Terms of Business – Qualified Drivers

These terms form a contract between us, so it is important that you have read and understood all the terms before starting any session with me. Please note that, throughout these terms, “I” or “me” refers to Martin, Driving & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) – DVSA reference 460309.  The word “you” or “your” refers to the driver receiving sessions.

I will ask for confirmation that the terms have been read and accepted before you start any sessions, by completing the section on the end of this webpage. Please see Section 1 regarding learners under the age of 18. If there is anything you do not understand, please ask me before you accept these terms.

1. Contract – The contract commences from the day you confirm agreement to these terms and have completed the registration process (no later than the day before your first session) until your sessions have permanently stopped.  However, either of us may cancel this contract at any time for any reason (providing at least 48 hours notice is given before any scheduled session).

If I change my terms, while you are still taking sessions with me, I will provide you with an updated copy (and a summary of any changes) at least 28 days before they come into effect. However, please note that mitigating actions to ensure a safe working environment (covered in Section 4) may be changed or added at short notice (so 28 days notice of future changes to this section may not always be possible).

If you are under 18 (legally a minor), a parent/legal guardian will need to formally accept these terms.  In addition, if a third party (e.g. parent, legal guardian, relative, friend) is paying me directly for your sessions, they will also be made aware of these terms (particularly in respect of cancellation charges).

2. My Business Details – I am a self employed, independent driving instructor, operating under a franchise agreement with AA Driving School (AADS). I am registered as a sole trader under the name “Driving Lessons with Martin (Nottingham)” and can be contacted by email (drivinglessonswithmartin@gmail.com) or by phone (07980111234). Although I am contracted with AADS, this is purely for the arrangement of a fully maintained and serviced driving school car. Your contract is solely with me (for the duration of your sessions with me) and not with AADS.

3. Driving Licence – You must have a valid driving licence and produce the photocard version before your first session can commence. Information about your entitlements to drive and any endorsements are not recorded on your photocard licence but this information is stored and available online via DVLA’s “View My Licence” service. I will require you to access this service and provide me with a computer generated code (so that I can also view your entitlement to drive prior to your first session, using DVLA’s “Check Someone’s Licence” service).  You must tell me of any changes (to entitlements or endorsements) during the course of your sessions with me.

4. Health & Medical Fitness to Drive – Prior to registering for any driving sessions, I will carry out a health risk assessment, based upon details you provide regarding notifiable medical conditions, medication currently used or any condition that may affect the way you learn (e.g. ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, anxiety issues etc).  You must tell me if your medical situation changes at any point, while you are taking sessions with me.  It is your legal responsibility to report any notifiable medical conditions to DVLA but I may seek assurances from you that suitable action has been taken (e.g. that you have discussed the impact of a medical condition on driving with your GP and/or reported this to DVLA). Any medical information you provide to me is treated confidentially, will not be shared and any email containing this information will be deleted 30 days after the date of your final session. While it remains your legal responsibility to be fit to drive at the time of any session (which includes checking that any medication you may be taking will not affect your ability to drive), I may cancel or curtail any session where I believe that you are not fit to drive (and especially if suspected to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs).  I will also check that your eyesight meets the minimum requirements (being able to read a car registration plate from 20 metres) on or before your first session but may also periodically check this during any future sessions.

Sections 4a and 4b were originally devised as part of a response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. These sections now reflect a broader approach to our joint responsibilities of a safe learning environment in the car.

4a -Working Safely Together in the Car – My Responsibilities

I aim to create a safe and friendly environment in the car, in which learning can take place, and have agreed to abide by the DVSA’s voluntary Code of Practice and the Driving Instructor’s Association’s (DIA) Code of Conduct (both available on request).

To protect your health and safety (and other road users), I am committed to:-

(i) Cancelling sessions if I am showing any symptoms of any virus that is considered contagious, refraining from sessions until being free of symptoms for at least 24 hours.

(ii) Opening all windows fully between sessions with other pupils (to freshen the air within the car) and wiping down controls within the car (that you will come into contact with during your session) periodically during the day.

