Research and analysis

Working as a driving instructor survey: October 2022 results

Published 24 November 2022

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Introduction

This report summarises research carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) about working as an approved driving instructor (ADI).

It aims to:

• find out how important things are changing over time
• get views on topical issues

We sent the survey to ADIs on 27 September 2022. The survey closed on 17 October 2022.

At the end of March 2022, there were 38,842 ADIs. Overall, there were 3,286 responses to this survey - 8.5% of all ADIs.

It’s the third time we have carried out this ADI survey. You can read the full:

• June 2021 survey report
• January 2022 survey report

Where the same question was asked in the previous surveys, this report compares the changes over time.

Summary of findings

Summary of findings from October 2022

The report shows that:

• more businesses (83.7%) are now fully operational following the COVID-19 pandemic
• most ADIs (88.1%) intend to continue in the role for at least the next year
• a quarter of ADIs (25.0%) provide lessons in a car with automatic or semi-automatic transmission
• most ADIs (90.5%) have increased the price they charge for driving lessons in the last 2 years
• almost half of ADIs (49.8%) now charge £31 to £35 for a one-hour driving lesson

The report also shows that:

• the average number of people each ADI is training has reduced since June 2021
• most ADIs (68.0%) do not currently have availability to take on new pupils
• most ADIs (65.1%) currently have a waiting list for new pupils
• most ADIs with a waiting list (68.6%) have 10 or fewer new pupils waiting to start lessons
• more than half of ADIs (65.5%) expect to have a waiting list for 6 months or less

About the driving instructor’s business

In this section:

Business type and status

Where in Great Britain do you conduct most of your business?

Survey	England	Scotland	Wales	Total
June 2021	85.9%	9.1%	5.0%	100%
January 2022	86.0%	9.5%	4.6%	100%
October 2022	86.9%	8.3%	4.8%	100%

What kind of trainer are you?

Survey	Independent	Local driving school franchise	National driving school	Other	Total
June 2021	69.4%	17.4%	11.4%	1.8%	100%
January 2022	70.8%	16.9%	11.1%	1.3%	100%
October 2022	69.2%	17.4%	11.7%	1.8%	100%

Which of the following currently best describes your business?

Answer	Fully operational and open for business	Partially operational (for example, at reduced hours)	Not operating at all yet, but expecting to in the future	Not operating at all and not expecting to	Total
June 2021	77.7%	20.5%	1.3%	1.1%	100%
January 2022	80.5%	17.5%	0.9%	1.1%	100%
October 2022	83.7%	15.3%	0.3%	0.6%	100%

Which of the following statements most reflects your current thoughts about working as an ADI?

Answer	Response rate
I want to leave my role as an ADI as soon as possible	3.8%
I want to leave my role as an ADI within the next 12 months	8.1%
I want to stay working as an ADI for at least the next year	16.3%
I want to stay working as an ADI for at least the next 3 years	71.8%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Type of car used for driving lessons

What type of cars do you teach in? (select all that apply)

Answer	Response rate
Electric	3.2%
Hybrid	10.7%
Petrol (manual)	58.3%
Petrol (automatic)	7.5%
Petrol (semi-automatic)	0.3%
Diesel (manual)	29.2%
Diesel (automatic)	3.0%
Diesel (semi-automatic)	0.3%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Do you have any plans to change the vehicle type for which you offer lessons in the next 5 years?

Answer	Response rate
Yes	37.3%
No	36.4%
Maybe	26.2%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Price charged for driving lessons

What is the average price that you charge for a standard 1 hour lesson?

Average lesson price	Response rate
£20 or less	0.2%
£21 to £25	1.8%
£26 to £30	22.5%
£31 to £35	49.8%
£36 to £40	21.4%
£41 to £45	3.4%
More than £45	0.9%

We asked this question in the previous surveys, but the price ranges were in £10 brackets in those surveys. This means we cannot provide a direct comparison with the £5 price ranges.

This chart shows how the results compare with the previous surveys when put into £10 price ranges.

Survey	£20 or less	£21 to £30	£31 to £40	£41 or more	Total
June 2021	0.4%	64.7%	33.4%	1.5%	100%
January 2022	0.2%	52.4%	45.6%	1.7%	100%
October 2022	0.2%	24.3%	71.2%	4.3%	100%

Has the average price that you charge for a 1-hour lesson increased over the last 2 years?

