It was not until the introduction of the driving test in 1935 that any serious attempt was made to coordinate the ways in which people learned to drive. Even then however, the state did not see the need for a parallel system to formalise eligibility to teach individuals driving skills so for many years there were no legal controls over the training and qualifications of those who taught driving. The first initiative came from the Motor Schools Association and the Royal Automobile Club (both independent associations formed by driving schools owners) who also in 1935 produced their own independent registers of qualified driving instructors and schools. Each organisation outlined its own version of the basic skills that were needed to join the register. The register of approved driving instructors (ADIs) was finally approved by Parliament in 1964 but remained voluntary until 1970. During that time, at various occasions the state attempted to persuade the industry to formalise the standards and put in controls without success. However, it was not until the driving lessons industry grew substantially that driving instructor training was formalised and membership of the register of approved driving instructors became compulsory. In practice this has meant that any person giving paid instruction in the driving of a motor car whose name is not on the Register is guilty of an offence. As such, the evolution of regulation in the occupation can be understood as a shift from voluntary membership of a register belonging to a professional body to legally enforced state regulation in the form of specific training requirements to practice (as evidenced by one’s membership of the Approved Driving Instructor register or ownership of a trainee license). As we shall show below however, in reality a dual market of fully trained and trainee driving instructors is in operation.

More recently, various changes have taken place with regards to requirements for regular periodic assessments that instructors have to undergo as well as proposals to reform the occupation in terms of training requirements to practice. In this study we assess the impact of these proposals on outcome and value-added type of indicators.