(i11) Wearing clean clothes every day and washing my hands (or using hand sanitiser) between each session. I am also willing to wear a clean face mask if you should wish me to do so.

(iv) Operating the car’s fitted dual controls and provide assistance with steering, where verbal instruction is neither a timely nor an appropriate option, to help you avoid breaking a law (e.g. speeding or not stopping at a red traffic light or pedestrian crossing) or where your actions would create a serious safety issue for either ourselves or others (e.g. emerging unsafely into a road or getting too close to parked cars).

(v) Using dual controls to help prevent inconvenience to other road users or avoid you becoming too stressed in a particular situation (e.g. stalling at a busy junction) or to demonstrate an aspect of driving (as part of your training). If I do take control, I will explain what I have done and why I have done it. If there is a need to frequently take control, we will review whether the plan of sessions is appropriate or if there is an underlying area of learning to focus on.

(vi) Avoiding physical contact with you. Please note that if I need to take control of the steering wheel, gears or handbrake, this may result in inadvertent, brief physical contact with your hand or arm. In the event of any inadvertent physical contact with any part of your body that is not covered (e.g. hand or arm), hand sanitiser will be offered at the earliest opportunity.

(vii) Ensuring my mobile phone is switched off or on silent mode during your session. Legally, hand held phones can only be used when the car is parked and the engine is switched off. Although this does not apply to passengers, it does apply to driving instructors who are working in the passenger seat.

4b – Working Safely Together in the Car – Your Responsibilities

To protect my health (and that of my other pupils and other road users), you are committed to:-

(i) Cancelling driving sessions if you are showing any symptoms of any virus that is considered contagious, refraining from sessions until being free of symptoms for at least 24 hours.

(ii) Wearing appropriate, clean clothes to your session, washing your hands prior to coming to the car (please note that hand sanitiser is available in my car for your use)

(iii) Doing your best to follow instructions, which are designed not just to help you learn but to ensure the safety of you, I and other road users. Please note that displaying a disregard for road safety or showing an inappropriate attitude towards me or towards other road-users, will result in serious consideration given to curtailing a specific session or ceasing future sessions.

(iv) Ensuring your mobile phone is switched off or on silent mode during your session. Legally, hand held phones can only be used when the car is parked and the engine is switched off.

(v) In the event that you are using your own car for the session, you are responsible for ensuring that the interior of the car is clean and that the windows have been opened prior to the session (to freshen the air within the car).

5. Insurance & Liability

(i) Providing you have a valid driving licence and are medically fit to drive, you are covered by comprehensive motor insurance should you be involved in a collision whilst driving the tuition car. In addition to the car being insured, I have public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance (provided through my membership of Driving Instructors Association) but I am not liable for any losses that you may incur through circumstances outside of my reasonable control or outside of my legal duty (including, but not limited to, any business interest you have).

(ii) Please note that I am only insured to drive or take control of my own car. Similarly, my breakdown cover only covers me in my own car. In the event that you are using your own car for any session, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have breakdown cover and that your insurance policy covers the purpose of the session (i.e. you receiving refresher driver training). Many insurance policies only cover driving for social, domestic and pleasure purposes only and ones that cover the car for business use many not cover the use of the car for me operating my business (deemed to be using the car for “hire or reward”). It is essential that you check with your insurance company before booking a session.

(iii) If you wish to have any sessions in your own car, it is your legal responsibility to ensure that the vehicle is safe to be on the road (e.g. light bulbs are working, tyre tread depth etc) and that it meets legal requirements (e.g. taxed, insured and has a valid MOT).

(iv) While I will do my utmost to ensure that your driving is always within the law, as you are a qualified driver, you are responsible for any breaches of the Highway Code and any resultant penalty points/fines. If using my car, it is also my legal duty to report the name of the driver in the event of any incident.

