There’s currently a shortage of driving instructors – but what qualities do you need to become one? Bristol Evening Post reporter Olivier Vergnault, a self-confessed speedster who learnt to drive in his native France, attended an assessment course in Bristol to find out…

As a Frenchman living in England, driving on the left hand side of the road was the first challenge – and thankfully it was one that I passed.

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got as I was put through my paces at the Instructor College, in Staple Hill.

My instructor – whose name of Barry Dart was sympathetic of my driving – initially looked fairly relaxed as I made a deliberate point of checking my mirrors before signalling.

Little did he know that I learnt to drive in Toulouse, where the size of the bull bars on your car establishes who has priority over the road.

Maybe that was why I nearly turned down a dirt track when Mr Dart asked me to take the next right.

Either way it soon became clear why the Rover 25 car I was driving was a dual control vehicle.

My test drive took me through Staple Hill, Fishponds and Page Park – which were unusually quiet.

Perhaps the residents had heard that a rival to Maureen Rees was on the roads.

Maureen was the toilet cleaner from Wales who became a star of the TV documentary series Driving School, which was filmed in Bristol.

Her terrible driving is one of the reasons why the region is facing up to a shortage of instructors.

In Bristol alone, the British School of Motoring is looking for another 10 recruits, while Keith’s School of Motoring wants an extra 15.

Alas, Oliver Vergnault is not the answer to the recruitment problem and Mr Dart’s verdict was pretty damning.

According to my instructor, the purpose of the test drive was to see how much training was needed to undo the bad habits.

Sadly in my case I drive too fast, I cross my hands on the steering wheel and occasionally, I take my hands off altogether.

But according to Mr Dart it’s not all bad news.

“The only people we will turn down are those who are so bad they pose a real danger to others,” he said.”And those who can’t talk while driving.”

Talking is something I am good at – and I can do it in two languages.

“Talking is the key to being a good instructor,” said Mr Dart.

“You have to be able to watch the road, while giving instruction to the learner.”

Sadly, in my case I won’t be swapping my keyboard for dual control car – now or ever!

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