Off Road 4×4 Instructor Training
So you want to be a 4×4 instructor?
Becoming a 4×4 or Off Road Instructor is something that many recreational offroaders think of as their dream job.
We felt that we needed to write this page as we have recently seen a lot of visitors to our sites searching for this and we wanted to make sure that people really understood what the legalities and realities are surrounding 4×4 instructors.
There are a lot of courses out there which claim to qualify you as a 4×4 instructor, while they will certainly give you experience in driving off-road and some help with how to show a novice what to do in certain situations, they will not allow you to do it as a job.
Professional off-road instructors have a sound basis in instructional techniques, excellent knowledge of the H&S legislation surrounding driving at work and full knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of the whole range of 4×4 vehicles.
In order to train anyone in how to use a 4×4 (on road or off) you must first qualify as a Driving Standards Agency Approved Driving Instructor (DSA ADI). If you are not a DSA ADI then if you offer instruction in a category B vehicle (any 4×4 effectively) for money (or money’s worth) then strictly speaking, you are breaking the law (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/ukpga_20060049_en_14#sch6). Both BORDA and LANTRA offer Instructor courses, though if you are not an ADI these may only be relevant if you intend to instruct on a voluntary basis. Charging for instruction, or using the qualifications as part of a job may not be possible without being a DSA registered ADI.
Though there are many legal grey areas, you may find yourself being prosecuted and in the event of an accident you would be fully liable and may not be insured. If things go really badly you could find yourself being sued for large quantities of money with no backup from the people who said they would insure you before they found out you were acting illegally.
Unfortunately, most of the training providers do not tell you this. This includes both LANTRA and BORDA themselves who are the main assessors of off-road instructors. Some of these companies will actually tell you that being an ADI is not a legal requirement - to put it simply, they’re being economic with the truth and all you have to do is ask yourself why? They’re trying to sell you a course - yes, even the household names who should (and actually do) know better.
If you want any clarification on this, just get in touch with the Driving Standards Agency - the government organisation who administer the register of Approved Driving Instructors. If you’re not on the register, you can’t charge for instruction.
Have a look at some more information on who LANTRA, BORDA and the DSA are.
If you are interested in becoming a 4×4 instructor, have a look at one of our blogs:
Training to be a 4×4 instructor - this article outlines all of the stages that our trainers went through in order to become off-road instructors - a long and expensive process.
And if you’re tempted to go the whole hog and become an ADI, have a look here first:
Driving Instructor Training Advice - this is the blog of one of the ADIs who de-bunks the myths that the instructor colleges put around - especially the £30k and work the hours you want lie!
The job itself is great, but there’s much more importance placed on Health & Safety and risk assessments than throwing 4×4s off cliffs. Professional operators need to know exactly what they should be doing with reference to all of the relevant legislation. Recreational off-roaders need to know all of the relevant techniques to ensure that they don’t kill themselves or anyone else!
If you still want to be a 4×4 instructor, or are already an ADI and want to bring your off-road experience into your career, we would love to hear from you:
01524 37746
All content © Tim Manwaring