(v) As we sit very close to each other in a car, we both accept that the risks of spreading/catching any virus (including coronavirus) are higher inside a car. However, we are both committed to mitigating the risk of catching any virus from each other during a driving session (through some of the actions set out in Section 4), accept that the risk can be reduced but not eliminated and relieve each other of any further responsibility/liability.

6. Payments/Booking – Prices will be agreed with you prior to taking any sessions and a date/time of session(s) will be agreed, subject to our mutual availability. A booking is confirmed once payment has been received and, unless agreed otherwise, payment must be made (by bank transfer) prior to the first session.

7. Cancelled Sessions – You MUST cancel your driving session if you are unwell, and especially if you have been suffering from any symptoms that are consistent with those of coronavirus (Covid-19) or have recently tested positive (or awaiting the result of a Covid test). In addition, you may be asked to cancel your session if you have knowingly come into contact with someone who has been displaying the symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19) or if you have recently returned from a crowded event. In these circumstances, you will NOT be charged for cancelling the session but should give me as much notice as possible. Please note that I may also have to cancel a session for Covid-19 related symptoms but will also let you know as soon as possible.

My approach to cancellation charges is that any session cancelled by you, due to ANY illnesses, will NOT be subject to any charge providing that you let me know (by text message or phone call) at least 1 hour before the scheduled start time. If you cancel a session due to illness, any other sessions already booked will also be cancelled and no further sessions will be booked until you confirm that you are fit enough to resume sessions. Similarly, if I am unwell and not fit enough to provide a session, I will give you at least 1 hour’s notice (or, if my car develops a fault, I will advise you as soon as I can) and rearrange the session as soon as I am able to resume work.

If either of us need to cancel a session for any other reason (e.g. due to a change of work, school, college or university schedule), at least 48 hours notice must be given. There is no minimum period of notice for Covid related illnesses. However, if you fail to provide the minimum notice (1 hour for non Covid related illness or 48 hours for any other reason) a cancellation charge equating to the full cost of the session will apply. When I arrive for your session, I will wait for a maximum of 30 minutes. During this time, I will contact you to highlight that I am waiting. If you do not respond or show up within 15 minutes of me making contact, the session will not go ahead and a cancellation charge will apply (equivalent to the full cost of the planned session). Where three or more sessions have been cancelled, for whatever reason (with the exception of sessions that were cancelled due to coronavirus (Covid-19) issues), consideration will be given to stop providing further sessions.

If you book and pay for a Pass Plus course or a single refresher session and subsequently decide not to go ahead, a full refund of your payment will be provided MINUS a £10 administration charge. This nominal charge is to cover the cost in time that would have been spent preparing for the session(s) and the time spent filling the slot(s).

8. Trust & Confidentiality – As trust is an important aspect in any relationship, I am committed not to share details of your sessions with others and any personal information you choose to share with me during the course of your sessions will remain confidential.

While I may, on occasion, refer to a situation that another driver has encountered, this will be purely to illustrate a situation that you may face yourself (as part of your learning process) and will not involve divulging the name or identity of any other driver. If you personally know of anyone who has had (or is still having) driving lessons with me, I will not discuss their session with you (or discuss your session with them) or mention any situation that they have faced that might identify them.

9. Use of Your Data – Please read my Privacy Notice, which gives an outline of any information that I collect, generate and hold that identifies you. More detail about my approach to the collection, generation and holding of personal data and how this is used, held and kept secure, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, is covered in my Privacy Policy.

10. Complaints – Nothing in these terms affects any statutory rights you may have as a consumer. In the event that you are unhappy with any aspect of your driving sessions with me, you should discuss the situation with me immediately in the first instance. In the unlikely event that any concerns raised with me are not resolved between us, you may wish to contact your local Trading Standards office or DVSA.

11. Law – These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales and subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Version: Qualified Drivers – 24.0

Version Control Notes (Last Twelve Months):-

Version 24.0 – Annual Review (December 2023). No material changes

Version 24.1 – March 2024. Following the 4th anniversary of the outset of the Covid pandemic, Sections 4a and 4b have been amended to reflect current expectations.

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