A DRIVING INSTRUCTOR told a 28-year-old woman who was getting lessons in his car that she was “drop-dead gorgeous”, asked if she was single, and said “who’s your daddy” 15 times, according to a formal complaint received by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Another Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) who was in his 60s told a 22-year-old student that “girls on their period never do well in their driving test” because it affects their coordination and they “get flustered”.

They were among 128 complaints made by learner drivers about ADIs last year, which was nearly seven times as many as the RSA received in 2021, according to records released under freedom of information laws.

Last August, a complainant claimed an ADI had told her to imagine that she had two children in the back seat and, if she didn’t drive carefully, she would cause an accident and kill them.

He also made racist comments about her country of origin and her current address, according to the complaint, saying: “The place you live in is very rough but I assume it isn’t as rough as the country you are from.”

Another learner driver reported that his ADI had been physically beating him, striking him on the thigh and the back of his head. He told the RSA that he had been “too scared” to react and had completed around 30 lessons with this instructor.

After completing a lesson and returning to a carpark, one complainant was aggrieved that the ADI got out of the vehicle and told his mother that the student had driven “worse than shite”.

A female driver reported her instructor to the RSA for putting his hand on her knee to give her a “massage”. He also made comments about her body and “told her about his sexual experience”, she alleged in the complaint.

Another complainant described one ADI’s lessons as “an absolute joke” due to time-wasting. The instructor left him waiting 20 minutes, made him pull into a shop, and stopped the lesson for about 15 minutes “to watch a couple having an argument”.

In September, the RSA received a complaint about an ADI’s use of “vulgar language” and “excessive displays of force”, saying things like “For f**k sake,” and “Are you slow or something?”

The same instructor was also alleged to take 30-minute breaks to smoke cigarettes during lessons, and was described as being hungover during one lesson, explaining to the driver that he had been up late drinking at his son’s birthday party.

Another ADI didn’t bother taking cigarette breaks and instead smoked during lessons, even though the learner driver had told him that he was asthmatic, according to one complaint.

He also said the lessons were “filled with rage and anger” every time he made a mistake. At one point, the car stalled and the ADI shouted “Move the f**king car, move the f**king car” while the window was open, so people outside could hear and started laughing.

A female complainant told the RSA that her instructor had slapped her thigh within 10 minutes of being in the car. “At first I thought it was an accident, but it happened again and again,” she said.

He was also aggressive and shouted at her until she cried, according to the complaint. “He told me he didn’t care if I cried or if I came back for another lesson,” she said, adding that the instructor had said she was probably one of the worst students he’d ever had.

ADIs must pass a series of tests and be Garda vetted before receiving accreditation from the RSA. The agency did respond to a request for data in relation to disciplinary processes arising from complaints.

The Approved Driving Instructors Union is in the process of disbanding and becoming the Professional Driving Instructors Association. A representative was therefore not in a position to comment, as “neither organisation really exists at this moment”.