What Is the Role of a Driving Instructor While Instructing in the Car?
Nearly every person in the United States who receives a driver's license will come into contact with a driving instructor. In addition to providing classroom training on automobile driving and safety, many driving instructors will step behind the wheel--or, in the case of some cars specially designed for student drivers, the second wheel, mounted on the passenger's side dashboard--and provide hands-on instruction to their pupils.
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Function
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After a period of classroom instruction, driving instructors are responsible for accompanying students on their first rides out in a vehicle. While in the car, they will instruct the student in the proper operation of the vehicle. They will also attempt to prevent the student from disobeying any driving-related laws, injuring themselves or others, or causing property damage. They will also answer questions posed by the student.
Duties
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Most of the work performed by the instructor while the in the car will be verbal, with the instructor commanding the student in his actions and explaining both the mechanics of the car and the rules of the road. However, at certain times the instructor will have to physically intervene in the student's actions, either physically taking control of the vehicle to prevent an accident or to demonstrate a maneuver that cannot be explained verbally.
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Significance
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Driving instructors allow students to learn proper driving from a skillful, knowledgeable professional. This not only standardizes the body of knowledge passed on to students, preventing the proliferation of misinformation about automobile operation and driving laws, but also helps ensure that the student's initial errors do not result in injury or damage.
Types
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According to the website education.com, there are two main types of driving instructor: those who teach students in public and private high schools, and those employed by commercial driving schools. Although the responsibilities are similar, commercial driving schools offer a far wider range of vehicles on which to be instructed. While high schools will generally concentrate on regular motor vehicles, many commercial schools will also provide driving instructors trained in offering instruction behind the wheels of limousines, semi trucks and bulldozers.
Considerations
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Not just anyone is deemed fit by the state to offer instruction behind the wheel of a car. According to Education Portal, all states require that in-car instructors receive official certification before conducting lessons. This can only be obtained by passing a background check, a written exam and a test of the candidate's driving abilities.
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- Photo Credit driving 4 image by Andrzej Borowicz from Fotolia.com
