The Driving Instructor and Trainers Collective - The DITC

03/08/2026

Looking for something …. Different? This might be just what you need

Our disabilities and medical conditions course, that we run every year, is about to start next month. The syllabus is tailored to driving instruction. Everything you learn on the course can be used on your lessons. The course will give you a theoretical knowledge of conditions, as well as, practical advice on how to teach pupils with those conditions. There are a few place left on the course.

Click on this link to book a place on the course or to find out the prices:
https://www.disabilitydrivinginstructors.com/courses/

Click on this link to download the course information booklet:
https://www.disabilitydrivinginstructors.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Scheme-of-work-44-Oct-2025.pdf

01/08/2026

NOS testing trial

04/07/2026

It comes to something when it’s easier to climb the Empire State Building than get a test date….

30/06/2026

“If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail”

What’s your take on these 5 problems from The Instructor Podcast….

We’re in problem solving mode.

I invited 5 guests to bring a problem, and we had 15 minutes to tackle each.

Did we solve any?

Did any of the problems recur?

Who were the guests?

Search for ‘The Instructor’ wherever you listen to podcasts, or use the link in the comments.

24/06/2026

We have recently become aware of a page that appears to be taking pass photos from driving instructor social media accounts and reposting them alongside derogatory comments.

The images appear to feature newly qualified drivers, some of whom may be under the age of 18.

We are asking driving instructors and members of the public to report any content they believe breaches Facebook’s policies on bullying, harassment, targeting individuals, or misuse of images.

This situation also serves as an important reminder for all of us as instructors.

Pass photos are a fantastic way to celebrate success, but once an image is placed on a public social media platform, it can be copied, downloaded, edited, shared, and reused by others in ways that were never intended.

As professionals, we should carefully consider:

• Whether we have clear permission to share images.
• Whether a public post is necessary, or whether a more private celebration may be appropriate.
• The long-term digital footprint created for young people.
• How much personal information is visible within photographs and captions.
• What the photograph itself reveals about the individual.

This is not about stopping instructors celebrating their pupils’ achievements. It is about recognising that we have a responsibility to protect the people who trust us with their learning journey.

Whatever your views on social media, nobody should have their image taken from another page and used to ridicule, embarrass, or target them.

If you come across the page, please report it. We have taken the decision not to promote the page directly and ask that others respect this in the comments.

Let’s support those affected and continue to promote a professional, respectful, and safeguarding-focused culture within our industry.

18/06/2026

New waiting times data June 2026

DVSA’s decision to publish more detailed driving test waiting time data is welcome.

For too long, learners, instructors and the wider profession have had to work with headline figures that do not show the full local picture. Centre-by-centre data, updated monthly, should help everyone understand what is really happening on the ground.

That is a positive step.

It is also useful that DVSA has now explained the difference between the existing 10% availability measure and the new median waiting time figure.

The 10% availability figure shows how far ahead you need to look before at least 10% of appointments are still available at a test centre. The median waiting time shows how long learners who actually took a test waited between booking and taking it.

Those are not the same thing.

In May 2026, the national median wait was 9.7 weeks, while the 10% availability measure was 21.8 weeks. That tells us something important. Many learners are not necessarily waiting as long as the headline availability figure suggests.

But it needs to be explained honestly.

A median wait of around 10 weeks does not mean every learner can simply go online and book a local test in 10 weeks. In some areas, waits remain genuinely long by both measures. DVSA’s own examples include centres where the median wait is still around 22, 23 or even 24 weeks.

So this is not a simple good-news story.

What the new data appears to show is that in many areas learners are getting tests sooner by using the system dynamically. DVSA itself says learners who check regularly and pick up cancellations can often secure a test much sooner than the headline figure suggests.

That matters.

Because recent booking changes have restricted who can manage bookings and how freely tests can be moved. ADIs can no longer book, change, swap or cancel a car driving test for a learner. The stated purpose of those changes was to protect learners from exploitation, stop resale, prevent hoarding, and make the system fairer.

The DITC supports action against abuse, bots, resale and exploitation. Learners should not be forced to pay inflated prices or hand over personal data to unofficial services just to access a public test.

But there is a difference between stopping abuse and removing legitimate professional support.

Approved Driving Instructors are not just diary managers. They are key professionals in the road safety system. They help pupils judge readiness, avoid wasted tests, manage timing, and make sensible decisions about whether a short-notice test is appropriate.

If regular checking, cancellations and active management of bookings are helping learners secure earlier tests, then flexibility should not be treated only as a problem. It may be part of the solution.

The important question now is not whether the new data is useful. It is.

The question is what happens next.

DVSA should publish proper before-and-after comparisons showing whether the recent restrictions improve or worsen the actual wait learners experience.

That should include:

Median waiting times before and after the booking changes
Original booking dates compared with final test dates
The number of changes made before tests were taken
Whether earlier tests came from cancellations, swaps, added capacity or ordinary availability
The impact of restricting ADI involvement
Regional and test-centre-level differences
Better data is welcome.

More transparency is welcome.

But better data must lead to better understanding, not a softer headline.

The DITC wants a fairer, safer and more transparent booking system. We support protecting learners from exploitation. We support action against those misusing the system.

But fairness must not come at the cost of practical support, test readiness, or road safety.

The system needs to recognise the difference between those abusing the booking process and the professional instructors helping learners use it responsibly.

Because the real measure of success is not how good the figures look in a press release.

It is whether learners can access a fair test, at the right time, when they are ready.

18/06/2026

The latest BBC reporting confirms that the Government’s target of reducing driving test waiting times to 7 weeks will now not be met until autumn 2027.

Let’s just pause on that for a moment.

The original target was the end of 2025.

It was then moved to summer 2026.

It has now moved again to autumn 2027.

Meanwhile, average waiting times remain close to 22 weeks nationally.

The Transport Secretary highlighted a number of recent changes, including restricting who can book tests, limiting test changes, and restricting test centre swaps. We are also told that test swaps have reduced by 70%.

What we have not yet been shown is evidence that these measures have reduced waiting times. In fact, DVSA have stated that these changes are NOT to reduce waiting times, they are to protect data.

That distinction matters.

Reducing swaps is not the same as reducing waiting times.

Restricting flexibility is not the same as increasing capacity.

For many learners and instructors, cancellations and swaps were not loopholes. They were often the only practical way of securing a test within a reasonable timeframe.

The key question remains the same as it was before the changes:

If the system was already delivering median waits of around 10 weeks through cancellations and swaps, why have those options been restricted rather than improved?

The DITC has consistently supported action against abuse, bots, and those profiting from learners. But any change should ultimately be judged on one simple measure:

Does it help genuine learners access driving tests sooner?

We look forward to seeing the promised test-centre-by-test-centre data and the evidence behind the decisions being made.

Because after six years of backlog, learners deserve more than promises. They deserve progress.

The Transport Secretary had been aiming to reduce the backlog to seven weeks by this autumn.

12/06/2026

(Info sent out by DVSA, feel free to use and share)