Driving instructors under attack as COVID backlog bubbles over

Spat on, threatened and chased down the road, a Mount Gambier driving instructor says he is under attack as the industry struggles to overcome a COVID backlog.

Mark Briffa and Shaun Woolley from All Driver Training Solutions in Mount Gambier. Picture: Jessica Ball

From parents offering double the asking price to a failed learner chasing him down the road, a Mount Gambier driver instructor and assessor has experienced it all as a COVID backlog plagues the industry.

With a waitlist of more than 50, All Driver Training Solutions is struggling to play catch up after lockdown halted car lessons overnight almost a year ago.

Owner Shaun Woolley said the demand for lessons was felt by the entire local industry.

“Every day we take 10 calls, you can imagine 10 calls every day for nine weeks that’s a big backlog,” Mr Woolley said.

Caption: Shaun Woolley from All Driver Training Solutions in Mount Gambier. Picture: Jessica Ball

“We get a lot of people who have come out of prison too, I think they must have released them early because of the COVID.

“We’ve got people offering double the money, saying they’ll pay double the money to get their kids in, because where we live you need to drive.”

Rather than wait, Mr Woolley said many mature age drivers are skipping straight to the test without training.

“We’ve never had so many people failing before but they can’t get in with the driving instructor so they’re just taking a chance,” he said.

“We can’t just pass people because we think they’re a good driver, there’s an industry standard that we have to follow.

Mark Briffa and Shaun Woolley from All Driver Training Solutions in Mount Gambier. Picture: Jessica Ball

“People are getting really irate because they’re waiting a long time to get in, they can’t get lessons because they won’t wait, they book a test and they fail and they go off at me.

“I’ve been spat on, people have threatened to punch me, they slam the door, they kick the car.”

Further hindering the process, Mr Woolley said the business was struggling to hire additional instructors.

“We’ve got enough work for five instructors but there are only two of us,” he said.

“We advertised for driving instructors for the car but trying to get your accreditation is an absolute nightmare at the moment.

“There were people doing dodgy things and they’ve made it really tough now to become a driving instructor and there’s only one company in Adelaide left that actually doing it because the government came down that hard they all shut down.”