Hey PDI Congratulations On Becoming A Trainee Driving Instructor

If you have received your pink trainee instructor driving badge, you only have 6 months to put it to good use before it expires and will have to continue the last part to become an ADI (Approved Driving Instructor). If you choose to teach students how to drive to gain some experience before becoming fully qualified, you are able to do so by applying for your pink badge. This must be displayed at all times on the vehicle that you are driving though.

At the moment there is no law to say that you must tell your students that you are a trainee driving instructor but it could soon change as many students like to know if their teacher is fully qualified or not. The best way to find out would be to check the windscreen to see what colour badge is being displayed and call up the driving school to verify this. Trainee driving instructors can also charge the same as a fully qualified instructors but if they want more practice then reducing lesson fees will surely attract more students.

If you hire a car from the driving school, insurance is usually included in the weekly rental cost but check this to make sure you are covered as driving instructor insurance is usually more expensive. Trainee driving instructor insurance on the other hand is more expensive as both the instructor and the student are inexperienced. Due to this fact, a trainee can only teach for 6 months and it may not be beneficial to drive at this point and it's probably best to wait until the full ADI licence is obtained to get insurance for instructors at more reasonable prices.

It is important to check that a trainee driving instructor has the correct legal amount of insurance available so you as a learner are also covered in the event of an accident. If you are to be involved in an accident with your trainee driving instructor, you could always get compensation for injuries through 'no win no fee' solicitors but this can take more time than if you had proper insurance cover in place to start off with.

If you are a trainee instructor, then your driving school employer will be able to help you get insurance whilst being a PDI (Potential Driving Instructor) and you will only need it for a short term period. Once you qualify and become an ADI, you can then get a full insurance cover that you can also build no claims up with. Although major accidents do not really occur when learning how to drive, other accidents caused by impatient drivers may be the reason why accidents happen and it is always better to be on the safe side than regret it later.