Essential Qualities of an Effective Driving Instructor
Having good, trained instructors in driving education is important. Many institutes offer driving instructor courses to train and prepare qualified driving instructors to teach learner drivers.
A driving instructor is not just a teacher. They are the ones who help, support, and empower you to lead independent and confident lives. Good driving instructors can create better, safer, and more responsible drivers.
Hence, having good, trained instructors in driving education is important. Many institutes offer driving instructor courses to train and prepare qualified driving instructors to teach learner drivers.
But as a novice driver, what do you look for when searching for a good driving instructor? Here are some essential qualities that a driving instructor should have to impart quality education to their students.
Forbearance
Each individual has a different capacity for learning and improving where driving is concerned. Some learn driving skills quickly while others need more time and practice before mastering it. A good instructor should understand this, keep his patience, and remain available and accessible while teaching the students.
If a student needs more instruction or advice on a particular move or skill, the instructor should be ready to discuss it again without getting frustrated or angry. This forbearance helps foster a supportive environment where students are not afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. Instead, they can look at mistakes as learning opportunities and discuss ways to improve them.
Communicating Clearly and Efficiently
As a driving instructor, it is important to have clear and honest communication with the students. Driving instructor courses also advocate having clear and effective communication between instructors and their students. When the students need appreciation and encouragement, the instructor should be honest and generous in showing it.
When the students need to be alerted to their mistakes and advised, the instructors should be clear, concise, and kind in pointing out their mistakes and giving feedback. Instructors should be able to adapt to the different communication styles of each learner for effective driving instruction.
Professional Approach
A professional approach to teaching driving is again a must for a good instructor. An instructor can show professionalism by being punctual, well-prepared, and respectful in their behavior toward the students. They should also stay updated on the latest laws related to driving.
Being Empathetic
Empathy is one quality that sets apart a good instructor from the crowd. It enables the instructors to put themselves in the student’s shoes and understand their point of view. An empathetic instructor can easily relate to the challenges faced by the students which helps him/her to have compassion and patience when teaching.
They can provide honest feedback and the right encouragement to help their students overcome the obstacles in learning to drive. It also helps them to tailor their teaching methods according to each student.
Adaptability
Being adaptable is an essential quality for any instructor. Adaptability is the ability of the driving instructor to accommodate and adjust to the different learning styles, pace, and capacities of each student. While driving lessons may change a little depending on the area, often all instructors need to teach their students the same driving styles and skills.
For example, a driving instructor in Sydney may teach students the road rules and common techniques about their city while a driving instructor in Melbourne may teach rules related to Melbourne. But true adaptability is not just adjusting the driving lessons according to the rules and regulations of the locality. It is about adjusting to the different paces at which different students learn and still staying patient and encouraging.
Safety Consciousness
In a country like Australia, where road safety is paramount, cultivating a habit or a mindset of safety-first in the drivers is very important. A driving instructor can help develop such a mindset in the learner drivers and instill safe driving habits.
They should prioritize safety and stress its importance in every instruction, technique, or rule they teach their students. They should also emphasize the necessity of adhering to traffic laws and proper vehicle maintenance to keep the roads safe and avoid accidents.
Driving instructors can be the catalysts in creating safe and more responsible drivers in the future. That’s why driving schools like the Academy of Road Safety offer many driving instructor courses to train instructors in the art of teaching driving.
A driving instructor can teach you more than only driving techniques. They can teach you important life lessons, cultivate good driving habits, and become more confident, and capable as drivers and human beings.
