When will driving lessons restart?

When will driving lessons restart? At the moment the answer unfortunately is unclear, however we are monitoring the situation very closely. We are checking the latest Government advice, DVSA guidance and information from the DIA (Driving Instructors Association). The DVSA recently stated that “Driving Instructors should limit instruction to key workers preparing for an essential driving test”. The NASP National Associations Strategic Partnership (composed of DIA, ADINJC and MSA) has published updated guidance for driver and rider trainers as lockdown starts to ease, and has stated there is the potential of returning to a wider level of training by the start of July.

We are aware that apparently a very small number of driving instructors in the country have restarted lessons however this is not currently the recommended advice. As instructors our ADI licenses have not been ‘frozen’ however the Police could / have been using other laws to stop some instructors. We will not put profit over safety and refuse to restart until it is fully legal and as safe as possible in this new Coronavirus climate.

We are keeping very busy at Lightning School of Motoring by developing new systems to aid a safe return to lessons. These will include a cashless payment system (Square) that will allow payent by chip and PIN cards, contactless cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay etc. We will also introduce a no contact IR temperature check (Braun) before lessons for added safety. We are also learning how best to safely conduct our lessons. This will involve rechecking all provisional driving licenses online prior to restarting lessons, calling customers before all lessons to discuss health, conducting lessons with windows partly open and no air conditioning if possible, sanitising the car controls between all drivers, no direct face to face discussions in car (trying to both look generally forward to reduce virus spread) and the possible use of PPE (latex gloves and masks etc). Completely new systems will need to be in place (and adhered to rigidly) to even think of restarting lessons. This cannot and should not be rushed. Basically, we are being very pro-active and we are looking forward to restarting business when we can.

We will continue regular updates via this blog. Please be aware that any new Government announcements do not have a magic wand effect on the virus so it would still take time to implement a safe return to lessons.

If anyone has any questions please contact me by email or phone.

Regards, Mark.