Learner driver pratice: is my supervising driver suitable for the task?

lizferris1984

DoaM wrote: »

As others have already said ... not every reply necessarily needs to address exactly what the OP asked. The questions were asked to make the OP aware of a potential (legal) issue that could result in the OP or the friend getting prosecuted ... so how is asking such things not in good faith/spirit?

It's doesn't come across like good faith or spirit when the OP hasn't said anything that implies she is breaking the law, and then that's suddenly being talked about like she is.

gabbleRatchet

lizferris1984 wrote: »

Can I just say I don't know why on earth any of you people think I am doing anything illegal? That's crazy.

I haven't said anything that even implies that. I don't why people think it's ok to make accusations I am breaking the law, when all I've done is post about learning to drive basically. It's over the top completely and not even relevant at all.

Just wanted to put that out there.

Sadly, most threads seem to end up like this now. Someone asks a reasonable question and within a few posts it’s descended into this sort of judgemental, blame seeking b!tchfest.


The small number of actually knowledgable posters are drowned out by all these wannabe “experts” giving their opinion and trying to find fault in any question. There’s a certain amount of entertainment value in watching them fight like ferrets in a sack but most of them need to grow up and get some sort of life.


If you want a helpful answer I would suggest posting on Honest John’s Backroom forum.

prowla

I think it is fair for the supervising driver to give advice, but not constantly chatter or distract the driver.


It's good to be reminded about some things like indicating correctly at roundabouts, watching speed, checking mirrors.

AdrianC

lizferris1984 wrote: »

It's doesn't come across like good faith or spirit when the OP hasn't said anything that implies she is breaking the law, and then that's suddenly being talked about like she is.

All that was asked was whether she was aware that both learner and supervisor needed to be insured to drive the car...

I dunno about you, but I don't think that's an unreasonable point to bring to people's attention. After all, who wants an IN10 or IN14 (causing/permitting) along with a licence revocation before they've even taken their test?

Given that the only mentions of cars are hire cars (which the learner definitely won't be covered on or have permission to drive) or the supervisor's father's borrowed car (which they may be, if they've been added as a named driver or if they've got a separate add-on learner policy), with no suggestion the OP has their own car, it's a serious consideration.

And here we are, three weeks later, complaining about the point even being raised, instead of a simple "yep, no problem, we are".

Car_54

AdrianC wrote: »

All that was asked was whether she was aware that both learner and supervisor needed to be insured to drive the car...

The supervisor doesn't need to be insured, although it's obviously sensible for him/her to be.

AdrianC

Car_54 wrote: »

The supervisor doesn't need to be insured, although it's obviously sensible for him/her to be.

Yes, they do. They are legally deemed to be in control of the vehicle - which is why all the other legislation (drink, phones etc) applies, too.

Simby

I read this thread in bemusement, the op simply asked if their friend should instruct them when practicing.

I fail to see how insurance is relevant to the question.

In response to the actual op, maybe when you park after a practice session ask your friend if she has any feedback, but while actually practicing I think her approach is right and allows you to concentrate on driving.

Tigsteroonie

Simby wrote: »

I fail to see how insurance is relevant to the question.

The relevance from my perspective is that if the friend is uncertain as to the type of feedback s/he should be providing as a supervising driver, then they may similarly be uncertain of the insurance requirements when doing so.

Arklight

lizferris1984 wrote: »

I have found the answers here to be... erm, not what I expected.I didn't say I wasn't properly insured, and that's not what my question was about. There have been assumptions that I'm a bad driver/need a lot of help on a practical level. Again that's not what I said in my post. What I was asking, summed up in a sentence, was:

What attributes do people think make a good supervising driver/how should practice driving be best conducted to achieve the best possible results?

I thought it might be too little information to just ask that question without context, hence why I provided a context. Didn't realise that would result in being belittled by people. Lol!!

So yeah this has been a (largely negative) experience for me posting here. I thought there might be some people on the forum who have supervised learners themselves/are experienced drivers or ADIs, & might have some good opinions for me. But yeah, I guess if you ask any questions about learning to drive you're automatically an idiot with no insurance.

God bless the internet!

You went to some length explaining that your friend doesn't own a vehicle and that when you are driving, in whatever vehicle you both are in, she is quiet and unresponsive. If she's worried about you crashing her uninsured hire car that may well be why. We don't know anything about you or your friend other than what you have said, or why she might be doing you this favour.

She isn't gong to teach you like an ADI, and taking learners out with no way to stop the car can be very stressful for people. Unlike your instructor she isn't trained (or insured to the same level) for taking out unpredictable learners. She can't control the car at all if you do something dangerous, and on top of that she has to maintain your friendship.

I personally wouldn't. When my wife learned to drive in her 30s neither of us wanted me attempting to teach her in the family car. All her lessons were with her ADI. Maybe you should ask your friend how she is feeling?

onwards&upwards

lizferris1984 wrote: »

Can I just say I don't know why on earth any of you people think I am doing anything illegal? That's crazy.

I haven't said anything that even implies that. I don't why people think it's ok to make accusations I am breaking the law, when all I've done is post about learning to drive basically. It's over the top completely and not even relevant at all.

Just wanted to put that out there.

Please don’t overreact, people were trying to be helpful by preventing you from gett8ng in trouble if there was an issue with insurance.

Plenty of learner drivers wouldn’t know the ins and outs of the rules on insurance and supervision, and the fact that your friend doesn’t own a car raised a bit of a red flag as it’s an unusual situation.

If you had been practicing in hire cars and only your friend was insured, or in a car owned by one of your family members that your friend wasn’t insured on, would you not be glad that someone on this forum had alerted you to the problem before you got pulled over? I know I would!!