I was talking to a lady yesterday who had failed her driving test with another Driving Instructor several times, 3 years ago. On her last attempt she had asked for him to sit in the back of the vehicle, which she felt may ‘put her at ease’ for the driving test. The Driving Instructor said that he was ‘not allowed’ to sit in the back of the car on a pupil’s driving test. The lady went for her 5th attempt and failed, and after 3 years has started to look at driving again, as she has completely lost her confidence but needs to drive for when she is on location working for the BBC.
Should a Driving Instructor sit in the back of the car …? How would you feel if they were sat behind the driver’s seat…?
Well….I can tell you that a Driving Instructor ‘IS’ allowed to sit in the back of the car whilst a driving test is taking place, but only after the Driving Examiner has asked the pupil if this can take place. The Driving Instructor must not take part in the test, else the driving test could be terminated!
Although I have found that the Driving Examiner’s, depending on who you have, may ask you either to sit in the back of the car whilst the ‘show and tell’ are taking place, OR ask you ‘not to get in the car until the show and tell have finished’, you CAN sit in the back of the vehicle as an observer whilst the pupil is on test. The Driving Instructor just has to listen to the Driving Examiner as to WHEN he can sit in the back of the car, as not all Examiners work to the same routine, and don’t stand next to where pupil’s are asked to read a number plate as you may be understandably hustled out of the way!
Therefore if you are, for example, a nervous pupil or perhaps just feel more comfortable with their Driving Instructor sat behind them on test, then ask the Driving Instructor to do so, they can still say no, but it’s worth asking!!
One of our pupils took her driving test today and passed with myself sitting in the back seat, and the feedback from the pupil was that ‘the test did not feel like an actual test as it felt more like ‘just a normal driving lesson’. The pupil today was found to be confident in her drive and nothing seemed to phase her, so it’s worth a thought ……………….