Answer	Response rate
The price has decreased	1.0%
The price has remained the same	8.6%
The price has increased	90.5%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Changes and challenges facing the business

Have you had any of the following affect your business in the last few months? (select all that apply)

Answer	Response rate
Increased lesson prices	43.5%
Increased my hours at work	28.3%
Pupils wanting less frequent lessons	45.8%
Pupils taking extended breaks from lessons (3+ weeks)	50.4%
Requests from pupils I have not trained asking to be taken to a test	81.1%
None of the above	5.9%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

What are the reasons your pupils are taking extended breaks from lessons? (select all that apply)

Answer	Response rate
Financial constraints	64.6%
High waiting times for test	89.6%
Caring responsibilities	3.0%
Increased educational or work commitments	22.6%
Health reasons	7.4%
Holiday	13.3%
Personal commitments (for example, house move)	6.3%
No longer wanting to learn to drive	6.3%
Other	5.4%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Approximately how many requests do you receive per week from pupils you have not trained asking to be taken to a test?

Answer	Response rate
0 to 1	35.2%
2 to 3	42.9%
4 to 5	10.6%
More than 5	11.2%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Driving lessons

In this section:

Number of learner drivers being taught

Approximately how many learners are you actively training at this time?

Business status	June 2021	January 2022	October 2022
Fully operational	24.5	21.5	21.9
Partially operational	13.8	12.0	11.8

Would you say this is more or less than your pre-pandemic average?

Fully operational businesses

Survey	Training more learners than normal	Training about the same level as normal	Training fewer learners than normal	Total
June 2021	52.7%	40.2%	7.2%	100%
January 2022	31.3%	55.4%	13.3%	100%
October 2022	30.5%	57.3%	12.2%	100%

Partially operational businesses

Survey	Training more learners than normal	Training about the same level as normal	Training fewer learners than normal	Total
June 2021	8.3%	17.5%	74.1%	100%
January 2022	7.3%	30.8%	61.9%	100%
October 2022	9.3%	32.3%	58.3%	100%

Progress of learner drivers

Thinking about the learners that you are actively training, approximately how many have passed their theory test?

Survey	Number of learners
June 2021	13.0
January 2022	12.3
October 2022	13.4

Thinking about the learners that you are actively training, approximately how many have a practical test booked?

Survey	Number of learners
June 2021	8.0
January 2022	7.9
October 2022	9.0

We appreciate this may be difficult to predict, but can you estimate how many of your candidates you think are likely to be ready for their practical driving test in the next 6 months?

Number of candidates	1 to 5	6 to 10	11 to 20	21 to 30	31 or more	Total
June 2021	12.4%	30.2%	38.3%	14.4%	4.6%	100%
January 2022	17.4%	33.6%	37.2%	9.7%	2.0%	100%
October 2022	15.6%	32.3%	37.1%	11.9%	3.2%	100%

Availability for new pupils and waiting lists

Do you currently have availability to take on new pupils?

Answer	Response rate
Yes	32.0%
No	68.0%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Do you currently have a waiting list for learners?

Survey	Yes	No	Total
June 2021	81.9%	18.1%	100%
January 2022	72.1%	27.9%	100%
October 2022	65.1%	34.9%	100%

How many learners do you have waiting to start lessons?

Answer	1 to 5	6 to 10	11 to 20	More than 20	Total
June 2021	27.7%	30.7%	20.9%	20.8%	100%
January 2022	33.9%	34.5%	20.2%	11.4%	100%
October 2022	33.7%	34.8%	20.3%	11.2%	100%

How long do you expect to have a waiting list of learners?

Answer	Up to 3 months	Up to 6 months	Up to 9 months	Up to a year	Over a year	Not sure	Total
June 2021	27.4%	30.0%	12.2%	10.6%	10.3%	9.4%	100%
January 2022	37.9%	26.7%	6.9%	7.5%	9.1%	11.9%	100%
October 2022	36.7%	28.8%	6.6%	7.0%	9.8%	11.0%	100%

Driving tests

In this section:

Swapping driving tests

Within an average month, how regularly do you swap your pupil’s practical driving tests?

Answer	Response rate
Never (0)	46.1%
Rarely (1 to 2)	37.4%
Sometimes (3 to 5)	13.2%
Frequently (5+)	3.2%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

How do you swap these tests? (select all that apply)

Answer	Response rate
Over the phone to customer services	63.6%
Through an email to customer services	4.3%
On the online business system	48.8%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

What are the reasons you swap these tests? (select all that apply)

Answer	Response rate
To swap tests with another instructor when your pupil is not yet ready	42.4%
To swap tests with another instructor when your pupil is ready	33.5%
To swap tests between your own pupils when one is not yet ready	87.0%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Statement	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Unsure	Total
Pupils who are not yet ready for their test are more willing to delay their test if I can rearrange it for them within a month or two	53.4%	31.4%	7.1%	4.2%	3.3%	0.6%	100.0%
Swapping tests prevents pupils who are not test ready from taking their test too soon	62.5%	28.4%	5.4%	1.7%	1.7%	0.4%	100.0%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

To stop those who are abusing the service, how effective do you think it would be to set a swap limit for each organisation based on the monthly average of driving tests they book?

