Test Advice: Choosing A Learner
During your exam the examiner will sit in the back of the car while you give a lesson to a real learner. We use the term learner to mean 'someone who is learning', this need not be a provisional licence holder.
The DVSA criteria are (quote):
Your pupil can be a:
partly trained learner
fully trained learner
full licence holder
Your pupil cannot be:
a learner who has just started learning to drive
an approved driving instructor (ADI) or someone else who is preparing to take the ADI part 3 test
Most Student ADI’s reading this will be working, or planning to work, on a Trainee Licence. If this is you, you have a range of learners to choose from.
Some people who are not working on a Trainee Licence might prefer to choose a full licence holder - a family member or friend, simply because they might not have access to a learner driver. If you choose a full licence holder you must take care to ensure that your lesson has a clear theme, for example, motorway driving, dual-carriageway driving, defensive driving on rural roads, etc. It is important that you lesson does not 'drift aimlessly'. The lesson must also be pitched at an appropriate level for the driver. You will not pass if you treat a full licence holder like a learner.
If you have access to a learner driver we would advise that this would be the best option. The ideal learner would be someone in the early stages, for example, someone doing junctions for the second or third time or moving from basic left turns to left and right turns. These lessons would be easy to structure.
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