Professional Ethics, Instructor Responsibilities, and Recordkeeping
This domain tests integrity and documentation. Instructor candidates must protect students, maintain accurate records, respect confidentiality, and avoid any conduct that misrepresents training or hours.
Ethical and legal duties
- Hold the required instructor license and maintain a safe, insured, dual-control vehicle. Conduct pre-trip checks and secure students properly.
- Document behind-the-wheel time, observation time, skills practiced, and performance accurately. Never sign blank logs or round up hours.
- Keep student information confidential. Share progress only with authorized guardians or school officials.
- Maintain professional boundaries. Avoid transporting students without authorization, using personal phones during instruction, or making guarantees about passing a test.
- Report suspected abuse, neglect, or unsafe conditions through required channels.
Worked example
A parent asks an instructor to sign for 10 night hours the student did not drive because “the schedule got busy.” The instructor should refuse, explain that falsifying a GDL record is a licensing and integrity violation, and offer to schedule make-up night sessions. The reasoning: the record is a legal attestation that affects eligibility, insurance, and safety; the instructor’s signature certifies actual supervised practice.
Traps that cost marks
“Rounding up” is falsification. Signing a log before the lesson is completed is improper. Discussing a student’s performance with an unauthorized person violates confidentiality. Using a vehicle without dual controls for novice instruction creates both safety and liability problems.
Exam focus
Choose the answer that protects the student, the record’s accuracy, and the instructor’s license-even when a parent or supervisor applies pressure.