Answer	Response rate
Very effective	21.2%
Somewhat effective	30.0%
Not so effective	11.7%
Not at all effective	17.1%
Unsure	20.0%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

What impact do you think this would have on your business?

Answer	Response rate
Very positive	11.0%
Positive	20.0%
No impact	35.3%
Negative	10.7%
Very negative	6.9%
Unsure	16.1%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Displaying driving instructor registration certificates (badges) during driving tests

Have you ever removed your ADI or trainee instructor certificate from your vehicle before a pupil takes a test?

Answer	Response rate
Yes	12.9%
No	87.1%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Guidance and resources published by DVSA

In this section:

Mock driving test guidance

We published guidance about carrying out mock driving tests in June 2022.

Are you aware of our published mock test guidance?

Answer	Response rate
Yes	91.0%
No	9%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

How regularly do you use or plan to use the guidance to help prepare your pupils for their tests?

This question was only asked to those ADIs who are aware of the mock test guidance.

Answer	Response rate
With all my pupils	44.1%
With my pupils who have an upcoming test	39.9%
I don’t plan to use it	16.0%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

How useful is the guidance?

This question was only asked to those ADIs who are aware of the mock test guidance.

Answer	Response rate
Extremely useful	24.9%
Very useful	32.8%
Somewhat useful	30.6%
Not so useful	6.6%
Not at all useful	5.1%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Have you been able to use this guidance to encourage your pupils to postpone/change a test date due to them not being fully prepared?

This question was only asked to those ADIs who are aware of the mock test guidance.

Answer	Response rate
Yes	49.5%
No but I plan to	27.3%
No and I don’t plan to	23.2%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign resources

We launched the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign and a toolkit for instructors in July 2022.

Are you aware of our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign resources?

Answer	Response rate
Yes	72.5%
No	27.5%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

How regularly do you use or plan to use the ‘Ready to Pass?’ resources to help prepare your pupils for their tests?

This question was only asked to those ADIs who are aware of the campaign resources.

Answer	Response rate
With all my pupils	27.8%
With my pupils who have an upcoming test	45.0%
I don’t plan to use it	27.1%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

How useful have your pupils found the ‘Ready to Pass?’  resources?

This question was only asked to those ADIs who are aware of the campaign resource and who use them or plan to use them.

Answer	Response rate
Extremely useful	12.9%
Very useful	29.4%
Somewhat useful	43.1%
Not so useful	4.5%
Not at all useful	1.0%
I have not yet used the ‘Ready to Pass?’ resources with my pupils	9.0%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

How regularly do you use or plan to use the ‘Ready to Pass?’ checklist to help prepare your pupils for their tests?

This question was only asked to those ADIs who are aware of the campaign resource and who use them or plan to use them.

Answer	Response rate
With all my pupils	34.0%
With my pupils who have an upcoming test	59.0%
I don’t plan to use it	7.0%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

How useful have your pupils found the ‘Ready to Pass?’ checklist?

This question was only asked to those ADIs who are aware of the campaign resource, who use them or plan to use them, and use or plan to use the checklist.

Answer	Response rate
Extremely useful	13.8%
Very useful	30.3%
Somewhat useful	41.3%
Not so useful	3.8%
Not at all useful	0.8%
I have not yet used the ‘Ready to Pass?’ checklist with my pupils	10.0%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Overall, how helpful do you think the ’Ready to Pass?’ website and checklist will be when setting expectations with your pupils and their parents about their test readiness?

This question was only asked to those ADIs who are aware of the campaign resource, who use them or plan to use them, and use or plan to use the checklist.

Answer	Response rate
Extremely helpful	18.9%
Very helpful	40.2%
Somewhat helpful	37.2%
Not so helpful	2.9%
Not at all helpful	0.9%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Have you been able to use this guidance to encourage your pupils to postpone/change a test date due to them not being fully prepared?

This question was only asked to those ADIs who are aware of the campaign resource, who use them or plan to use them, and use or plan to use the checklist.

Answer	Response rate
Yes	45.5%
No but I plan to	48.8%
No and I don’t plan to	5.7%

We did not ask this question in the previous surveys, so we cannot compare the results.

Driving test results guidance

We published updated guidance to help learner drivers understand their driving test result on 21 April 2021.

