I noticed a discussion on a forum about whether or not you should take pupils’ children o
ut with you when you take the parent for a driving lesson.
Well, it isn’t technically illegal. But I’d advise anyone thinking of doing it to check with their insurer first. There could easily be a clause that prohibits it – and even if there isn’t, then in the event of an accident there could be problems.
Apart from the matter of whether or not the car and occupants are covered, there is also the matter of public liability. I’m not going to try and argue one way or the other – I’ll leave that to the “legal experts” who moonlight as instructors. But I just won’t take pupils’ kids out, and that’s that. It’s my personal stance.
When it comes down to it, the main reason many instructors do take pupils’ kids out on lessons with them is that they can’t afford to lose the lesson! They then try to argue that it’s not a risk, but it is.
There was a story a few years ago in Horse & Hound, where an instructor was giving a lesson to a pupil who’d taken his/her child along. The 6-month old appeared to choke in the back seat, whereupon the instructor – and, no doubt, the learner who was being taught – turned around. The car veered across the road and hit a horse being ridden in the opposite direction.
The horse required £5,000 of veterinary treatment. The instructor was fined over £1,000 and given three points on his licence.
It would be useful to know if the instructor’s insurer met the costs of veterinary bills, etc., because as he was found guilty of driving without due care and attention, it does raise some doubt.
No one can pretend that this isn’t a genuine risk. Distraction is a known problem for parents:
Parents travelling with children in the back are statistically at even higher risk of being distracted and causing a car accident. There have been many cases where drivers have glanced in the rear-view mirror or even turned their head for a split-second to see what their kids are up to and caused a car accident as a result.
I think that sometimes driving instructors need to take a step back, put away their Big Book Of Coaching, and acknowledge where their responsibilities end. Even if they’re desperate for work or blinded by The Light, they’re driving instructors and not child-minders.
There are plenty of ways of getting learners used to distractions without risking the lives of children or other road users.
One of mine needed to learn to drive just so she could ferry her kids around. She was worried about them distracting her, and she definitely WAS very easily distracted. One time she asked if we could try driving with the radio on to see how it affected her. The instant it went on she was unable to negotiate even the simplest of junctions. She therefore learnt how distraction would be dangerous – just like it is for anyone. Some months later we tried the same exercise and things were much improved, but still not perfect.
But no matter how good a driver someone is, if a kid starts playing up in back then anyone could 
be distracted to a dangerous degree at one time or another.
As for whether it is allowed on test, I doubt the examiners have much choice on the matter – they’d be hung out to dry if they refused to take a mummy out if she decided she wanted to take her sprog with her, though I still wonder at the insurance implications. I can’t imagine that every driving instructor’s insurance automatically allows it.
It’s all a bit like allowing breast-feeding in public – it’s not something you want to see when you’re eating or drinking, but there’s sod all you can do about the Earth Mothers who insist on doing it.
Let’s face facts here. Knowing that you have a driving test coming up in a month or two’s time gives you plenty of time to arrange not to have the additional pressure of your kids in the back. Ending up taking your test with them there – even planning it deliberately for whatever reason – is just evidence of the ignorance and stupidity that increasingly pervades our society.
It reminds me of something that happened years ago in France when I was on a skiing trip. On the table next to us there was a French family having a full-on raclette/fondue meal, and they had a baby in a high-chair with them. We’d just had our meal served, when we were assailed by a God-awful smell. The baby has messed in its nappy. They eventually took it to the toilets to change it (after our obvious comments and glances), but the smell didn’t go with them. It screwed up our meal, that’s for sure.
Unfortunately, some rules and practices just don’t make sense. And nor do some people’s manners and ethics.