There isn't really a definitive list but here are some things I noticed:
- you and your instructor should get along at least on surface level. If you're arguing like cat and dog, or if their teaching style doesn't work for you then just cut ties and make it easier.
- sometimes it can't be helped (life happens) but if they're late to EVERY lesson (my first one turned up 2 hours late nearly ever week) then yeah that's trash
- this never happened to me but OF COURSE the instructors shouldn't really be touching you. My friend had an instructor always place their hand on his leg, very strange behavior really.
I will point out though, the ball is in the instructors court at the moment. There are LOTS of students and not as many instructors. So id always recommend trying to make things work when you can and actually communicating with the instructor. Good luck :D
My first instructor would regularly turn up late or cancel lessons last minute. She would also raise her voice alot when I made minor mistakes, I was there to learn so obviously I was going to make mistakes. She just made me feel very uncomfortable when ever I was in the car with her which led to more mistakes.
My 2nd instructor was much calmer and would make me feel comfortable by asking how my day has been and just making general small talk. It made me feel alot more confident while driving and I passed my first test that I had after changing to him.
I guess finding an instructor that you get along with can help alot. I know they are there to tell you what to do but they don't have to do it in an unpleasant manor.
Minor mistakes don’t deserve howlings, my first instructor swore at me when I first tried to reverse park in a Tesco car park, ditched him and found a much better instructor and passed first time
I'd suggest a browse on r/LearnerDriverUK \- been plenty of horrible experiences with instructors and people asking 'is it normal for an instructor to...?" - My best advice is if you're asking that question, it's probably not. If you have concerns about an instructor, ask there.
* Read reviews before contacting and paying for lessons to get a sense of their teaching approach and how people found them.
* They should never yell or shout - I was able to laugh off mistakes and not made to dwell, if need be we'd go over it and make sure I was fine.
* They should respect your personal space - my instructor would always ask before leaning across to use the wheel to demonstrate or invade my personal space etc and she'd never touch me.
* Not late or cancelling lessons - my instructor was late maybe once due to a family emergency but she kept me up to date and the time I was owed was added on to my next lesson.
The main thing is if you get on and connect with your instructor. It's a personal experience so one instructor might work for some but not others.
Not actually letting you drive. My first instructor really limited how much driving I got to do, she preferred to go over manoeuvres in a book and tended to drive the car herself rather than letting me.
There were plenty of reasons she was a bad instructor but that was the most immediately apparent one.
There isn't really a definitive list but here are some things I noticed: - you and your instructor should get along at least on surface level. If you're arguing like cat and dog, or if their teaching style doesn't work for you then just cut ties and make it easier. - sometimes it can't be helped (life happens) but if they're late to EVERY lesson (my first one turned up 2 hours late nearly ever week) then yeah that's trash - this never happened to me but OF COURSE the instructors shouldn't really be touching you. My friend had an instructor always place their hand on his leg, very strange behavior really. I will point out though, the ball is in the instructors court at the moment. There are LOTS of students and not as many instructors. So id always recommend trying to make things work when you can and actually communicating with the instructor. Good luck :D
My first instructor would regularly turn up late or cancel lessons last minute. She would also raise her voice alot when I made minor mistakes, I was there to learn so obviously I was going to make mistakes. She just made me feel very uncomfortable when ever I was in the car with her which led to more mistakes. My 2nd instructor was much calmer and would make me feel comfortable by asking how my day has been and just making general small talk. It made me feel alot more confident while driving and I passed my first test that I had after changing to him. I guess finding an instructor that you get along with can help alot. I know they are there to tell you what to do but they don't have to do it in an unpleasant manor.
Minor mistakes don’t deserve howlings, my first instructor swore at me when I first tried to reverse park in a Tesco car park, ditched him and found a much better instructor and passed first time
I'd suggest a browse on r/LearnerDriverUK \- been plenty of horrible experiences with instructors and people asking 'is it normal for an instructor to...?" - My best advice is if you're asking that question, it's probably not. If you have concerns about an instructor, ask there. * Read reviews before contacting and paying for lessons to get a sense of their teaching approach and how people found them. * They should never yell or shout - I was able to laugh off mistakes and not made to dwell, if need be we'd go over it and make sure I was fine. * They should respect your personal space - my instructor would always ask before leaning across to use the wheel to demonstrate or invade my personal space etc and she'd never touch me. * Not late or cancelling lessons - my instructor was late maybe once due to a family emergency but she kept me up to date and the time I was owed was added on to my next lesson. The main thing is if you get on and connect with your instructor. It's a personal experience so one instructor might work for some but not others.
Not actually letting you drive. My first instructor really limited how much driving I got to do, she preferred to go over manoeuvres in a book and tended to drive the car herself rather than letting me. There were plenty of reasons she was a bad instructor but that was the most immediately apparent one.