Hello — I am Carl Tracy

The short version: I am training to teach people to drive in the city I live in, and this website exists before the business does, deliberately.

Read this first. Carl is not yet a qualified driving instructor. Nothing on this site should be read as a claim to hold a DVSA badge. This page is a template with the honest position written in; the bracketed parts are for Carl to fill in, and the badged claims to confirm or delete.

Where the qualification stands

Becoming an Approved Driving Instructor in Great Britain means three DVSA exams, in order, plus a criminal-record check. Here is the whole route, and where I am on it.

Part 1 — theory and hazard perception

100 multiple-choice questions across four bands, plus a harder hazard-perception test than the learner one. Status: not yet taken. update when sat

Part 2 — driving ability

About an hour of driving to a much higher standard than the learner test: six driving faults allowed, not fifteen, plus vehicle-safety questions and manoeuvres. Status: not yet taken. update when sat

Part 3 — instructional ability

Teaching a real pupil for about 45 minutes while an examiner marks you on 17 competencies. Pass and you are on the ADI register with a green badge. Status: not yet taken. update when sat

Before any of it — the DBS check

An enhanced criminal-record check, and you must have held a full licence for at least three years and be at least 21. Status: confirm

A trainee instructor can teach for money on a pink trainee licence after passing Parts 1 and 2. A qualified one holds a green badge. Both must display the badge in the windscreen, and you are entitled to look at it before you hand over any money — to me or to anyone else.

The car confirm all of this

[Make and model] with dual controls, an extra interior mirror for an examiner, air conditioning, and L plates front and rear. Serviced [interval], insured for driver tuition with [insurer], MOT [month].

Me, in four lines

[Where you grew up and where you live now.] [How long you have been driving, and what you drove.] [What you did before this, and why teaching suits you.] [One true thing that is not about driving.]

Why I am doing this

[Your actual reason. The honest one is better than the marketing one: people can tell the difference and it is the single thing on this page a competitor cannot copy.]

What I will not pretend

I will not quote a pass rate until I have taught enough people for one to mean anything. I will not promise a pass in a fixed number of hours. And until there is a badge in the windscreen, I will not call myself an instructor.

Why the site exists before the business

Building it first is how you decide what it is

Writing the prices page forces you to decide what you charge. Writing the lessons page forces you to decide what you actually offer, and to notice that "nervous drivers" and "intensive courses" are nearly opposite businesses. Writing the about page forces the awkward question of what you are allowed to claim.

So this is a deliberate order of operations, not a cart before a horse. The site is a specification for a business that does not exist yet. When the badge arrives, the badges marked unconfirmed come off one at a time, and what is left is true.

Next step

Questions before the business exists?

Ask them anyway. I would rather have a waiting list of people who know exactly what they are waiting for.

Send an enquiry Call 07000 000000

No charge for the first call, and no sales pitch on it. If I am not the right instructor for you I will say so.