The Student Room Group

bad driving instructor?

i just failed my driving test two days ago on the first try and I'm starting to feel as if it was because of my driving instructor. my nerves played a big part in my failure but upon reflection, my driving instructor never gave me feedback whenever a lesson ended. he never really told me if he thought i was ready or not. prior to my test, he gave me one mock test (which i failed) and he never did anymore to prepare me for it after.

i remember he would make me drive to his or his family's house, so he could use the toilet or check up on something. he also made me drive to a tesco so he could get a snack and this happened multiple times. i cant believe i didn't see him take advantage of me like that until now. he would also end our lessons quite early despite wasting twenty or so minutes doing this.

he was a nice and patient instructor though and he did teach me how to drive aside from all that. but I'm just questioning now whether he cared about me passing or not? he's taught a lot of people and is an experienced instructor where all his pupils have said that he was a wise man with a wealth of knowledge. am i just trying to shift the blame on him for my failure or did he really just treat me differently from his other pupils? please let me know because i am thinking of switching instructors.
Original post by st4rlu3t
i just failed my driving test two days ago on the first try and I'm starting to feel as if it was because of my driving instructor. my nerves played a big part in my failure but upon reflection, my driving instructor never gave me feedback whenever a lesson ended. he never really told me if he thought i was ready or not. prior to my test, he gave me one mock test (which i failed) and he never did anymore to prepare me for it after.

i remember he would make me drive to his or his family's house, so he could use the toilet or check up on something. he also made me drive to a tesco so he could get a snack and this happened multiple times. i cant believe i didn't see him take advantage of me like that until now. he would also end our lessons quite early despite wasting twenty or so minutes doing this.

he was a nice and patient instructor though and he did teach me how to drive aside from all that. but I'm just questioning now whether he cared about me passing or not? he's taught a lot of people and is an experienced instructor where all his pupils have said that he was a wise man with a wealth of knowledge. am i just trying to shift the blame on him for my failure or did he really just treat me differently from his other pupils? please let me know because i am thinking of switching instructors.

It doesn't seem like he acted professionally in your lessons and it doesn't seem like you had enough mock tests (especially as you didn't pass the one that you did do). It may be worth getting another instructor, but it can be hard to find another one.
Original post by st4rlu3t
i just failed my driving test two days ago on the first try and I'm starting to feel as if it was because of my driving instructor. my nerves played a big part in my failure but upon reflection, my driving instructor never gave me feedback whenever a lesson ended. he never really told me if he thought i was ready or not. prior to my test, he gave me one mock test (which i failed) and he never did anymore to prepare me for it after.

i remember he would make me drive to his or his family's house, so he could use the toilet or check up on something. he also made me drive to a tesco so he could get a snack and this happened multiple times. i cant believe i didn't see him take advantage of me like that until now. he would also end our lessons quite early despite wasting twenty or so minutes doing this.

he was a nice and patient instructor though and he did teach me how to drive aside from all that. but I'm just questioning now whether he cared about me passing or not? he's taught a lot of people and is an experienced instructor where all his pupils have said that he was a wise man with a wealth of knowledge. am i just trying to shift the blame on him for my failure or did he really just treat me differently from his other pupils? please let me know because i am thinking of switching instructors.

Seems like a poor instructor. Mine never made me pull over at their house or the shops. There was also time at the end of the lesson where we discussed what went well and if there was any issues, what couldve been done to improve it. Most of the time if I made an error, my instructor would tell me to do the junction/roundabout again. It was like this that I improved. His feedback was always great and helped me to pass my test first time.
Reply 3
What you have said he seems poor and hasn't treated you fairly for what you have paid him. Ditch him and find a new one.
Reply 4
I would certainly change instructor. If you’ve lost confidence it’s best to try someone new.

As to whether you’ve cause for complaint, the dropping by his house feels unprofessional and if you were clearly not ready for test he should have pointed this out. However you mention a couple of big positives and you acknowledge nerves played a part. I feel it would be a bit mean to raise a complaint. Whether you could have a discussion with him about things that work for you and things that don’t is a question. It would be good if he could learn from how you feel. Driving instructors are human too and it can’t be an easy job.

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending