7:00pm Thursday 7th June 2007
By Andy Davey
PEOPLE looking to take driving lessons in Purbeck are being warned to watch out for rogue instructors.
Driving instructors working in Purbeck claim there has been a recent surge in the number of unqualified teachers turning up at test centres in the district.
They have warned students if they are learning with unqualified driving instructors they risk driving illegally, with no insurance, and could receive penalty points.
James Cantwell, from the Tri School of Motoring, which operates across South Dorset, said: "We want to encourage people to check to make sure their drivers are qualified to teach them."
Driving instructors are entitled to teach while they are completing their driving instructor's qualification.
But if they fail part three of the qualification, which has a very low pass rate, three times, they are not allowed to continue teaching until they have completed a two-year cooling-off break.
A spokesman from the Driving Standards Agency said: "All driving instructors who teach driving for a living have to be registered with the DSA by law. Approved driving instructors must display either a pink or green badge on the windscreen of their car. We would advise learners to check their instructor is displaying one of these badges."
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