Driving instructors: The untapped resource in road safety

By Terry Cook, Driving Instructor at TC Drive and Founder of Driving Instructors to Vision Zero

Terry Cook is a dedicated driving instructor and the creative force behind The Instructor Podcast, a platform designed to help instructors sharpen their skills, grow their businesses and prioritise road safety.

A key project Terry leads is “Driving Instructors to Vision Zero” - a podcast series that bridges the gap between professional instruction and the broader road safety movement. In these episodes, he invites experts such as former traffic officers and researchers to explore vital safety issues - from motorway driving challenges to the implementation of graduated driver licensing.

Through his work, Terry gives voice to the Vision Zero ethos - that serious crashes, injuries and fatalities are preventable and require a safe-system approach. He equips instructors with both knowledge and the motivation to adopt practices that protect lives.

He is a proud member of the Vision Zero Community, powered by Co-Pilot.

Here he tells us why driving instructors are the untapped resource in road safety.

Driving instructors: an untapped resource

For too long, there’s been a gap between the road safety sector and the driving instructor profession. Both groups are committed to the same goal - safer roads - yet they have often ended up working in parallel rather than together.

Each week, thousands of instructors spend 40+ hours delivering one-to-one training, often to the most at-risk road users: new drivers. That’s 40 hours of influence, conversation, behaviour modelling, and mindset shaping. No road safety campaign, billboard, or social media post gets anywhere near that level of individual engagement. And yet, most road safety organisations don’t fully factor driving instructors into their strategies.

Part of the problem lies in outdated perceptions of instructors. While some stereotypes persist, there is a growing community of skilled professionals who genuinely care about their learners and want to do more. They just don’t always know what’s available, or how to get involved.

A call for collaboration

Imagine the reach if instructors were better supported. What if road safety campaign toolkits were built with instructors in mind? What if events actively invited instructors in, not just as attendees, but as partners?

Some organisations already do this brilliantly, such as The Honest Truth and Project EDWARD. Others have begun to engage instructors through podcasts, events and webinars - and are impressed with what they see. But there’s scope for much more.

Driving instructors are not just a route to the learner; they are a vital cog in the safe system. We should be seen as partners in road safety, helping to keep our roads safer for everyone.

To find out how to join Terry and others working together as part of the Vision Zero Community, click here.