Are you aware of our published driving test results guidance?

Answer	Yes	No	Total
June 2021	60.0%	40.0%	100%
January 2022	70.2%	29.9%	100%
October 2022	69.5%	30.5%	100%

Have you encouraged your pupils who fail to read the driving test results guidance?

Answer	Yes	No	I plan to	Total
June 2021	68.1%	12.6%	19.2%	100%
January 2022	69.5%	17.2%	13.3%	100%
October 2022	68.7%	17.8%	13.5%	100%

How regularly will you use the guidance to help your pupils who have failed their test to prepare for their next one?

Survey	All the time	Often	Sometimes	Hardly ever	Never	Total
June 2021	54.6%	29.6%	13.2%	2.0%	0.6%	100%
January 2022	51.5%	31.7%	13.4%	2.5%	0.9%	100%
October 2022	46.5%	30.3%	18.4%	3.2%	1.6%	100%

How useful is the guidance?

Survey	Extremely useful	Very useful	Somewhat useful	Not so useful	Not at all useful	Total
June 2021	35.9%	37.9%	23.7%	1.9%	0.6%	100%
January 2022	31.9%	37.1%	27.3%	2.9%	0.8%	100%
October 2022	26.0%	36.9%	32.5%	3.6%	1.1%	100%

Communication preferences

In this section:

Usefulness of communication channels

How useful to you are the following communication channels to get news and updates from DVSA? (select all that apply)

Channel	Extremely useful	Very useful	Somewhat useful	Not so useful	Not at all useful	I do not use this channel	Total
Broadcast media	10.2%	14.4%	29.7%	13.1%	7.8%	24.8%	100.0%
DVSA social media channels	14.8%	20.0%	27.2%	8.4%	4.9%	24.7%	100.0%
Emails/DVSA Direct email alerts	38.3%	33.8%	22.2%	1.9%	1.9%	1.9%	100.0%
GOV.UK	26.1%	30.4%	28.6%	6.1%	2.8%	5.9%	100.0%
Group forums	11.4%	16.8%	23.9%	9.7%	4.7%	33.5%	100.0%
National associations	16.1%	20.4%	26.4%	6.1%	4.4%	26.6%	100.0%
News releases and press briefings	23.4%	26.7%	29.9%	7.0%	3.9%	9.1%	100.0%
Phone calls	9.9%	11.0%	16.8%	10.0%	9.6%	42.8%	100.0%
Print news media	9.5%	12.8%	27.2%	14.0%	8.4%	28.0%	100.0%
Public webinars	7.5%	10.9%	19.7%	10.2%	5.9%	45.8%	100.0%
Test centre surgeries	20.6%	20.2%	19.6%	4.8%	4.1%	30.7%	100.0%
Video calls/meetings	6.3%	9.4%	17.3%	9.2%	6.4%	51.4%	100.0%

This chart shows a comparison over time of the rating given to the 5 most highly rated channels provided directly by DVSA. It shows the percentage of ADIs who rated the channel as either extremely useful or very useful.

Channel	June 2021	January 2022	October 2022
Emails and DVSA Direct email alerts	61.3%	74.6%	73.5%
GOV.UK	52.4%	58.9%	60.1%
Test centre surgeries	42.1%	54.8%	58.9%
News releases and press briefings	45.3%	53.8%	55.1%
DVSA social media	37.0%	45.0%	46.3%

Future communication preferences

Which of the following channels are you most interested in using? (select all that apply)

Channel	Very interested	Might be interested	Not at all interested	Don’t know	Total
Broadcast media	19.2%	39.1%	26.0%	15.7%	100.0%
DVSA podcasts	14.2%	35.6%	32.6%	17.6%	100.0%
DVSA social media channels	32.3%	37.7%	19.6%	10.4%	100.0%
Emails/DVSA Direct email alerts	71.8%	24.2%	2.3%	1.6%	100.0%
GOV.UK	47.2%	39.2%	8.3%	5.3%	100.0%
Group forums	20.9%	35.3%	29.1%	14.8%	100.0%
National associations	29.5%	36.3%	20.3%	13.9%	100.0%
News releases and press briefings	35.2%	40.7%	15.2%	8.9%	100.0%
Phone calls	14.8%	29.8%	43.4%	12.0%	100.0%
Print news media	17.1%	34.1%	33.9%	14.9%	100.0%
Public webinars	15.2%	31.4%	36.0%	17.3%	100.0%
Test centre surgeries	47.4%	35.4%	10.7%	6.5%	100.0%
Video calls/meetings	12.2%	35.9%	39.7%	12.2%	100.0%