor you can then spot the signs of panic on your leaner’s face and know when you may need to take over before panic turns into dangerous driving.

Managing Road Safety

In your position as instructor a lot of trust and responsibility lies within your hands. As your learner begins each lesson, ensure the instructions you have given them are clear. It may be worthwhile giving them a run down of each session, so they are prepared and feel less nervous.  As they begin to drive it is very important you keep your eyes ahead on the road and are thinking two steps ahead of your learner. Eventually, as they grow in confidence you will be able to demonstrate this to them, by giving them fewer directions and instead asking them to drive you to a known location.

Always be prepared to take over in the event of an unexpected hazard or distraction, causing your learner to panic. In this instance, make sure you explain to your learner why you had to step in and go over this with them in a safe space on the side of the road. Constantly communicating with your learners is the best way to help them learn.

Choose an Appropriate Route

As much as you want your learners to advance quickly and pass first time, each learner with various levels of experience will require a tailored learning experience. If you feel your learner has developed well and is growing in confidence – great, now is the time to get them on a different route, to challenge them. If they are yet to feel confident in driving the vehicle, keep your routes simple, until they feel ready. Do not push the learners to advance quickly as this will inevitably lead to anxiety and a lack of confidence. Anxiety and panic are a major cause of dangerous driving from learner drivers, so keeping this to a minimum for your learners is really important.